Institution and Mission

The Center for Genome Research was instituted in 2008 to brings together the competencies and skills, in genomics of researchers from four departments of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, Surgical, Medical and Dental Department of Morphological Sciences related to Transplant, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine, and Department of Life Sciences). 

The proposal arose in line with what defined in the university development plan and in the research programs approved by departments. The aim is to promote the improvement of either basic and applied research and the spreading of the results between academic contexts and both public and private research corporations. Meanwhile, this center will contribute to the researcher’s training in the use of peculiar scientific instrumentation and in the application of new technologies. It is also aimed to promote the integration among different research activities, in particular focusing on collaboration among the various scientific structures of the same university or belonging to other universities, research corporations or the entrepreneurial world.

Finally, the existence in our university of consolidated and excellent specific competencies concerning the field of the proposed research, together with the simultaneous lack of centers with similar qualifications and purposes, brought to this proposal.

So this centre will rise with such specific missions:

  • Promote and achieve highly specialized studies involving genomics, transcriptomics, animal and vegetal epigenetics.
  • Apply innovative technologies to the study of structural and functional genomics for the purposes of biology, biotechnology, medicine, pharmacology, microbiology and agricultural science.
  • Promote and coordinate the bioinformatics applied to massive genomes studies.
  • Promote technologic advancements in genomics.
  • Develop both applied and basic research projects, in order to further acquire funds for the centre.
  • Promote and coordinate Systems Biology studies.
  • Improve researchers training in advanced genomics.
  • Coordinate the synergic initiatives within the centre and among the main didactic, organizational and research structures of the university.
  • Increase the diffusion and a national and international discussion on the obtained results.
  • Offer technological consultations and services.
  • Develop accreditated microbial collections connected to international circuits and suited for industrial or agro-alimentary necessities.
  • Promote agreements with public and private corporations basing on the centre specific competencies.
  • Develop partnership and start-up initiatives to achieve application and technology transfer of the centre researches.
  • Promote academic and post-academic multidisciplinary formation on genome in biotechnology, medicine, biology, microbiology, agricultural science and pharmaceutics.
  • Promote development and application of innovative technologies to studies of structural and functional genomics in evolutionistic and environmental biology.
  • Promote researchers training on DNA and chromatin modifications analysis and on DNA-proteins interactions studies.