Scientists to identify Bulgaria's collective genetic blueprint

The project involves extensive sequencing of DNA isolated from blood samples to identify all variations.

In the first phase, one thousand healthy Bulgarian adults will be tested. "The Bulgarian Genome Initiative is part of a large-scale European project in which each country will submit a reference genome typical of its population.

"This is a chance for each of us to contribute to the health of our children, to our future as a nation, because donating our genetic data will help the development of medicine," said prof. Radka Kaneva, project leader. The samples will be used for research on genetic diseases, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases.

The Bulgarian project team includes scientists from the Medical Universities of Sofia and Plovdiv. The Molecular Medicine Centre (MMC) at the Medical University - Sofia will carry out the genome reading, data processing and storage under guaranteed confidentiality.