Questions?

What is the Indiana Genomics Initiative (INGEN)?

The Indiana Genomics Initiative (INGEN) creates a world-class biomedical enterprise built on the existing strengths at the IU School of Medicine and the IU Office of Information Technology. The initiative takes advantage of the explosion of new data derived from the federally funded Human Genome Project, which mapped the genetic sequence found in humans. With the near completion of that project, scientists must now begin to unravel the mysteries of what the sequence means. Ultimately, the Indiana Genomics Initiative will enable us to make revolutionary discoveries to cure diseases and improve human health.

Why is IU pursuing this research? Aren’t other institutions already involved in this sort of thing?

IU is in a unique position to foster this initiative because we already have the intellectual, technical and creative resources in place. The Lilly Endowment grant of $105 million will allow us to build on our strengths and to retain and attract the best and brightest faculty, fellows and students. To achieve our goal of joining the top ten medical schools in the United States, we plan to be on the frontlines of the genomics revolution.

Just what is a genome?

A genome is the total genetic material of a particular organism. The normal human genome consists of three billion base pairs of DNA within its 23 sets of chromosomes.

How is the initiative being funded and at what cost?

Funding for the Indiana Genomics Initiative is made possible through a $105 million grant from the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, Inc., one of the nation’s leading philanthropic organizations. It is the largest single grant awarded by the Lilly Endowment and the largest single grant received by Indiana University.

How does the IU Office of Information Technology fit into this field of genomic research?

The 21st century is being heralded as the century of biology and supercomputers. Information technology is essential to scientific advances in genomic research because it provides the tools that allow scientists to visualize and analyze complex arrays of data. The Indiana Genomics Initiative takes full advantage of IU’s exceptional information technology infrastructure, which provides supercomputers, facilities to store massive amounts of data and three-dimensional visualization laboratories.

Additionally, the initiative will have close connections to the IU School of Medicine’s medical informatics expertise, the Regenstrief Medical Record System and IU’s new School of Informatics.

Will this initiative involve human research?

Yes, there will be a need to recruit healthy people and patients with diseases willing to donate DNA for the study of healthy and disease states. The ultimate goal of understanding biologic processes and how they go astray in disease will require human participation.

The Indiana Genomics Initiative includes a bioethics core to provide policy and oversight, to ensure the privacy, safety and autonomy of all patients who participate. Safety and sensitivity to our participants’ needs are paramount.

The IU School of Medicine has a number of outstanding resources that will help us to succeed in finding the genes involved in common complex diseases and disorders. These resources include patients seen by the faculty at the School of Medicine, Clarian and Wishard hospitals and clinics, as well as numerous research centers and registries.

Over the last century, biomedical research has given us vaccines and antibiotics, and public health measures have increased our life expectancy and improved our overall health. Research into human genetics promises the discovery of genes that underlie health and disease.

Will animals be used for research?

Yes. Animal models of human health and disease have made invaluable contributions to virtually all areas of biomedical research. The animal aspect of the Indiana Genomics Initiative will include fruit fly, mouse and rat models for disease.

The care and maintenance of the animal populations are in strict compliance with the Association for Assessment and Accreditation for Laboratory Animal Care and USDA guidelines. The initiative includes efforts to minimize the number of animals that would otherwise be used.

What is the economic impact of the initiative?

Conservatively speaking, the School of Medicine projects it will leverage the $105 million Lilly Endowment grant to generate an additional $243 million in research grants coming to the university. This figure comes from a formula used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to estimate the economic return of grant funding. In general, the NIH estimates the return of investment to be between 25 and 50 percent from its grants.

In addition, based on an analysis commissioned from Batelle Memorial Institute, IU anticipates that the initiative will create 500 basic genomic jobs—74 within the university, 127 in private sector biotechnology firms and nearly 300 throughout the rest of the state’s economy.

What makes up the Indiana Genomics Initiative?

There are six components, including:

Education

An essential element of a successful genomics program is the education of future physicians and scientists skilled in the technical, clinical and ethical issues surrounding the research. The university is creating the Indiana Genomics Scholars Program, which will recruit top undergraduate scholars into the graduate and combined-degree programs affiliated with the initiative.

Bioethics

The ethical, legal and social issues of genomics will be addressed by the IU Center for Bioethics. The center will address complex issues involved with genomics, such as confidentiality and integrity of patient information, and the ethical responsibilities of scientists and clinicians. The plan is to position the center as an international leader in genomics policy concerns.

Training

Increasingly complex technical skills will be required to develop this new area of science. The IU School of Medicine will develop a graduate certificate program designed to reinforce necessary new skills for the existing workforce and to train future biomedical researchers.

Genomics

IU already has a strong Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics. The initiative will give the university the added funding and incentive to further develop this department by adding top researchers and highly sophisticated equipment.

Bioinformatics

This is a new field spawned from molecular biology, physics, chemistry, information science and computer science. It provides the tools necessary to analyze computer-based genetic data.

Medical Informatics

Through its partnership with the Regenstrief Institute for Health Care, IU School of Medicine is an international leader in this area. The Regenstrief Medical Record System is a state-of-the-art electronic patient record system.

Will Indiana and Indianapolis governments be involved in this initiative?

This grant creates a wonderful opportunity for the city and state to become partners with the private sector in a win-win relationship that will maximize everyone’s investments in the state’s biological and technical research efforts. Indiana University has received several grants from the state’s 21st Century Research and Technology Fund. We believe that the Indiana Genomic Initiative will provide vast opportunities for Indiana to further invest in the future job market, economic development and a better-educated citizenry.