From Biobanks to Biomarkers

Translating the potential of human population genetics research to improve the quality of health of the EU citizen

EUHEALTHGEN is an initiative that aims to promote the translation of the outputs from research on population genetics into direct health benefits for European citizens. It is jointly funded by the Health Research Directorate, DG Research, European Commission, and the Wellcome Trust.

An international conference entitled 'From Biobanks to Biomarkers – Translating the potential of human population genetics research to improve the quality of health of the EU citizen' was held to promote the aims of this initiative. This report provides an account of the proceedings of this conference, held at the Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK from 20–22 September 2005.

The conference programme was a mix of plenary lectures that reviewed the status of population genetics research and associated discussion sessions, designed to promote widespread debate on three topics identified as being of high priority. The objective was to engage as many of the conference participants as possible in an attempt to reach a consensus on these topics:

• expectations and goals for industry and healthcare
• future needs for resources and tools for statistical analysis
• research directions for the development of novel technologies and biomarkers.

Download the full report 'From Biobanks to Biomarkers' [PDF 1.7MB]

Briefing report

• Key points
• Background
• Biobanks to Biomarkers
• Next steps

From Biobanks to Biomarkers: Briefing report [PDF 296KB]