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These guidelines have now been published on the HVP website.
We encourage all memebers to:
1. Circulate it to their colleagues and students
2. Post on their web-site
3. Suggest the guide be used as a basis for discussion at up-coming meetings
This paper is the result of the work of many HVP members and we thank them very much – in particular the authors, Mauno Vihinen and John Hancock
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For those of you who were unable to attend the Symposium held for Sue Povey on Friday 12th July, please see the following link:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/news/2019/jul/sue-povey-memorial-symposium
Within the article, you will find a collection of photos of the event as well as a copy of the ‘slide show’ of Sue that was shown throughout the day.
Sue was a great friend and supporter of the Human Variome Project. She will be dearly missed.
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Click here to view the paper
We encourage all members to:
1. Circulate it to their colleagues and students
2. Post on their web-site
3. Suggest the guide be used as a basis for discussion at up-coming national meetings and local workshops
The paper has also appeared online at Human Mutation. PDF not available here as of yet.
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HVP will offer several important sessions at HuGO 2018 in Yokohama. The speakers have been selected to profile what is currently happening in international variant information sharing, with emphasis on projects which are making great strides in resolving the practical issues in order to accelerate progress in all parts of the world. Different aspects have been highlighted including: the need for standardized approaches to describe and share variants; the practical case for sharing global knowledge - BRCA Exchange – is explained together with further local examples; the case for equitable use of genomics in clinical practice and the implications for ensuring knowledge of the context of diverse populations; how an approach to haemoglobinopathies can provide an example for promoting the use of genomic techniques in low and middle income countries for better health outcomes; and how the BRCA Exchange is helping to highlight the need for better quality genomic variant databases required for improved interpretation.
See program of HVP sessions below...
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Dear All
Firstly, I would like to take the opportunity to thank all HVP members for their contributions over the course of 2017. It has been a big year for us. As you know, it has been just over a year since I took over as Chair of the GV Board and during that time, there has been a lot of activity. We have seen open and transparent data sharing take off internationally, with substantially more interest in the core business of areas of HVP.
In particular, I would like to acknowledge the members of the various Councils of HVP – International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC), Gene/Disease Specific Database Advisory Council (G/DSDBAC) and International Confederation of Countries Advisory Council (ICCAC). Together with the Global Variome Board, these individuals make a valuable contribution to the work of HVP. Our achievements are the result of the work done by many of you who are based in research institutes, academic bodies, laboratories and the like. Linking up our activities and learning from each other underpins the progress of HVP.
Discussions are continuing to align the LOVD databases, run by Johan den Dunnen, with the data centre under construction to support Genomics England. Johan has been very active leading our outreach and educational programmes. Activities this year have included the very successful academic meeting in Santiago de Compostela, a 3Gb training course in Mexico City and a well-supported Variant Interpretation training meeting in Prague. In 2018, we will seek to align our programme with the activities of the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) and organise another Variant Interpretation meeting in the East, possibly taking advantage of the Newcastle Medical Faculty facilities in southern Malaysia, adjacent to the Singapore border, offering excellent international travel links.
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Following the tragic death of Dick Cotton, it was decided to restructure the organisation of the Human Variome Project to better prepare it for the rapidly evolving world of Genomic Medicine. Before stepping down as Chairman of the Board, Chris Arnold steered the process whereby the existing Australian corporate entity responsible for HVP, known as HVP International, was closed down and a UK application moved the HVP into a new organisation called Global Variome. This is a not-for-profit entity using the same structure as HVPI with an international Board comprising of myself, Garry Cutting, Mike Watson, Raj Ramesar, Johan Den Dunnen, Zilfalil Bin Alwi, Ingrid Winship and Julia Hasler. Julia brings expertise relating to the operation of UNESCO having worked there for many years. UNESCO has recognised Global Variome; with its new administrative base at the International Centre for Life in Newcastle and as the official body responsible for the HVP. With considerable support from Tim Smith who spent a few months here on sabbatical and my assistant Amy McAllister, with whom many of you will now have interacted, we have opened a bank account, engaged accountants and successfully achieved charitable status for the new organisation.
The decision to adopt the new name was, in part, influenced by the emergence of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health with which we collaborate in advancing the BRCA Challenge. The advent of high volume whole genome sequencing around the world means that the majority of variants will be future identified in a diagnostic setting using high throughput sequencing devices. GA4GH is a response to this new world and its aims significantly overlap those of HVP. After a period of consultation, the GA4GH has shifted its focus to emphasise the computational and technical aspects of genomics; including the ethical dimension and the interplay of confidentiality and data security. Rather than try to replicate what will become a well-resourced international effort, we need to see how we can complement their efforts and become a partner in the task of making genomics work for the whole world.
The emphasis of HVP on locally managed databases and the need for country nodes which interact at the international level remains highly relevant and can be the unique contribution of our organisation. Along with our close partners in HGVS, we can also contribute the important task of making it possible for all health systems to benefit from genomic knowledge using a consistent and comprehensible language. The efforts of Johan Den Dunnen to build and develop LOVD has been pivotal and we will seek to bring the curation of LOVD closer to Global Variome, while also promoting an educational programme to help clinicians and clinical scientists make best use of their data and share their knowledge. In addition to our help with the new website (www.BRCAexchange.org) we will continue to develop our interaction and promote other disease focused databases, particularly the InSiGHT database built around the genes responsible for hereditary colorectal cancer.
Our involvement across Low and Middle Income Countries (LIMCs) has prompted the development of Global Globin 2020, with a focus on better care for people with the inherited haemolytic anaemias such as sickle cell disease and thalassaemia. Exciting progress on this front, supported by Helen Robinson, will be the subject of our next post together with details of the HVP meeting alongside HUGO in Yokohama, Japan next March.
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