The National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health has distinguished the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics in Baltimore as a center of excellence, issuing the institution a grant to study the ethical, legal and social implications of incorporating genomics in infectious disease research.
The grant consists of more than $4 million in funding for over four years. Only seven other institutions nationwide have been distinguished as centers of excellence for this particular field of research.
Gail Geller, ScD, of the Berman Institute said, "Recent research has suggested that a person's genes can play a significant role in the susceptibility to infection, its severity and transmissibility, and the response to treatment...Johns Hopkins is uniquely suited to examine the ethical, legal, social and policy issues at the intersection of genomics and infectious disease, with a deep bench of global leaders in all of the relevant disciplines."
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