What is Precision Medicine?

By collecting long-term population health data, the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project paves the way for precision medicine and better health in Japan’s earthquake-stricken areas. Located at the intersection of four continental and oceanic plates, Japan is more prone to nearly 1,500 earthquakes every year1. In March 2011, Japan experienced its strongest earthquake in recorded history: […]

Through her leadership at Australian Genomics, Professor Kathryn North has set the stage for the widespread application of genomics in understanding rare diseases in children. “When I was training as a geneticist, I never dreamed that geneticists would be working side by side with intensive care doctors in the diagnosis and treatment of very sick […]

Through his work at Japan’s Tohoku University Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Professor Masayuki Yamamoto is bringing precision medicine to where the country needs it most. Every living creature on earth carries in their DNA the instructions to make each one unique. Yet despite the diversity we see, all human beings are remarkably similar at the […]

With a career spanning four decades, Professor Victor Dzau is spearheading the use of gene therapy for treating cardiovascular diseases and explains the need to translate medical research from the bench to the bedside.   “From my childhood experience and life journey, beginning in post-war China, advancing global health and equity has always been a […]

Understanding public attitudes and ethical concerns surrounding health data sharing could inform governance strategies for national precision medicine programmes in Singapore.    On paper, the Care.data project proposed by England’s National Health Service in 2013 should have been lauded as a step forward for healthcare. The national central database of medical records would have served […]

As the captain of the National Precision Medicine programme, Dr. Claire Bellis from A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore is ensuring that the programme functions like a well-oiled machine and is helping Singaporeans live healthier lives.   Launched in 2017, Singapore’s National Precision Medicine (NPM) programme aims to provide a near-complete assessment of the common genetic […]

While most research focuses on finding a cure for the big C, Dr. Jingmei Li, a Group Leader at A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singaore, takes the off-beaten path of investigating how precision medicine and early screening can interact. Her work strongly advocates amplifying the importance of preventative measures in breast cancer screening.   The prevalence […]

Through its philosophy of integration and robust understanding of health economics, Australian Genomics is helping embed genomic technologies in medical practice.   For 10 weeks after her birth, Mackenzie Casella was the picture of happy and healthy baby girl. Nine weeks later, however, she started crying at the end of every feeding, prompting her mom, […]

Through proactive genetic testing and patient-centric initiatives, start-up company Nalagenetics is helping to make precision medicine a staple in clinical practice.   In Singapore, nearly 1 in 10 people1 will react so negatively to a prescription medicine that they will need to be hospitalised for it. While many factors influence these adverse drug reactions, a […]

Improvements in sequencing techniques have allowed researchers to completely map out the human genome, setting the stage for a more robust understanding of disease and treatment.   When the Human Genome Project unveiled initial findings in the early 2000s, many experts and public commentators touted it as having written “the book of life”. After all, […]