What is Genomics?

An organism's organizing and generative principles

Genomics is the study of how an organism’s complete genome is regulated. After a blueprint of the human genome was completed in 2001 by the International Human Genome Project, the field of genomics and the study of genomes of related organisms became widely recognized as the key to understanding mysteries in everything from early development to disease progression.

Genomics quickly developed around a set of new biological approaches and analytical tools such as high density microarrays, bioinformatics and mass spectrometry-based proteomics. These technical advances transformed research in the life sciences. They permit the rapid sequencing of genomes, the identification and quantification of transcribed genes, and the identification of signature protein domains – all with a speed and on a scale that quickly revolutionized biological and medical research.

The cornerstone of biological and medical sciences

Genomics is emerging as the scientific cornerstone of biological and medical sciences, one that combines experimental and computational approaches to determine gene, pathway and organismal function. Its goal is to promote the understanding of biology, including development and normal physiology, as well as disease.

While many view genomics as a set of tools, the science of genomics encompasses much more than large-scale genome sequencing and mapping. Genomics is transforming one-gene-at-a-time experimental biology approaches to whole genome study of biology. Today, in addition to the associated technologies that allow scientists to measure and see things that were previously ignored, genomics encompasses a wide variety of scientific approaches that incorporates both the generation, synthesis and critical analysis of large data sets.

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