This joint collaborative program was developed by Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to bring together Genome Canada-funded Science and Technology Innovation Centres (S&T ICs) with Canadian researchers to focus on applying the latest genomics technologies to identify the genetic causes of childhood diseases. This funding opportunity will specifically focus on diseases where such identification can be achieved rapidly with the potential for important novel biological, clinical and commercial discoveries.

It has been 20 years since the official commencement of the Human Genome Project and six years since its completion. Next generation sequencing technologies are well established and third generation sequencing technologies are now being developed and tested. With the introduction of massively parallel next-generation sequencing techniques there is an emerging paradigm shift in our ability to identify disease causing genetic mutations. The Genome Canada-funded S&T ICs need to be able to adapt to this new reality as quickly as possible; equally the Canadian research community should be able to take advantage of these technological advances just as quickly.

Canada is well positioned to take advantage of its many important resources to put us on the leading edge in disease gene discovery. The S&T ICs are among the leaders in the world in the application of technology to scientific problems. There are patient cohorts ready for study, with samples available and consent for research given. Also, Canadian researchers are well-organized and have a proven capacity to work collaboratively.

Other countries, such as the United States, China and the United Kingdom, are moving forward in this area as well. This joint CIHR-Genome Canada program will allow Canada to benefit from its unique advantages to take an internationally leading role in disease gene discovery.

There were two projects funded through this initiative:

• Canadian Pediatric Cancer Genome Consortium
• Finding of Rare Disease Genes in Canada (FORGE)

For complete details on this program, visit Genome Canada's website at: www.genomecanada.ca/en/portfolio/research/advancing-technology-innovation-competition.aspx