Home genetics startup 23andMe has secured a $1.4 million two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build survey tools and expand its gene database.
With these funds from NIH, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the company intends to use its stores of genetic data for various research projects. External researchers will be able to access information on thousands of diseases and traits for more than 400,000 people.
The grant “enables researchers from around the world to make genetic discoveries,” Anne Wojcicki, chief executive officer of 23andMe, said in a statement.
Share this article
23andMe, which is backed by Google Inc., has not always played well with the federal government. Late last year, it hit a major regulatory snag when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expressed concerns about the “public health consequences of inaccurate results” from 23andMe’s $99 DNA test.
Read the full, original story: 23andMe lands $1.4 million grant from NIH to detect genetic roots for diseases
