The Centre for Applied Genomics is a genome centre in the Research Institute of The Hospital for Sick Children, and is affiliated with the University of Toronto. TCAG also operates as a Science and Technology Innovation Centre of Genome Canada, with an emphasis on next-generation sequencing (NGS) and bioinformatics support. Research at TCAG focuses on the genetic and genomic basis of human variability, health and disease, including research on the genetics of autism spectrum disorder and structural variation of the human genome. The centre is located in the Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning in downtown Toronto, Canada. History The need for a centralized core facility for human genome research at SickKids Hospital prompted the establishment of The Centre for Applied Genomics (TCAG) in 1998. The founding director and associate director were Drs. Lap-Chee Tsui and Stephen W. Scherer, respectively. Scherer is now the scientific director. Funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) enabled TCAG to form by consolidating existing core facilities including the Medical Research Council of Canada Genome Resource Facility, the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network (CGDN) large insert clone core, the CGDN DNA Sequencing Core and the SickKids Biotechnology Service DNA Sequencing and Synthesis labs. A genome-wide microsatellite genotyping laboratory at the Ottawa Health Research Institute, led by Dennis Bulman, was added. Subsequently, operational funding from the CIHR Genomics Special Projects panel provided for additional staff. In 2001, a proposal entitled "Genome Resource Core Platform" was submitted to the then newly formed Genome Canada. This provided operational support, enhancing existing facilities and adding a mouse genotyping core at the University of Toronto led by Lucy Osborne. In 2002, SickKids built a new Affymetrix microarray facility. This core has quickly grown to become the largest such service centre in Canada and is in the top ten in North America. In 2004, TCAG entered a second phase of development driven by a $12 million CFI/Ontario Innovation Trust funded project entitled "Integrative Genomics for Health Research", allowing for consolidation of the mouse genotyping core with the SickKids facilities. This award also supported the establishment of an "Ontario Population Genomics Repository" (OPGP) to be used as controls in studies of common diseases. To efficiently complete this project, TCAG partnered with John McLaughlin's group at Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto). In May, 2004, an application to the newly announced CFI Research Hospital Fund resulted in a $10.9 million award to build out