Genetically profiling entire populations, starting with Estonia

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Published: 11 Dec 2017
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Dr Tonu Esko - Estonian Biobank, Estonian Genome Center, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia

Tonu Esko talks to ecancer at EAPM 2017 in Belfast.

He spoke about the use of genetics and genomics to drive personalised medicine on a large population scale.

Although it is an expensive task to genetically profile every citizen, he believes it is a possibility, especially in smaller countries like Estonia. 

If this were the case, it would be much easier to diagnose disease, and would cut costs in the long run. 

Estonias are aiming to achieve this with 50,000 people already fully profiled, and by next year it will be 15% of the population which is a huge step forward. 

If it works in Estonia, in due course it could work elsewhere.