The genomic clues to disease
Genomics has moved out of research and into patient care, finding and identifying gene changes that can help with the diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases
Published 12 June 2019
Genomics is a rapidly evolving technology that can help identify the genetic cause of a condition in a person. It can also find a person’s predisposition to various diseases like some cancers.
When science first sequenced all the genes in the entire human genome, it became possible for scientists to compare the genomic patterns of larger groups of people – looking for more clues to health and disease in the ‘big data’.
Professor Clara Gaff was awarded the Most Valuable Woman in Leadership in the Biomedical Space for 2019 for her work as Executive Director of the Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance.
And the way genomic technology has advanced still stuns her.
“The rates of diagnosis using this technology surpasses what I had expected,” she says. “It’s something I could never have imagined.”
Episode recorded: May 16, 2019.
Interviewer: Dr Andi Horvath.
Producer, audio engineer and editor: Chris Hatzis.
Co-production: Silvi Vann-Wall and Dr Andi Horvath.
Banner image: Shutterstock
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