( s phased award will increase if specifi...)NHGRI aims to make DNA sequencing faster, more cost effective

• J. Michael Ramsey, Ph.D., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,$3.8 million (4 years),"Nanoscale Fluidic Technologies for Rapidly Sequencing Single DNA Molecules"

A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter, much too small to be seen with a conventional lab microscope. Several groups are developing nanopores (holes about 2 nanometers in diameter) for use as DNA sequence transducers and propose to detect an electrical, or ionic, signal from individual DNA molecules. The goal of this group is to fabricate nanoscale channels in which single molecules of DNA will pass between nano-electrodes that are less than 2 nanometers apart, to measure an electric current that will identify individual bases.

• Xiaohua Huang, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, La Jolla,$275,000 (1 year),"Genome Sequencing by Ligation Using Nano-Arrays of Single DNA Molecules"

Using an experimental method for DNA sequencing called "single molecule sequencing by ligation," this project aims to develop a method for fabricating high-density arrays of wells with sub-micrometer dimensions for ordering single nanoparticles and DNA molecules. The investigator will attempt to demonstrate that more than 1 billion individual DNA molecules can be sequenced in massive parallel though a process involving cyclic sequencing by ligation, a process where an enzyme is used to join pieces of DNA together. This phased award will increase if specific milestones are met in the initial experiments.

• Amit Meller, Ph.D., Boston University, Boston,$2.2 million (3 years),"High-Throughput DNA Sequencing Using Design Polymers and Nanopore Arrays"

This group along with their industrial partner LingVitae AS, will continue to implement a novel approach previously funded through this program in which a nanopore is used to simultaneously detect electrical
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Source:NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute