Non-communicable diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, are continuously growing, contributing to raising mortality worldwide. Communicable diseases as experienced by the Covid-19 pandemic, also afflicts human health, worsening global mortality. Progression of non-communicable and communicable diseases poses a major concern in public health as the most current medications are either inefficient, not adapted or do not exist yet. Besides waiting for new treatment or drugs, the best strategy remains the prescription of the existing medicines and lifestyle advice to the right persons at the right moment. The implementation of this strategy, referred as precision medicine (PM), requires the knowledge of genetic and epigenetic basis of each individual. PM represents the next medical challenge for expanding survival and for tackling the huge healthcare costs weighing on most societies worldwide.
The substantial progress made in the development of high throughput cutting-edge sequencing approaches of human genome and epigenome, gives strong promises for reaching the implementation of PM as a clinical reality. With epidemiology, the knowledge of human genome and epigenome will enable stratification of treatment responders and non-responders among different populations. Stratification of populations at high risk for infectious diseases can also be expected thanks to genomic and epigenomic profiles of individuals. The rise of artificial intelligence and increase in genomic and epigenomic data will soon enable a revolution in clinical practice, contributing to a new era of “precision public health.”
This Article Collection aims to capture primary research, data notes, and reviews, providing recent insights and advances in human genomics and epigenomics in epidemiology, patient stratification, drug responses, health, non-communicable and communicable diseases, and their associated complications. This issue also welcomes studies dealing with the inclusion of genomics in reducing health disparities.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Pharmacogenomics and pharmacoepigenomics
- Common and rare non-communicable diseases
- Genetics / genomics of health physiology
- Genetic epidemiology
- Advances in genomic and epigenomics technological approaches
- Covid-19 and other infectious diseases
Prof. Colin Moran (CM) is Associate Professor in the Physiology, Exercise and Nutrition Research Group (PENRG) which is part of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport at the University of Stirling. He has a multidisciplinary background having worked with a variety of model organisms before settling on humans. His main research interest is in understanding how genetics and epigenetics contribute to inter-individual differences in elite sports performance, in exercise response and in metabolic disease risk. He has an additional interest in physical activity interventions, particularly the popular Daily Mile intervention. He is currently Section Editor for the Epidemiology, Genetics & Genomics section of All Life.
Prof. Amar Abderrahmani (AA) is Full Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Medicine at Lille University. He has a multidisciplinary background including a PhD and pharmacy graduation in Molecular genetics and pharmaceutical chemistry. AA has been honored by several Swiss awards and in 2011, of National Chair of Excellence in beta-cell biology, bioscience and diabetes. AA has been member of several scientific committees of Diabetes Association and is currently Editor-in-Chief of All Life.
Disclosure statement: CM and AA declare no conflict of interest regarding this topic.
