CNRGH (Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine)

The CNRGH is a national-level center whose mission is to provide high throughput genotyping and sequencing services with the objective of optimizing genetic and genomic research for human diseases.

It is a division of the CEA, within the newly-created François Jacob Institute of Biology. The CNRGH offers its expertise and capacities in data production, stocking and analysis to the scientific community for projects in medical genomics: autoimmune, cardiovascular and infectious diseases, psychiatric disorders, cancers (breast, prostate, kidney), and more. The center evaluates and integrates the most advanced technologies in genomics to maintain its world-scale competitiveness.

To achieve its missions and objectives, the CNRGH has deployed a number of integrated structures: a biobank for the management and preparation of a wide range of biological samples; a high-throughput sequencing facility for pangenomic studies; a medium-throughput facility for smaller studies; a technological development group to evaluate emerging technologies and ensure their transfer; epigenetics, functional genomics and bioinformatics laboratories; a biostatistics group; and finally a group for data quality control.

The CNRGH participates in national and European programs for both the development of technologies and the study of human diseases. It is also involved in many ambitious projects such as the decoding of the genetic causes of rare diseases, the study of the genetic bases of autism and Alzheimer’s disease, or the exploration of the genetic foundation of toxicity for certain breast cancer treatments.

The CNRGH also carries out its own research in functional genomics, focused particularly on the influence of the 3D structure of DNA and the development of an integrated approach to the human ecosystem via the study of microbiome/human genome interactions. The center also explores other innovative technologies, such as the search for blood-borne DNA fragments traceable to specific organs, which could serve as universal biomarkers.

Finally, the CNRGH has also committed to the production of genetic history data on the French population to provide the scientific community with a point of reference for projects in personalized medicine. Every year, the CNRGH teams undertake about 100 research projects and participate in the publication of the results in renowned international scientific journals.