DNA donated by Personal Genome Project participants may be chosen by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to become reference materials for new human genome sequencing standards!
NIST's "Genome in a Bottle" consortium convened in August to initiate the establishment of a human genome standard. This "meter stick of the genome" will serve as an international reference for identifying variation across individual genomes, and be used to establish professional standards for clinical human genome sequencing. Specimens donated by PGP volunteers are viewed as ideal candidates to serve as these new reference standards due to the depth and availability of public PGP datasets as well as the strength of the consent process used in the Harvard PGP study.
Nothing has been finalized yet, but this may become an exciting opportunity for our participants to contribute to an effort to standardize a new and rapidly-evolving field of genomics and personalized medicine. The program is specifically interested in the participation of parent-child trios (including both parents and one or more offspring).