NGI 2002 - 2008

 

2008



  • NGI enters its second phase and is granted funds mounting to
    € 280 million by the Dutch government. Sixteen Genomics Centres receive valorisation funding. Five new Genomics Centres have joined the group.
  • Dr Colja Laane is appointed director. He will lead the implementation of the NGI Business Plan 2008-2012. Mr Laane succeeds Diederik Zijderveld.
  • NGI shifts its focus to valorisation. The NGI Valorisation Award
    of € 1 million is won by a consortium of five NGI Centres in the city of Leiden.
  • The first edition of the NGI Venture Challenge takes place, stimulating entrepreneurship with scientists.
  • NGI establishes the Valorisation Advisory Board, a multinational board of leading scientists that help NGI valorise scientific results.

 

2007

 

  • Business Plan 2008 - 2012 is approved by Dutch government, NGI is granted funds amounting to € 271 million for its second phase
  • Two new consortiums are established as part of the Business Plan: Netherlands Consortium for Systems Biology and Forensic Genomics Consortium Netherlands
  • NGI research news has attracts general media attention with headlines in the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune
  • NGI, TNO and the Chinese Academy of Sciences sign Memorandum of Understanding on start of a joint research centre: The Sino-Dutch Centre for Preventive and Personalised Medicine

 

2006

 

  • Extensive consultation round with universities, industry, societal organisations and government departments results in NGI’s Strategic Plan 2008-2012
  • International Science Review of NGI Genomics Centres leads to very positive conclusions: all Centres score ‘very good, internationally prominent’ to ‘excellent, globally leading’
  • Valorisation Review provides useful leads for follow-up valorisation strategy
  • NGI initiates Netherlands Metabolomics Centre (NMC)
  • NGI and NWO set up BioGeneration Ventures to support start-up companies in bridging the present ‘equity gap’

 

2005

 

  • Mid-term review of NGI generates positive result
  • Conclusions and recommendations of the mid-term review are used to produce a Vision 2008 - 2012
  • Five new projects honoured by IOP Genomics
  • Three Innovative Genomics Clusters funded; two on toxicogenomics and one on milk genomics

 

2004

 

  • First results from NGI consortia are emerging (including patent applications, applications in the clinic and spin-off companies)
  • Website www.watisgenomics.nl (in Dutch) is launched; aimed at informing the general public on genomics
  • Start Centre for Society and Genomics  
  • GenomiX magazine is distributed amongst 700.000 high-school students aged 12 - 14: response is very positive
  • First-ever international conference on “Genomics and Alternatives to Animal Use” takes place in Maastricht, The Netherlands
  • Start Netherlands Toxicogenomics Centre (NTC)
  • IOP Genomics receives positive evaluation and enters second phase
  • Start international Potato Genomics Sequencing Consortium (PGSC) by NGI and Wageningen University and Research Centre
  • The preparatory NORSAGE project is successful; full ERA-net proposal is honoured. Start ERA SAGE

 

2003

 

  • € 86 million Bsik funding awarded to two Technology Centres; Netherlands Bioinformatics Centre (NBIC) and Netherlands Proteomics Centre (NPC) and four Innovative Clusters; Celiac Disease Consortium (CDC), Ecogenomics Consortium, Nutrigenomics Consortium and VIRGO
  • Start Horizon programme to stimulate young researchers and ‘wild’ ideas, first call generates 125 proposals of which 13 are honoured
  • Start GeNeYouS; Genomics Network for Young Scientists
  • Start Fellowship programme
  • Two NGI -coordinated European initiatives (ERA-net) are selected by the European Commission: ERA PG (Plant Genomics) and ERA NORSAGE (Societal Aspects of Genomics) 
  • Six proposals honoured by IOP Genomics

 

2002

 

  • NGI is established as an independent taskforce to set up a world-class genomics infrastructure (Budget € 195 million)
  • International panels of experts select four Genomics Centres of Excellence: Cancer Genomics Centre (CGC), Centre for BioSystems Genomics (CBSG), Centre for Medical Systems Biology (CMSB) and Kluyver Centre for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation
  • Preparations started for two national centres on bioinformatics and proteomics
  • Proposals for Technology Centres and Innovative Clusters submitted for additional funding (Bsik subsidy)
  • Research programme “The Societal Component of Genomics Research” is incorporated in NGI