The GDB Human Genome Data Base was launched in 1990 under the directorship of Johns Hopkins University geneticist Peter Pearson. Initial funding was provided by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The database contained curated (peer reviewed) information on genes, clones, STSs and genetic maps. The GDB played an important role during the Human Genome Project (Letovsky, S.I. et al. Nucl. Acids. Res. 1998) but funding shifts led to the GDB being relocated to Canada. The GDB was shut down in 2008.