Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation Announces Dramatic Acceleration in DNA Collections and Analysis Activity

Leading Non-Profit Genetic and Family History Organization’s Growth is Being Driven by Increasing Global Interest and Financial Support from Founder James LeVoy Sorenson; Partnerships with Prominent Scientists Include New Collaborations in Nations Throughout the World, from Central America to Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit scientific organization creating the world’s foremost database of correlated genetic and family history information, today announced that it is experiencing unprecedented growth in its DNA sample collection and analysis activities.

“Our accelerated collaborative activity will allow us to identify and pinpoint the critical but little-known connection between the end of the genealogical record, perhaps 300 to 800 years ago, and their deep ancestry.”

In 2007, SMGF is on course to collect more than 30,000 DNA samples, and anticipates that it will surpass 100,000 samples and corresponding genealogical records by year end. In the area of DNA sample processing and analysis, the foundation’s growth has been most pronounced in mitochondrial DNA passed from mothers to all of their children – more than 70,000 samples will be represented on the Sorenson Database by the end of 2007. The company is also experiencing strong growth in the number of Y-chromosome DNA samples passed from father to son and samples containing autosomal information inherited by males and females from all of their ancestors.

SMGF’s accelerating growth is being driven by a significant ramp-up in international activity – including comprehensive new DNA collection efforts in Panama, Mongolia, Thailand and a variety of African nations and ongoing collections in nations throughout the four quarters of the globe. These collections will significantly augment SMGF’s database, which currently contains information about more than six million ancestors through linked DNA samples and pedigree charts from 172 countries. This expansion is enabled by an increase in funding from the Foundation’s founder, billionaire inventor and philanthropist James LeVoy Sorenson.

“We are extremely gratified by the unprecedented growth we are experiencing, which is being driven by the interest and demand we are receiving from people in nations throughout the world, and from the generous support of James LeVoy Sorenson,” said Dr. Scott Woodward, executive director of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation and a globally prominent genetic researcher. “We are extremely confident that our growth will continue due to our extraordinary current and proposed genetic and family history projects, which have the potential to add profound new knowledge to the fields of family history and population genetics.”

SMGF will collaborate with a group of renowned researchers from throughout the world. These strategic partnerships include the following scholars and their teams: at Stanford University in the U.S., Dr. Peter Underhill, an eminent genetic scientist and researcher, and Dr. Luigi Cavalli-Sforza, distinguished professor of population genetics and molecular biology; prominent geneticists Dr. Antonio Torroni and Dr. Allessandro Achilli from Pavia University in Italy; Dr. D. Tumen, head of Department of Anthropology and Archeology at the National University of Mongolia; Dr. Jorge Motta, director general at the Gorgas Memorial Institute in Panama; and other prominent scientists and thought leaders.

“We could not ask for better partners than the scientists we are working with on these projects,” said Woodward. “These collaborations will help us effectively interpret the patterns and nuances associated with the genetic and genealogical information we are gathering.”

The primary focus of SMGF and its strategic partners is an area of research in which very little relevant information is currently available. This information will be highly relevant for individuals in the genetic melting pots that characterize North and South American populations.

“All Americans are closely connected to people in other parts of the world,” said Woodward. “Our accelerated collaborative activity will allow us to identify and pinpoint the critical but little-known connection between the end of the genealogical record, perhaps 300 to 800 years ago, and their deep ancestry.”

For information about SMGF’s DNA collection projects throughout the world, visit www.smgf.org/maps/collections.jspx.

About Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation

Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit research organization, is the pioneer in the rapidly developing fields of genetic genealogy and DNA analysis. Combining powerful new DNA research with conventional genealogy, SMGF has created a potent new "Rosetta Stone" of genetic understanding that connects individuals throughout the world with their ancestors and living relatives. SMGF has created the world's largest repository of correlated genetic and genealogical information – more than six million total ancestors' names representing linked DNA samples and pedigree charts from 170-plus countries, about two thirds of the nations of the world. Visit www.smgf.org.