deCODE genetics ehf

Commercial

OFHS240117

Our primary research aim is to identify the causes and risk factors for all human diseases and health. Understanding the underlying biological causes of diseases and health is the first step in finding and developing the appropriate cures. In our proposed study, we will analyse the data Our Future Health has collected about the participants, to search for associations between their health and any potential, biological or environmental risk factors such as behaviour, lifestyle, diet, socioeconomic- and any biological information available from the participants. In particular, as more genetic data from the participants becomes available, we will focus on how variations in the human genome affect human diversity and health, using genome-wide association analysis (GWA) and related methods. We aim at finding potential drug targets; biomarkers and biological mechanisms related to diseases and health. During the last two decades we have experienced major progress in human genetics research, in particular due to technological advancements and the success of the Genome Wide Association (GWA) study methods. GWA studies allow for hypothesis-free identification of associations between sequence variations in the human genome and diseases, health or any other human traits such as height, longevity and blood cell-counts to name a few. Many thousands of genomic variants (sometimes referred to as mutations) have been found to associate with numerous human traits (phenotypes). However, much is still to be discovered, especially for individuals of non-European ancestry as many of the studies to date have been performed by north European and US based researchers in their own local populations. Also, the genetic basis of many diseases and other traits are still poorly understood despite their large impact on public health, such as heart failure, obesity and cancers. Possible explanations for this include small sample sets in the studies performed hitherto and these diseases are biologically very complex and have different definitions and classifications between studies. See full response on saved copy

We expect to find many gene-variants that associate with human disease (predisposition and progression) and we expect to be able to provide in-depth characterization of the effects of many gene-variants on a wide range of human traits. Enabled by the ethnical diversity of OFH participants we expect such results for both common and rare diseases in multiple ethnic subgroups. These findings should provide important insights into the biochemical pathways affected, as well as elucidating the functional consequences of the variants on the affected genes. We foresee that the study will shed light on the pathophysiology of many diseases, including genetic and environmental factors affecting disease development, progression and prognosis, possibly leading to novel therapeutics for the benefit of those suffering. Such information is paramount in improving disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment for individuals of different ancestries as well enabling precision medicine for people of all ethnicities.

Public Health Research

15/01/2026

15/10/2024

TRE