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An Overview of the Human Genome Project

How NHGRI Managed the Human Genome Project

NHGRI was created in 1989 to manage the role of NIH in the HGP and funded research in a variety of areas related to the project.

The Division of Extramural Research (DER) for NHGRI supported and managed the role of NIH in the HGP, set the scientific priorities for HGP research and supervised the peer-reviewed research projects that addressed those research efforts. The extramural research community and the NHGRI National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research (NACHGR) advise the DER. Major areas of genome-related research overseen by the DER include: the development of technologies used in gene sequencing and mapping; the analysis of the functions of the genes and the proteins for which most genes code; computer technologies for managing and disseminating the enormous amounts of data generated by the HGP; determination of the crucial differences in the genetic makeup of individual human beings from each other; and examination of the ethical, legal and social implications of genetic research.

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Last Reviewed: December 13, 2011