NSHG-PM Webinar: Studying Health and Disease Throughout the Lifespan

Søren Brunak
            Søren Brunak

1 December 2020. The 2020-2021 NSHG-PM webinar series continued on December 17, 2020, with a seminar by Søren Brunak of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research at the University of Copenhagen, titled "Longitudinal Phenotypes at Population Scale."

Brunak was joined for discussion by Lili Milani from the Estonian Genome Center, Pål Njølstad from the University of Bergen, and Kári Stefánsson from deCODE genetics. Attendees were encouraged to pose questions and make comments.

 

Listen to the seminar.

 

Deciphering the mountain of disease burden

The Global Burden of Disease studies over the past several decades have provided numerous innovative ways to look at the data on disease and suffering across the world and to some extent through the lifespan. But it still remains a dense mountain of data.

Illnesses come and go over our lifetimes, Brunak notes. Some strike early and are intermittent or never return, while others develop into chronic conditions. He studies how these diseases interact with each other, asking whether they share genetic underpinnings or exposures. What can we learn if we subgroup patients according to disease progression patterns rather simply dividing them into single-disease case and control groups?

Answering these questions will require new approaches to health and disease data. This may only be possible in the Nordic country health systems, which are comprehensive and focused on both clinical care and research to prevent and treat future disease. 

 

Global years lived with disease (YLDs), from GBD 2017, The Lancet. 8 Nov 2018: 392.
Global years lived with disease (YLDs), from GBD 2017, The Lancet. 8 Nov 2018: 392.

 

Watch all previous webinars.

About the Society

The Nordic Society of Human Genetics and Precision Medicine (NSHG-PM) works with stakeholders at national, regional, and global levels to: 1) establish a Nordic framework for research into the genetics of human diseases, evolution, and population history; 2) accelerate discovery of disease-influencing genes; 3) translate these findings for precision medicine to improve public health; and 4) uphold and promote the highest legal, regulatory, social, and ethical standards.

The benefits of membership for you and your research include reduced registration fees at NSHG-PM conferences, symposia, and select workshops. Equally important, you are helping to support the field as NSHG-PM works to educate and advocate for human genetics and precision medicine research in academic, policy, and public education arenas.

NSHG-PM membership runs from January to December. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, complimentary 2021 membership will be included for members who pay or join in 2020.