In May 2024, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will host a regional meeting in Brasilia, Brazil called “Human Genomics for Health: Enhancing the Impact of Effective Research”. This event serves as a stepping stone to promote the integration of genomics in clinical medicine and public health, as well as to strengthen genomics research in the Americas.
Genomics is an interdisciplinary field that is rapidly evolving and providing valuable insights into various areas such as clinical care, food safety, and infection control. It is the study of an organism’s complete set of genes, including how genes function, interact with each other, and with the environment. Rather than focusing on individual genes as in genetics, genomics looks at the entire genetic makeup of an organism.
PAHO’s Science and Knowledge for Impact Unit (SK/EIH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), the PAHO Brazil Country office, and the Ministry of Health, Brazil, is organizing this two-day meeting. The event will bring together representatives from PAHO Member States, as well as regional experts and researchers working within the precision medicine ecosystem.
The World Health Organization Science Council has launched a program to promote equal access to genomics research and technologies for global health benefits. The goals of the regional meeting in Brasilia include raising awareness about the WHO Science Council report, sharing experiences and best practices in using genomic evidence to enhance precision medicine and public health strategies, identifying challenges and strategies for implementing genomics, and creating opportunities for collaborations.
The meeting will be conducted in multiple languages – English