A comprehensive, broad research program dedicated to encouraging creative approaches to precision medicine is the next step the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other partners will work to achieve, supporting the vision of President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative (Initiative). The new development of large-scale biologic databases, digital tools for data analysis, and powerful, more efficient methods for characterizing patients are all contributing factors to the widespread application of precision medicine.
According to Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Harold Varmus, the precision medicine initiative is two-fold. It has a near-term focus on cancers, designed to address the obstacles found in precision oncology, and a long-term goal of generating knowledge applicable across the health and disease spectrum, specifically focusing on achieving a greater understanding of disease mechanisms and risk. The Initiative also encourages the public to contribute to ongoing medical research through social media, mobile devices, and other channels of connectivity. Drs. Collins and Varmus believe precision medicine will reap its greatest benefits years down the road, but its near-term successes should serve as a call to action. To read more on the Precision Medicine Initiative, see here.
Last Updated on April 23, 2020 by Aimed Alliance
