Category: genomics
Precision Public Health and Precision Medicine: Two Peas in a Pod
The 2015 US Precision Medicine Initiative promises a new era of biomedical research and its application in health care. The initiative is enabled by rapid advances in biomedical sciences, including genomics and bioinformatics, as well as the progress in communication, information technologies and data science. Targeted cancer therapies are a near term goal for Read More >
Posted on by100,000 Studies: A Milestone for Human Genome Epidemiology (HuGE) and the HuGE Navigator
The HuGE published literature database now contains more than 100,000 citations, a milestone reached at the end of 2014. The Office of Public Health Genomics has compiled this database since 2001 via weekly systematic sweeps of PubMed performed by a single curator. For the first five years, a complex PubMed query was used to identify Read More >
Posted on byThe Success of Precision Medicine Requires a Public Health Perspective
The announcement of a new major US Precision Medicine initiative comes more than a decade after the completion of the Human Genome Project, the ambitious project that culminated in sequencing all 3 billion base pairs of our genome. Continuous improvement in the quality of sequencing, dramatic reduction in price, and ongoing advances in multiple sectors Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentCelebrating a Decade of Evidence-Based Evaluation of Genomic Tests
CDC’s Office of Public Health Genomics (OPHG) launched the Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention Initiative (EGAPP) in 2004. The independent EGAPP Working Group (EWG) celebrated a decade of achievements and accomplishments at their meeting in Atlanta on October 27-28, 2014. The EWG is comprised entirely of volunteers, encompassing multiples areas of expertise Read More >
Posted on byEvery Cause Needs a Champion: Jean Chabut as a Public Health Genomics Pioneer
Cham·pi·on noun \ˈcham-pē-ən\: someone who fights or speaks publicly in support of a person, belief, cause, etc. Most public health programs can point to a key person or group who was instrumental in assuring not only the program’s successful introduction but also its long-term viability. Jean Chabut was that champion for public health genomics in Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentPublic Health Approach to Big Data in the Age of Genomics: How Can we Separate Signal from Noise?
The term Big Data is used to describe massive volumes of both structured and unstructured data that is so large and complex it is difficult to process and analyze. Examples of big data include the following: diagnostic medical imaging, DNA sequencing and other molecular technologies, environmental exposures, behavioral factors, financial transactions, geographic information & social Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentEpigenetics and Public Health: Why We Should Pay Attention
In September 2014, one of us (MJK) spoke on the topic of epigenetics at the Annual Meeting of the Association for State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). ASTHO is a national organization representing public health agencies in the United States. ASTHO members formulate and influence public health policy and practice. In the midst of a Read More >
Posted on bySuicide, Family History, and Genomics
We must continue to search for new methods to effectively address the tremendous problem of suicide. Despite recent interest, genomics does not provide the solution today, but there is a lot that we can do now using an established public health approach to prevention. Millions were shocked by the news that comedian Robin Williams Read More >
Posted on byIs Genomics Widening the Schism Between Medicine and Public Health?
In 2007, we published a paper entitled: “Will genomics heal or widen the schism between medicine and public health?” We explored the long standing split between medicine and public health and how the emergence of genomics and other technologies can affect it. The “schism” was identified by Kerr White in his 1991 book in which Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentNobody is average but what to do about it? The challenge of individualized disease prevention based on genomics
Each week, Garrison Keillor shares with National Public Radio listeners the latest news from Lake Wobegon where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.” The concept of “average” is deeply rooted in our scientific analysis of all health related traits such as height, Read More >
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