Categories: genomics
January 24th, 2013 2:33 pm ET -
Marta Gwinn, Consultant, McKing Consulting Corp, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
![world map comparing polio from 1988 to 2012 from CDC, Global Health - Polio](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130227033636im_/http://blogs.cdc.gov/genomics/files/2013/01/2013-1_polio-300x169.jpg)
A Public Health Role for Human Genetics
Two non-profit foundations with distinct missions recently announced that they are joining forces to support polio eradication. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) supports global health programs; the Jeffrey Modell Foundation (JMF) advocates for early diagnosis and treatment of genetic immunodeficiency disorders. How did these organizations find common cause? During the last two decades, surveillance and strategic vaccination campaigns deployed by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative have reduced polio incidence worldwide by 99.8 percent. Wild poliovirus cases are now uncommon, with fewer than 250 new cases reported during 2012. Endemic transmission is now limited to small areas of just three countries—Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
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Categories: genomics, public health
January 3rd, 2013 2:17 pm ET -
Muin J Khoury, Director, Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
![double helix with the number 15](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130227033636im_/http://blogs.cdc.gov/genomics/files/2012/12/15_years-300x200.jpg)
In 2012, the United States and the United Kingdom marked 15 years of public health genomics, a multidisciplinary field that deals with the effective and responsible translation of genome-based science to improve population health. Fifteen years ago, a new era of personalized healthcare and disease prevention seemed only around the corner. However, the promise of the Human Genome Project was mixed with unrealistic expectations. The “genomics revolution” was expected to be applied in the very near term to broad segments of the population. The public health genomics community called for a scientific approach to explore the balance of benefits and harms of the new science in both clinical and population health applications. Simultaneously, an international collaboration developed a road map for integration of emerging genomic technologies into health practice. A major achievement for public health genomics has been an enhanced dialogue among the basic, clinical and public health-related scientific communities. Public health genomics also has begun to prepare the workforce for integrating new tools in practice and for integrating genomics in public health’s essential functions of assessment, policy development, assurance and evaluation.
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