Led by Professor Anneke Lucassen
As we aim to drive forward our understanding of how we use genetics to improve diagnosis and develop new therapies, we must also take account of what patients want, and whether these new approaches can be adopted by the NHS – from an ethical and cost-effectiveness point of view, while also ensuring equity of access for under-represented populations.
We aim to play a key role gathering the necessary evidence to guide national policy, as well as developing and supporting the application of best practice in how to use genomic information. We will do this in close collaboration with our patient and public involvement groups, who will also be consulted on the design of studies.
We are working with BRC health economics experts to assess the cost-effectiveness of polygenic risk scores (PRS), diagnostics and screening in tertiary and primary care. This will also guide policy and best practice for ensuring inclusion of specific ethnic groups.
We are collaborating closely with the Oxford Biobank and NIHR BioResource to engage with existing participants to test hypotheses and establish which genetic variants lead to particular diseases.
As genomics becomes a more routine part of NHS care, it is important to bolster training and education in genomic medicine. This will include us funding a new Genomic Medicine MSc and an established DPhil/PhD programme linking with Genomics Education Programme and Health Education England.