Otago Uni genomics alliance gets up to $35 million

Science and Innovation Minister Paul Goldsmith. Photo / Duncan Brown

The Government has announced it will invest up to $35 million in a University of Otago-led genomics alliance.

Science and Innovation Minister Paul Goldsmith this afternoon announced the investment in Genomics Aotearoa, a new collaborative science organisation supporting advanced genomics research.

"Genomics is a fast-moving, data intensive research field that underpins a wide range of science that is increasingly important to New Zealand," Mr Goldsmith said.

Led by the Otago University, Genomics Aotearoa is an alliance between the Universities of Auckland and Massey, Crown Research Institutes AgReserach, ESR, Landcare Research, and Plant and Food, and 32 associate organisations including researchers and end users of genomics and bioinformatics.

"This new collaborative platform presents a major opportunity for New Zealand to be at the forefront of genomics.

"From health research to the primary sector and our environment, there are considerable social and economic gains on offer.

"The new platform will accelerate genomics research in New Zealand, and thereby speed up our understanding of diseases like Kauri dieback, how to counter pest animal species, and develop new medical treatments for diseases such as cancer," Mr Goldsmith said.

The funding will come from the Government's strategic science investment fund and followed a competitive two-stage application and assessment process managed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

"Genomics Aotearoa presented a strong proposal that was comprehensive in scope and ambition, and seeks to cement national collaboration between genomic researchers and end-users across all life sciences of relevance to New Zealand's economic, environmental and social wellbeing.

Otago University's Professor Peter Dearden says he is excited by the opportunity to lead this important new initiative.

"Genomics Aotearoa will be a collaborative research system that significantly upskills us in the application of genomics and bioinformatics through acquiring new techniques from overseas, developing new and novel methods and maintaining best practice.''

What is genomics?

Genomics involves data-intensive computing to decode the DNA of plants, animals, and humans to understand how groups of genes interact with each other and the external environment.

It is not genetic modification, which is the direct manipulation of an organism's genome.

- Otago Daily Times