The international Human Cell Atlas publishes strategic blueprint; announces data from first one million cells

The Human Cell Atlas (HCA) Consortium has released a blueprint for the international initiative’s efforts to create a comprehensive reference map of all human cells, a project that will form the basis for a deeper understanding of human health and for diagnosing, monitoring, and treating disease.

The blueprint’s release — posted as a white paper to the HCA website — coincides with the publication of a Nature commentary by the HCA organizing committee summarizing the consortium’s vision and mission.

In addition, the consortium today also announced the impending release of gene expression profiles from the first one million immune cells collected under the HCA, toward an initial milestone of collecting at least 30 million cells representing several tissues and organs for the atlas’ first draft. These data, to be posted on an online repository by early November, will be freely available for researchers’ use.

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