The Human Protein Atlas: A 20-year journey into the body

The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) journey started in 2000, the same year as the announcement of the completion of the Human Genome Project. In 2003, the program received generous support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW), and the program was changed to an exclusively academic endeavor. The aim of the program has been to map all of the human proteins in cells, tissues, and organs, using integration of various 'omics technologies, including antibody-based imaging, mass spectrometry–based proteomics, transcriptomics, and systems biology.

In an expansive supplement published by Science, a journey is taken through the 20 years since the establishment of the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) consortium, to underscore milestones reached and to celebrate releases of updates and additions to the atlas. For the reader’s convenience, reprints of the relevant journal articles associated with the most important of these milestones are provided. You can download the pdf version here.

Together with Science, the microsite hpajourney.proteinatlas.org has been produced to show some of HPA's hightlighs.

Below, the 35 most significant milestones in the history of the HPA consortium are outlined. Click on any milestone and read about key facts and publications related to each milestone.