The HVP concept was conceived by
Richard Cotton, a leader in the field of
human genetic variation. His group, the
Genomic Disorders Research Centre, based at the
University of Melbourne and
St. Vincent's Hospital, has established a consortium that covers genomic variation and its health implications in a comprehensive form. This consortium has encouraged the creation and supported many of the 571 gene specific
variation databases currently available on the
internet. However, these databases are of varying completeness and individualistic, so the Human Variome Project was born to establish a central project to encourage the collection and sourcing of this data, verifying it and ultimately using it for improved health outcomes. Geneticists, diagnosticians, researchers and bioinformatics scientists came together in June 2006 at the Human Variome Project Meeting, organized by Cotton’s team, and agreed to take on the task of organising data collection and unifying the systems of data access and storage. This initiative builds on substantial pilot work and achievements of the
Human Genome Variation Society. The authority of those initiating this project is evidenced by the fact that major international bodies were present. These included
WHO,
OECD,
European Commission,
UNESCO,
March of Dimes (US),
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US),
Google, representatives of two dozen international genetics bodies, numerous genetics journals, 20 countries and
Australian
State and
Federal Governments. This major international project, a natural partner to the
Human Genome Project, will require substantial funding to get it to a sustainable position. A five-year secure budget period of approximately US$12m per year has been proposed to initiate the project. This will enable the project to be organized and find operational funds for the tasks of
system development,
informatics,
database curation and clinical access as well as collection systems that are open and accessible to all. The Human Variome Project seeks to provide open access to the full realm of
genetic variation for the benefit of everyone. The
Centre for Arab Genomic Studies (CAGS) has initiated efforts to proceed with the Arab Human Variome Project under the Human Variome Project. CAGS was one of the participants of the HVP meeting in Melbourne. Since then, several meetings have been held between officials of HVP and CAGS members to discuss the nature of work involved. ==See also==