November 30, 2005

UCSD Gathers World Experts to
Salute a Decade of Genome Sequencing

By Debra Kain

“Celebrating a Decade of Genome Sequencing,” a one-day symposium featuring talks by leaders in the field of genomics from around the world, will be held at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) on Tuesday, December 6, 2005.

The symposium, sponsored by the UCSD School of Medicine, UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the UCSD Division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2), the J. Craig Venter Institute, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Price Center Ballroom on UCSD’s campus in La Jolla.

The program will feature talks by world-renowned scientists including J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., and Nobel Laureates Hamilton Smith, Ph.D. from the J. Craig Venter Institute and Sydney Brenner, Ph.D., of The Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Joined by many other influential scientists who play key roles in shaping the field of genomics, they will share their thoughts on past and present achievements. The primary focus of the symposium will be on future opportunities and challenges in this dynamic field.

“It has been only ten years since scientists began sequencing the simplest genomes,” said Jack Dixon, Ph.D., Dean of Scientific Affairs for the School of Medicine and Professor of Pharmacology at UCSD, who will chair the morning’s sessions. “No one would have thought that the world of science would move this far, this fast. The impact of genome sequencing on physicians and scientists is just beginning to change the face of medicine and change our lives. The question now is, where do we go with all of this information?”

Dixon added that the speakers at the December 6 symposium represent “wizards” in genomic sequencing, whose expertise ranges from evolution to bacterial pathogens. Leading research institutions including UCSD, UC-Berkeley, UC-San Francisco, Stanford University, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Germany’s Max-Planck-Institute and Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology will be represented at the podium, and more than 700 scientists are expected to attend.

More information on the symposium, including details of the day’s agenda and biographies of the 14 participating speakers can be found at http://pkr.sdsc.edu/venter.

Media contact:  Debra Kain, 619 543-6163