Our mission

Most of our DNA (about 98%) doesn’t code for proteins, but it plays a critical role in controlling how our genes work. Many of the genetic changes linked to common diseases, and a large portion of unexplained rare disease cases, are found in these “noncoding” regions. Unfortunately, we still know very little about how these parts of the genome influence health because they are hard to map, study, and model.

Our new Center for Noncoding Disease Variants (NODIVA) aims to change this. We combine large patient cohorts, powerful computational tools, and cutting-edge experimental systems to pinpoint noncoding changes that may cause disease. Using advanced methods we’ve developed, we can now detect activity in these regions that was previously invisible and create precise models to understand their effects.

By building and sharing these models, and partnering with researchers across the country, we hope to transform how the scientific and medical communities study genetic disease. Ultimately, this work will help identify previously hidden causes of rare and common diseases and open the door to new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. This center was made possible from support of the NIH Office of the Director (U54OD039864).