High-Profile research fort he Austrian Research Center for Molecular Medicine
Christine Mannhalter_© MedUniWienChristine Mannhalter, Professor of Molecular Diagnostics at the Medical University of Vienna and until recently interim president of the Austrian Science Fund is now Head of Genom Austria at the CeMM, a member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
The citizen science project of CeMM and the Medical University of Vienna has been launched in November 2014 and aims to explore the scientific, educational, philosophical, ethical, and social implications of personal genome sequencing. For this purpose Genom Austria is inviting volunteers to analyze their personal genomes and share the data with the public.
More than 800 volunteers
More than 800 volunteers have registered in the pilot phase, 20 of them were randomly selected and invited, and 11 genomes have already been published online. To raise awareness for the possibilities and consequences of genome sequencing Genom Austria organized several school and video workshops, as well as a teacher training program and public lectures and discussion rounds. Genom Austria is under the patronage of Margit Fischer (wife of the former Austrian President Heinz Fischer) and a partner in the international network of the Personal Genome Projects.
