Integrating genetics and genomics into health care

The launch of the Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance will see seven Parkville Precinct organisations combine in the ambitious task of integrating genomic information into everyday health care.

Officially launched by the Victorian Minister for Health, David Davis, the alliance includes Melbourne Health, The Royal Children’s Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, CSIRO, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and the Australian Genome Research Facility.

The alliance will help change the face of genetic disease diagnosis and prognosis, leading to improved identification of at-risk patients and the pioneering of treatments.

Dr Gareth Goodier, head of the Alliance CEOs group and CEO of The Royal Melbourne Hospital, said genomics represented a new and burgeoning era of medicine.

Dr Gareth Goodier

“Health care need no longer take a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Genomic sequencing allows us to identify when a person’s genetic building blocks are stacked slightly differently in sections to those of the average person,” Dr Goodier said.

“With new technologies making it possible to gather large amounts of genetic information quicker and cheaper than before, genetic information is increasingly influencing diagnosis and care,” he said.

Genomic data will be accessible to clinicians at each of the alliance member hospitals, across a patient’s life cycle. Researchers will have ethical access to genome data and a clear pathway for translation of their research into clinical care.

The alliance prides itself on being clinically led and a precinct-wide Community Advisory Group has been established to ensure ‘the patient’ comes first.

The alliance has commenced recruiting patients for the first phase of the project. Once this phase is complete and evaluated, a plan for implementation and funding of the alliance’s full vision will be developed.