Professor Cotton and his team at the Genomic Disorders Research Centre was charged at the inaugural 2006 Biennial Meeting Report to lead the project and establish the Human Variome Project Coordinating Centre as an independently incorporated and sustainable hub for the Human Variome Project.

The Genomic Disorders Research Centre was initiated to study human gene mutation. Established in 1996 the Centre was the first organisation in the world to focus exclusively on gene mutation. During the past 10 years the Centre has made several discoveries around new mutation detection technologies. The Centre runs International and Australasian Mutation Detection Workshops (http://www.mutationdetection.org/), initiated the HUGO-MDI (now Human Genome Variation Society – HGVS) and the Human Variome Project. The Centre also acts as the secretariat for HGVS and an Editorial Office for Human Mutation.

In 2010, the Genomic Disorders Research Centre changed its name to Human Variome Project International Ltd. to better reflect its new role as the International Coordinating Office.

The Coordinating Office manages the day–to–day operations of the Human Variome Project.

The Coordinating Office is responsible for:

• facilitating, managing and coordinating communication between the various HVP Working Groups, the Advisory Councils and Scientific Advisory Committee; tracking the progress of the Human Variome Project;
• facilitating the elections of the Scientific Advisory Committee and Councils;
• disseminating standards and guidelines developed by the HVP Working Groups;
• providing administrative support to the Board of Directors; providing administrative support to the Scientific Advisory Committee and Councils;
• assisting the HVP Working Groups to achieve their goals;
• educating the field on resources (tools, websites, data bases, funding sources) available;
• communicating progress to both the scientific and lay communities;
• organising the Human Variome Project biennial meetings and Fora series; and
• educating the public on the importance of understanding genetic variation.

Staff

Professor Richard Cotton AM (Scientific Director)

BAgSc PhD DSc (Melb)

Heather Howard (Operations Manager)

Fan Li (Liaison Officer - China)

BMed (Beijing) PhD (Melb) Dip Business and Biotech (RMIT)

Timothy D. Smith (Communications Officer)

BSc (Hons) (Melb)

Rania Horaitis (Conference and Events Officer)

BSc (La Trobe)

Alfreda Soetopo (Personal Assistant to the Director/Research Assistant)

BBiomedSci (Melb) PGradDipSc (Biotech) (Swinburne)

Asha Herten (Administrative Assistant)

Alex Kline (Administrative Assistant)

BA/BSc (Melb)

Consultants

Helen Robinson (Liaison - World Health Organisation)

BA B.Sc(Hons) MA MSc MPhil

Professor John Coghlan AO (Liaison – HVP Australian Node)

PhD (Melb)

Professor Finlay Macrae (Liaison – Gene/Disease Specific Databases)