The January 2006 issue of Nature Genetics features a commentary from the HuGENet™ network of networks inititative on developing a road map for capturing and updating emerging information on the association between genetic variation and common diseases.

• Read the Article

A new HuGE Review has been posted on the HuGENet™ website since the last issue of ‘What's New': “EPHX1 Polymorphisms and the Risk of Lung Cancer: A HuGE Review” by Chikako Kiyohara et al. from Kyushu University in Japan. This review will be simultaneously published in the January issue of Epidemiology.

• EPHX1 Polymorphisms and the Risk of Lung Cancer: A HuGE Review

Four HuGE Reviews were proposed in December:

• Joint effects of NAT1, NAT2 genes and smoking on bladder carcinogenesis: a literature-based systematic review and evidence synthesis for HuGENet.
  Simon Sanderson, Julian Higgins, and Georgia Salanti (University of Cambridge, UK)

• Variants in genes involved in sex hormone biosynthesis and their association with two outcomes: circulating hormone levels and risk of endometrial cancer
  Sara H. Olson (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center)

• A meta-analytic review of the association between MTHFR polymorphisms, and depression
  Simon Gilbody (University of York, UK)

• A systematic review of association studies of osteoarthritis
  Alex MacGregor (University of East Anglia, UK)
  

· Guidelines for Submitting HuGE Reviews
· List of Completed HuGE Reviews
· List of HuGE Review Topics under Development

Funding Opportunities for Population-based Research Projects From the National Institutes of Health

The HuGENet™ staff has compiled a list of funding opportunities for population-based research on the prevalence of human genetic variation, the association between genetic variants and human diseases, gene-gene or gene-environment interaction, or the evaluation of genetic tests for screening and prevention.  Items are pulled from the National Institutes of Health Office of Extramural Research.  Additional information and application details can be found by clicking on the respective links.  New program announcements or requests for applications will be posted in future issues of the “What's New?” as they become available.

New listings:

• PA-06-094: NLM Research Grants in Biomedical Informatics and Bioinformatics (R01)
  Application Receipt Date(s): Multiple dates, see announcement

• PA-03-175: FINE MAPPING GENES AND GENE VARIANTS FOR DRUG ADDICTION SUSCEPTIBILITY
  Expiration Date: January 21, 2006, unless reissued.
  Application Receipt Date(s): Applications submitted in response to this program announcement will be accepted at the standard application deadlines.

As of January 1, 2006, the HuGENet™ website contains:

• 41 HuGE Reviews
• 13 HuGE Fact Sheets
• 67 e-Journal Club entries
• 5 HuGE Case Studies
• 13 genes in the Genotype Prevalence Database
• 19,537 research studies indexed in the HuGE Published Literature database, referencing 2,095 genes, 703 factors (personal or environmental), and 2,198 health outcomes/diseases.  Both epidemiologic studies and review articles can be found in the database which includes 210 meta-analyses and 79 pooled analyses.  Note: The count of health outcomes indexed in the database is based on a query that groups similar outcomes according to ICD-9 codes.  This figure is different from the total numbers of records listed in the Genomics and Disease Prevention Information system (GDPInfo) portal Health Topics A-Z. 

Search for specific HuGENet™ content using the Advanced Search feature in the GDPInfo query tool.

Provides link to non-governmental sites and does not necessarily represent the views of the  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.