Over the next five years, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), a part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and a consortium of NIH Institutes plan to invest more than $190 million to accelerate studies in the emerging field of epigenomics, the study of the biochemical networks and linkages that control the function of genes.

“Disease is about more than genetics. It’s about how genes are regulated — how and when they work in both health and disease,” said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, MD.

NCBI’s new epigenomics program is part of its mission to develop new information technologies that aid in the understanding of the molecular and genetic processes that control health and disease.

Joining NCBI will be the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Efforts of these institutes are coordinated by the Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives as part of the NIH Roadmap.