School Notes: School of Medicine
November/December 2019

DNA sequencing project launches

At a kickoff ceremony at Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, the medical school and Yale New Haven Health System officially launched Generations, one of the largest DNA sequencing projects of its kind in the United States. Their aim is to enroll more than 100,000 volunteers from across Connecticut and beyond, whose DNA obtained from blood samples will then be analyzed by Yale scientists to develop useful data for predicting, preventing, and treating numerous gene-related conditions. As genetic trends related to specific diseases are found, Yale clinicians will put their findings into practice for patients treated by Yale Medicine and Yale New Haven Health System, including—potentially—the study volunteers themselves.

School of Medicine designated Parkinson’s research center

The Parkinson’s Foundation has designated Yale School of Medicine as one of four foundation research centers. The Parkinson’s Foundation awards each center $2 million over five years “to drive innovative research developments and advance Parkinson’s disease (PD) research towards a cure.” The other newly designated centers are Columbia University Irving Medical Center, the University of Florida in collaboration with Emory University, and the University of Michigan in collaboration with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Grant recipients were chosen based on the novelty of their research, their ability to address unmet needs in PD research, the synergy of their team members, and the program’s potential to drive innovative change.