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Published Online: 7 February 2022

Horizon Scanning: Teaching Genomics and Personalized Medicine in the Digital Age

Publication: OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology
Volume 26, Issue Number 2

Abstract

Digital transformation is currently impacting not only health care but also education curricula for medicine and life sciences. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the deployment of digital technologies such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence in diverse fields of biomedicine. Genomics and related fields of inquiry such as pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine have been making important progress over the past decades. However, the genomics knowledge of health care professionals and other stakeholders in society is not commensurate with the current state of progress in these scientific fields. The rise of digital health offers unprecedented opportunities both for health care professionals and the general public to expand their genomics literacy and education. This expert review offers an analysis of the bottlenecks that affect and issues that need to be addressed to catalyze genomics and personalized medicine education in the digital era. In addition, we summarize and critically discuss the various educational and awareness opportunities that presently exist to catalyze the delivery of genomics knowledge in ways closely attuned to the emerging field of digital health.

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Published In

cover image OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology
OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology
Volume 26Issue Number 2February 2022
Pages: 101 - 105
PubMed: 34648717

History

Published online: 7 February 2022
Published in print: February 2022
Published ahead of print: 13 October 2021

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Authors

Affiliations

Laboratory of Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy, Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras School of Health Sciences, Patras, Greece.
Department of Pathology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, UAE.
Zayed Center for Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, UAE.
Christina Mitropoulou [email protected]
The Golden Helix Foundation, London, United Kingdom.

Notes

Address correspondence to: George P. Patrinos, PhD, Department of Pharmacy, Laboratory of Pharmacogenomics and Individualized Therapy, University of Patras School of Health Sciences, University Campus, Rion, Patras GR-26504, Greece [email protected]
Christina Mitropoulou, PhD, MBA, The Golden Helix Foundation, 16, Northumberland Avenue, Craven House, London WC2N 5AP, United Kingdom [email protected]

Disclosure Statement

G.P.P. is full member and national representative at the European Medicines Agency, Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP)-Pharmacogenomics Working Party, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. C.M. is managing director of the Golden Helix Foundation.

Funding Information

This study was partly funded by a Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation grant (HFRI-2182/2021; BioSTEM) to G.P.P.

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