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MILWAUKEE (4/10/2007) - Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) will speak at a symposium April 12 and 13 to celebrate the recent opening of Children's Research Institute's biomedical and translational research facility. Dr. Collins led the international Human Genome Project, the effort to read the entire set of genetic instructions encoded in human DNA.
Collins will give a talk entitled "Genomics, Medicine and Society" 5 p.m. Thursday, April 12, at Pier Wisconsin, 500 N. Harbor Dr., Milwaukee. His second presentation, "Empowering the Search for Hereditary Factors in Common Disease" will take place 8 a.m. Friday, April 13, at Children's Hospital.
"The opening of Children's Research Institute marks a new era for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. It is wonderful to know this group effort of researchers and clinicians will be leveraging genomics to help them better prevent, diagnose and treat pediatric disorders," said Collins. "I'm optimistic this research will improve the health of children throughout Wisconsin, as well as the community of children worldwide."
Many researchers at Children's Research Institute use the genetic map created by Collins, which was described by President Bill Clinton as the "most wondrous map ever produced by humankind." Children's Research Institute is the only research institute in the state dedicated solely to children's health. Because children have very different diseases than adults, it is essential to pool the necessary resources, including highly talented researchers with clinicians, to focus attention on pediatric health issues.
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