They hope their work will lead to medical breakthroughs, including more effective treatments for disease and customized medicines based on an individual patient s specific genes. Magnuson could have gone to any university in the country. His decision to come to Chapel Hill is a testament to the University s commitment to excellence across disciplines. He was influenced by the exceptional science programs here, the careful planning of our needs and strategies and the collegial atmosphere of the entire research community. Magnuson cited several key factors in choosing Carolina the cooperative interdisciplinary environment, the strength of existing science programs, the plans for new facilities and the funding to develop and staff a new genetics center.
Private gifts enable or enhance all of the above, creating an atmosphere of opportunity.
If one wants to put together a university-wide center, it seems more likely to happen at UNC because of the culture. And I find that very exciting. Magnuson said Carolina already has an incredibly strong medical genetics program spread across obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and medicine. He said the University s cystic fibrosis center, the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the School of Public Health are all currently involved in genetics work important to Carolina s overall genomics program. Collins research teams have helped identify the genes responsible for diseases like cystic fibrosis, Huntington s disease and a type of adult leukemia.