ENCODE Compiles Parts List for Human Genome

Project ENCODE has an ambitious mission: to build a comprehensive parts list of the human genome by identifying and precisely locating all functional elements in the human DNA sequence.

ENCODE stands for the ENCyclopedia Of DNA Elements. The project is projected to cost $36 million over three years. Teams of scientists from all over the world in government, industry, and academia are working to gather data.

The information generated from the ENCODE project will be collected and stored in a database that will be freely available to all scientists.

Dr. George Stamatoyannopoulos, UW professor of genome sciences and medicine, has received a $2.3 million grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute for his involvement in the international effort. The group he leads will receive a total of $6.9 million over three years. The group will study the large-scale application of existing technologies for determining functional elements of human DNA.