PRx Blog

GET Ready for the Future of Personal Genomes

   GET 2010 Pioneers Photo Blog.bmpAs sequencing technologies become faster, cheaper, and more accessible, the number of individuals with personal genome sequences will increase from about a dozen today to hundreds—possibly thousands—in a year.

2010 is the last year you could reasonably assemble all the people who have a personal genome sequence in one place to talk about why they took this pioneering step and how they think personal genomics will impact society. It would be like, decades ago, you assembled the first 12 people to own personal computers to talk about how they think personal computing will change society.
 

That’s just what happened yesterday when the majority of people with a personal genome sequence came together at the GET Conference 2010, an event to support the work of the Personal Genomes Project. Led by Harvard Medical School Genetics Professor and Director of the Center for Computational Genetics George Church, the PGP recruits volunteers to share their genome sequence with researchers and the public. The vision: advance the understanding of genetic and environmental contributions to human traits to improve the ability to diagnose, treat and prevent illness.

Before I continue, I should point out that we’ve been looking forward to the GET Conference here at the agency for a few months while we volunteered some expertise to the event. (Needless to say we’re firm supporters of the cause…)

The majority of people walking around with personal genome sequences today are not a rag-tag bunch of undergraduates who volunteered for a lab experiment to score BIO 101 extra credit. The list includes visionaries like Church, James Watson, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Esther Dyson, Stephen Quake, Jay Flatley, Greg Lucier and others.

Assembling these great minds in one place to discuss an issue profoundly changing our understanding of who we are and how our bodies work created an engaging atmosphere of open intellectual exchange (Think: the Algonquin Roundtable of genomics…)

It’s impossible to recap all of the day’s discussions, but a few key takeaways that resonated with me:

• The cost of genomic sequencing is decreasing faster than the cost of storing the HUGE volumes of data they create. Solving this problem is going to require exascale computing so expect to see more interaction between life sciences and IT as Microsoft, Google, Oracle and others dip more than a toe in these waters. Listen to Illumina CEO Jay Flatley discuss the improvements in sequencing technology from the conference here.

• In addition to data storage, the other significant cost barrier is in interpreting and analyzing the data. Sequencing a genome is one thing, but understanding what it means is something altogether different—that’s where the PGP endeavors to make some significant contributions. George Church talks about the project here.

• Don’t overlook the personal and historical context of the human genome. Professor Gates described his feelings when he subtracted his personal genome from that of his father’s and was left with half of his mother’s sequence (chronicled in his Faces of America PBS series). Just as people had to understand how to “read” a photograph, people need to understand how to “read” a personal genome. With the proper interpretation, it not only provides insight that can influence medical decisions today, but also helps us complete the genealogical record of who we are and where we came from.

• While we may be years away from having our personal genomes incorporated into our medical records, at the end of the day, personal genomics is about improving medical understanding to help patients get better. Third Rock Ventures Mikhail Shapiro talks about genomics and personalized medicine.

So would you do it? Would you disclose your personal blue print to advance the future of medicine? As one GET panelist pointed out: it was only a few years ago that most consumers hesitated to put their credit card numbers online to make a purchase….

Posted by Chris Stamm on April 28, 2010 at 10:49 AM