October Lunchtime Seminar - GENESIS (GENomics of Elite Status in Sport) - A UK Athlete DNA Biobank

Dr Alun Williams a Reader in Sport and Exercise Genomics, Manchester Metropolitan University will present on how a number of countries have a national biobank of DNA collected from elite athletes hosted within their borders, with some preliminary publications appearing.

During this presentation Dr Alun Williams will talk about how they have made early progress on such a biobank of athlete DNA from UK athletes. The aims of this effort include not only identification of genetic characteristics of elite athletes that might be used practically in elite sport, but also the identification of biological pathways underlying extreme physiological capacity that might become targets for investigation at the opposite, lower end of the human performance continuum, in disease.

Alun Williams has a PhD muscle physiology from the University of Birmingham, has worked at MMU for 12 years and is Director of the MMU Sports Genomics Laboratory. He is also Honorary Senior Research Associate in the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health at University College London. Alun is lead author of the BASES Expert Statement on Genetic Research and Testing in Sport and Exercise Science.