Genomics and Precision Health Posts

How Can Evidence Synthesis be Conducted at the Speed of a Pandemic?

COVID-19 and a person dealing with data

Since December, 2019, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has rapidly spread around the world. The global pandemic has led to numerous scientific publications in basic, clinical and public health science and increased pressure to act on evidence as it emerges. Typically, research is done to inform decisions over time and is disseminated to the Read More >

Posted on by Caitlin G. Allen, W. David Dotson, Scott Bowen, Muin J. Khoury, Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaLeave a comment
Categories genomics
Tags ,

The Public Health Impact of COVID-19: Why Host Genomics?

covid-19 virus overlayed on whole genome sequencing with a world map in the background where figures are connected with lines

Throughout human history, zoonotic pandemics have periodically resulted in catastrophic human morbidity and mortality exceeding war, famine, and natural disasters combined. Modern era medicine and public health have made remarkable advances, but vulnerabilities have also increased with unprecedented world population growth, greater interaction with wildlife, and the dramatic expansion of international air travel. Viral diseases Read More >

Posted on by Muin J. Khoury, Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Marta Gwinn, CFOL International for Office of Advanced Molecular Detection, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Priya Duggal, Genetic Epidemiology Program, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland1 Comment
Categories genomics, public health
Tags ,

Using Digital Technologies in Precision Public Health: COVID-19 and Beyond

a hand holdign a cell phone with lots of data surrounding it including a coronavirus cell

With the global spread of COVID-19, there is a proliferation of scientific information and publications that use novel approaches such as genomics and precision health tools (e.g., big data, wearables, and digital devices) in surveillance and epidemiologic investigations. Could these new technologies provide added value to traditional approaches? In the past, we have written about Read More >

Posted on by Muin J. Khoury, Scott Bowen, Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Paula Braun, Entrepreneur in Residence, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLeave a comment
Categories precision public health
Tags ,

Manipulating the Human Microbiome for Precision Public Health: Prospects and Challenges

a body with different external influences surrounding it

Spotlight on the Human Microbiome The human microbiome has a crucial role in driving public health science and initiatives towards more “precision”. In a recent viewpoint and podcast, Harkins, et al. discuss the potential and current applications for manipulating the human microbiome for disease prevention and management. The authors describe several examples of microbiome manipulation Read More >

Posted on by Melia Haile, Alison Laufer Halpin, Christopher Elkins, and Clifford McDonald, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, NCEZID; Muin J. Khoury, Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaLeave a comment
Categories genomics, precision public health
Tags

In the Era of Public Health Emergencies, Interoperability Rules are a Beacon for More Precision in Public Health

In the current wake of COVID-19, it is evident that the public health ecosystem needs to modernize how we gather, make sense of, and disseminate data from multiple sources.  The health threats we face today spread wider and change faster than the data flows our traditional approaches were designed to accommodate.  Becoming more adept with Read More >

Posted on by Paula Braun, Entrepreneur in Residence, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLeave a comment
Categories genomics, precision public health, public health

A Public Health Genomics Pioneer

headshot of Toby Citrin

Remembering Toby Citrin Today, public health genomics is an established and respected field which is integrated into numerous public health programs. This was not the case in the year 2000. CDC had established the Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health two years prior (initially called the Office of Genetics and Disease Prevention), but few Read More >

Posted on by Scott Bowen, Muin J Khoury, Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with Sharon Kardia and Stephen Modell, University of Michigan1 Comment
Categories genomics

Should polygenic risk scores be used in risk-stratified colorectal cancer screening?

a polygenic risk score bell and a body with a colon being exposed

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) summarize information about a person’s disease risk based on numerous DNA variants in their genome. Each variant confers very little increase in disease risk. But composite (or polygenic) risk scores made up of a number of such variants have been shown to stratify people to normal distributions of disease risks for Read More >

Posted on by W. David Dotson, Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Office of Science; Nicole F. Dowling, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; & Muin J. Khoury, Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaLeave a comment
Categories colorectal cancer
Tags

A 2020 Reality Check on the Public Health Impact of Cancer Genomics and Precision Medicine

cancer cells with DNA and a crowd of people running and fresh fruits and vegetables

“Precision oncology has had some major successes… And yet, the overall effect of precision medicine on care for patients with cancer has been modest.” (David Cutler, JAMA Health Forum, 2020) The Promise of Genomics and Precision Medicine in Reducing the Burden of Cancer In 2015, the United States launched the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) “to Read More >

Posted on by Muin J. Khoury, Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Office of Science and Juan Rodriguez, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center on Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaLeave a comment
Categories cancer, genomics, precision medicine, public health

Study of Children with One vs. Two or More Siblings with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Expected and Unexpected Similarities and Differences

Millennial generation Family relaxing in living room. Father using a digital tablet with his son and his little austim girl

A recent prospective study from the Baby Siblings Research Consortium found that children with two or more siblings with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were more than twice as likely to be classified as having ASD at age 3 than children with only one sibling with ASD. The Consortium was formed to facilitate prospective studies of Read More >

Posted on by Ridgely Fisk Green, Carter Consulting, Inc. and Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Aimee A. Alexander, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLeave a comment
Categories genomics
Tags

Genome-wide Association studies (GWAS) in the Quest to Understand the Causes of Birth Defects

a woman and doctor looking at a newborn with a Manhatten plot on the background

Our recent review and commentary found that relatively few genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on structural birth defects have been done, compared with the number of GWAS on other conditions. We reviewed the literature to identify GWAS on oral clefts, congenital heart defects (CHDs), biliary atresia, pyloric stenosis, hypospadias, craniosynostosis, and clubfoot. We did not find Read More >

Posted on by Ridgely Fisk Green, Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health, Office of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Philip J. Lupo, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Hematology-Oncology, Baylor College of Medicine; Laura E. Mitchell, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences, UTHealth School of Public Health; Mary M. Jenkins, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and PreventionLeave a comment
Categories genomics
Tags ,