20th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project

Take three billion ‘letters’ and assemble them in the right order. That is a much‑simplified description of the endeavour completed by global researchers between 1990 and 2003 known as the Human Genome Project, one of APM’s 50 Projects for a Better Future.

Although US President Bill Clinton and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair held a press conference in 2000 to present the sequence before the publication of papers, it wasn’t until three years later that the research was completed. The project aimed to map the ‘base pairs’ – a type of code represented by the letters A, G, C and T – that make up human DNA. The number of human genes was discovered to be 20,500, with a remarkable 99.9% similarity between the genomes of every human. The huge collaboration between 20 universities completed its task two years ahead of schedule, and the global multi-lab approach set the stage for continuing research into genomics. Under the project’s Bermuda Agreement, the decision was made to share the data as it was being generated without any restrictions.

This continues to be publicly available for free, allowing scientists around the world to make use of it. Benefits include improved genetic testing and gene therapy treatments and a deeper understanding of human evolution. What’s more, the project cost $2.7bn, less than the expected $3bn.

Discover more project management articles in THE SPRING 2023 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.