Going from strength to strength – The 100,000 Genomes Project in Manchester

The team here at Greater Manchester NHS Genomic Medicine Centre have been making great strides forward with the 100,000 Genomes Project.

The project, which involves collecting and decoding 100,000 complete sets of people’s genes, will transform the way that doctors and scientists approach the care and treatment of our patients.

Since the launch of the project in late 2014, we’ve recruited over 450 people to the study, and we are fast approaching the first anniversary of signing up our first patient.

To mark the occasion, we are hosting a participant day on 17^th March.  The event at Saint Mary’s Hospital, will be an opportunity for people to come into the department and meet the team leading the project. Doctors, counsellors, nurses and scientists will all be available to update visitors on the project, and answer any questions they have. It’ll be a chance for patients to have a tour of the lab, and learn more about what is involved in the testing process. We’re looking forward to providing our patients with this opportunity to learn more about what we do.

The project is at an exciting stage. As well as the work on the rare disease arm of the project, we recruited our first patient with cancer shortly before Christmas. This important development will allow us to extend the work of the project, and make steps towards identifying the genes that predict the best types of treatment.

We’re delighted that the project is also expanding beyond Saint Mary’s, as plans are well underway to start recruiting patients at our partner hospitals of Salford Royal, Wythenshawe and the Christie in the spring.

Last but not least, we’re developing our people, so that we can continue to provide the very best of care to our participants. We’ve recently launched a Masters degree in Genomic Medicine at the University of Manchester, which has been specifically designed to fulfil the aspirations of the project, creating a workforce that can contribute to the application of genomics for patient care, and the personalised medicine agenda.

• We are looking for patient research ambassadors, who can champion the work of the project and help to share information to a wider audience. If you are taking part in the 100,000 Genomes Project, and would like to find out more, please contact us at 0161 276 6506.
• Find out more about our Masters degree in Genomic Medicine on Manchester University’s website.
• Find out more about the 100,000 Genomes Project on our website.