University authorities and Government participated in the launch of the "1000 Genomes project"
With a talk by the engineer Álvaro Fischer and the publication of the results of the school "Chile sequence to Chile" contest, was the launch of the "1000 Genomes project", Studio pioneer in Latin America in charge of five centres of excellence in scientific research in the country. The initiative secuenciará genes of thousand and thousand non-human endemic species inhabiting the national territory, including animals, plants and microorganisms.
With the presence of the Rector of the University of Chile,Ennio Vivaldi,the president of CONICYT,Mario Hamuy,and the executive director of the Millennium Scientific Initiative,Carolina Torrealba Ruiz- Tagle,the launch of the "Project 1000 Genomes", a study that will sequence the genes of a thousand people and thousands of non-human endemic species that inhabit the national territory, including animals, plants and microorganisms. The project seeks to create a public database available for future research and public health and education purposes, which is composed of academics from the Casa de Bello who work in various centers of excellence in the country, in addition to academics and researchers from universitiesPontifical Catholic University of Chile, Andrés Bello, Santiago de Chile and Mayor.
"Understanding the human genome may not be more relevant today, their knowledge will definitely change the way you see the medicine and health." I congratulate the entire team and would like to thank the representatives of the participating universities. This project will be very important for the public health of Chile"said the Rector Ennio Vivaldi at the ceremony, highlighting the efforts involved in the initiative, especially bonding which means with the students of the country.
The activity, carried out in the Faculty of physical sciences and mathematics of the University of Chile, was convened by the directors of the five centres of excellence that make up the study: theDr. Miguel Allendedirector of the Center for genome regulation,theDr. Sergio Lavandero, director of the Advanced Chronic Diseases Center, theDr. Alejandro Maass,director of the Center for Mathematical Modeling, theDr. Christian Gonzalez,director of the Center for Geroscience, Mental Health and Metabolism, and theDr. Luis Larrondo,director of the Millennium Institute for Integrative Systems and Synthetic Biology.
"Today we begin a new, more scientific phase, which consists of obtaining the 1000 human genomes and 1000 genomes of other species",said Dr. Allende, project coordinator and academic of the Faculty of Sciences of the U. of Chile, who initiated the ceremony, revealing the results of the school competition "Chile Sequence a Chile", convened by the initiative earlier this year.
"Sequencing is no longer a technology of such high complexity and is available to Chilean scientists and individuals.This is going to have many consequences, one of which is in the area of health. Second, on the other species side, there is also a very important opportunity to know the biodiversity around us and explore it, and that is why it occurred to us - when we thought about this initiative - to reach out first to the most avid members of the community are about absorbing new knowledge, and so we decided to bring sequencing to the classroom,"recounted Professor Allende, who showed the results of this experience from the hand of his own protagonists.
Collaborative work
The cooperation underlying the "Project 1000 Genomes" was one of the axes of the intervention of theExecutive Director of the Millennium Scientific Initiative, Dr. Carolina Torrealba Ruiz-Tagle. "What is being raised through this project is a new, much more complex stage of collaboration.We are now super-collaborating, with all these centres, coordinated with each other, for an even larger project.This could be a pilot, of how we could consider this new dimension of interrelationship between scientific research centers with broad impact," Torrealba said.
In the same vein, theCONICYT President Mario Hamuy, began his words by emphasizing the importance of collaborative work for current scientific research. "Cooperation is what allows us to go much further.Today we see the building of networks of networks, thanks to the effort between different centers of excellence. It is really a pride on CONICYT's part to be present at this new stage that begins.This will allow you to add lines of research, linked to metabolism, aging, chronic diseases and systems biology, and know the Chilean genetic profile and some species and perform a synergistic work that will bring together the scientists of the area and civil society," Hamuy said.
Alvaro Fisher,Mathematical engineer graduated from our campus, who has been president of the Institute of Engineers of Chile, Rector of the Technological University of Chile, Inacap, president of the Chile Foundation and member of the National Council of Innovation for the Development of Chile, held a conference in which he reflected on the project and the country context.
"Science and technology are more necessary than ever.The problems that we have ahead are going to have to be solved by humanity, by the Chileans forward, confronting them with the force of knowledge, using the best tools that we are able to build, and Chile presents some very attractive and interesting characteristics," Fisher warned of the natural laboratories presented by our country that are susceptible to studies such as 1000 Genomes.
Ground chanchito sequencing
65 were the schools across the country that participated in the competition"Chile sequence to Chile", of which ten groups of teachers and students, from schools from Antofagasta to Coyhaique, were selected to participate in the simultaneous sequencing of the chanchito de tierra.
The Toconao Educational Complex of Antofagasta, the Amazing Grace English School of La Serena, the South Pacific Maritime Commercial Institute of San Antonio, the National Institute, the La Girouette School of Santiago, the San Agustín de Concepción Lyceum, the Victoria de Victoria Institute School, the Altamira High School of Excellence of Panguipulli, the Cahuala Insular School of Chiloé, and the Liceo Altos del Mackay de Coyhaique, were the ten finalist establishments (five municipal, three subsidized and two private).
This week 20 PhD students from the participating centres moved to the selected schools to carry out, together with the students, the sequencing of the organisms. This experience was told by the students themselves during the ceremony via streaming. With the information collected in these activities, the genome will be assembled and the results will be published with all the participants, children and scientists, as authors of said research.
