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In association with the Wellcome Trust, we are pleased to announce the second Genomics of Common Diseases conference to be held September 6–9, 2008, in Cambridge, MA, USA.
Colleen McBride and colleagues argue that progress on a multifaceted research agenda is necessary to reap the full benefits and avoid the potential pitfalls of the emerging area of personalized genomics. They also outline one element of this agenda, the Multiplex Initiative, which has been underway since 2006.
Findings of an excess of de novo structural variants in cases of autism and schizophrenia have raised hopes that neuropsychiatric conditions may yet prove genetically tractable. Past experience suggests that success in finding causative variants will require exceptional rigor and caution.
The usefulness of the rat as a genetic model of complex traits and disease is increasing, with the development of a number of genome-wide resources enabling high-resolution genetic analysis. This special focus on rat genetics surveys the landscape and highlights the range of discoveries that are now possible.
Despite a reputation for impenetrable bureaucracy, the European Union has in place two relatively elegant funding mechanisms for the critical transitions of a scientist's career: for the PhD moving into postdoctoral research, and for outstanding researchers launching their first independent research programs.