UCSF Will Make $.7.2 Million Available To Pursue Precision Medicine

UC San Francisco, which is pushing to increase initiatives in precision medicine, has announced up to $7.2 million in grants for new pursuits in that area.

            The money, which is being provided by the state of California, will fund up to six different projects. Any public, private academic or non-profit institution operating within the state is eligible.

            Prior state funding to strengthen precision medicine -- primarily the use of genomic testing to assist in the treatment of cancer and other diseases -- had been restricted to University of California campuses and investigations. Those two projects are focused on improving care for pediatric cancer patients who did not respond to traditional therapies, and using genetic sequencing to diagnose patients with life-threatening infections who did not respond to antibiotics or other forms of treatment.

“There is an incredible opportunity here to foster strong collaborations between innovators from all sectors, collaborations that will accelerate the achievement of our vision for improving health and healthcare by better understanding each person’s unique circumstances,” said Atul Butte, M.D., director of the UCSF Institute for Computational Health Sciences and heading the precision medicine initiative. “There is so much potential in this state, and I can’t wait to see the proposals we expect to receive in response to the request we just released.”