Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Selects Affymetrix SNP Array 6.0 for Whole-genome Association Studies

Affymetrix Inc. has announced that the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will use the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 for a series of whole-genome association studies.

Researchers at the Children's Hospital are extending their collaborations to investigators who have preference for the Affymetrix genotyping platform to identify the genes responsible for complex medical disorders, such as cardiovascular, metabolic and central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The results of these studies will enable scientists from around the world to develop more effective, personalized treatments.

The research team at Children's Hospital will use the Affymetrix technology to conduct whole-genome association studies on DNA samples from 7,000 individuals in these early studies.

The Affymetrix SNP Array 6.0 is a single microarray that simultaneously measures more than 1.8 million markers for genetic variation. The array can enable researchers to perform the powerful whole-genome association and copy number studies ever by genotyping more markers across more individuals. These higher-powered studies increase the probability of discovering genes associated with adverse drug response or complex diseases.

"The increased genetic coverage, expanded content and affordability of the Affymetrix SNP Array 6.0 enables us to perform highly powered association and copy number studies, which will provide us with a better understanding of the role of genes and genetic variants in complex diseases," said Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Applied Genomics at Children's Hospital.

"The results from these projects will open the door to new genetic studies and help us extend current collaborations with other investigators around the world," Hakonarson added.

"For more than 150 years, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has made numerous discoveries and innovations that have improved pediatric medicine and helped save lives," said Kevin King, president of life sciences business and executive vice president at Affymetrix.

He continued, "Because of its superior performance, the Affymetrix SNP Array 6.0 is quickly becoming the gold-standard tool for these types of large-scale, whole-genome association studies."