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The study, the first of its kind in the region, seeks to discover presently unknown genes that elevate a person's risk of cancer and other complex diseases, to understand why people often respond differently to treatments, and to explore how the resulting information can best be viewed and utilized by participants and their physicians in a secure, user-friendly, web-based system. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about their risks for medically actionable conditions, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. All that is required from participants is a small saliva sample.
"Our partnership with Cooper is an important step in building a bridge from science to medicine as it will facilitate the necessary education of the medical community about genome-informed medicine," said Coriell President and CEO Michael F. Christman, Ph.D. "It is also of great importance for our scientists to learn from Cooper physicians to determine best practices for using genome information in clinical care. Our hope is that physicians will be able to review a patient's personal genome profile to determine his or her risk for disease and the most effective treatment course, including responsiveness to specific drugs."
Cooper and Coriell are planning to enroll 2,000 Cooper employees and their family members. There is no charge to participants in the DVPMP while current for-profit genome profiling companies charge between $1,000 and $2,500. In contrast to these for-profit companies, the DVPMP seeks to understand how genome information can be used in clinical decision making. Coriell's study aims to enroll 10,000 participants in the first three years with an ultimate goal of 100,000 individuals. Partnerships with Cooper University Hospital, Fox Chase Cancer Center and Virtua Health will help accomplish this goal.
Participants in the DVPMP will control all access to their personal genetic profile. Participants can decide if and when they wish to share their profiles with their personal physicians to identify preventative measures and treatments that would best benefit them.
own endowment.
"The Delaware Valley Personalized Medicine Project is pivotal research that could literally change the way health care is delivered in this country and ultimately the world," said George E. Norcross, III, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Cooper. "We are proud to join with the Coriell Institute in this very important undertaking."
"This is an exciting opportunity for our employees to participate in the advancement of medicine and simultaneously receive valuable personal genetic information that can improve their health and prolong their lives," said John P. Sheridan, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer at Cooper. "New scientific discoveries related to genetic make-up are expected to increase exponentially in years ahead and participants will receive periodic updates of medically actionable information."
An Informed Cohort Oversight Board, chaired by National Academy of Sciences member Dr. Erin O'Shea, of Harvard University, will determine which genetic risk factors are deemed medically actionable and therefore, are provided to participants and their physicians for use in clinical decision making. Funding for the initiative, of which $5 million is already committed, comes from the William G. Rohrer Foundation, the William T. Read Legacy Fund, Mrs. Eleanor Read, the Daniel J. Ragone Family Foundation and Coriell's own endowment.
About Cooper University Hospital
Cooper University Hospital, the flagship of The Cooper Health System, is the premier university hospital serving South Jersey and the Delaware Valley. As the core clinical campus for the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Camden, Cooper is a national leader in medical education and research. With its comprehensive services and cutting-edge technology, the hospital is renowned for its prestigious Centers of Excellence in cardiology, cancer, critical care, trauma, orthopaedics and neurology. The area's top nurses, doctors and services have earned Cooper the Consumer Choice award three consecutive years by the National Research Corporation. Cooper has embarked on a $500 million expansion of its Camden Health Care Campus. The new $220 million Pavilion will open in the fall of 2008. In addition, a new Academic and Research Building for the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a new Cancer Center are expected to commence construction within the next year. Cooper also opened its new facilities for the Cooper Digestive Health Institute in Mount Laurel in February, and its expanded outpatient center in Voorhees this September. When Cooper opens its new Cyberknife facility in June of this year, it will be one of only three hospitals in the United States to possess both the Leksell Gamma Knife PrefexionTM and the Cyberknife technology.
About Coriell Institute
The Coriell Institute for Medical Research is an internationally known, non-profit, biomedical research institution headquartered in Camden, NJ. Founded in 1953, the Institute conducts research on cancer, human genetic variation, mechanisms of cellular differentiation, and other genetic disorders. Coriell is the world's leading biobank resource for human cells and recently established a state of the art genotyping and microarray center. The Delaware Valley Personalized Medicine Project was initiated by Coriell's new President and CEO, Dr. Michael Christman, and is a major focus of the Institute. Visit coriell.org for more information.
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