On the occasion of the World DNA Day on April 25th, the biobank.cy Centre of Excellence of the University of Cyprus announces the launch of the European project ‘Genome of Europe’ (Genome of Europe – GoE) in our country. This is the largest pan-European project on population genomics. It was launched in response to the rapidly increasing use of genetic data in research and clinical applications, but also to the lack of a European digital reference data collection for Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).
By early 2028, the project aims to create the first European reference genome, the digital representation of DNA in the human cell. It will reflect European genetic and ancestral diversity by country, including minorities. More than 100,000 European citizens, both from existing biobanks and from new volunteers, are expected to participate in achieving this goal. The genomic data will create national genomic reference groups that will be compiled and presented at European level.
“Genome of Europe” is one of the most comprehensive genome projects in the world to date. A unique data collection that will restore the fragmentation of genetic information in the Member States and make a decisive contribution to pioneering medical research for the prediction, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. At the same time, it will enhance progress in personalised medicine and support public health policy measures, for example on rare diseases and cancer.
The project involves 49 partners from 27 European countries (26 EU countries + 1 non-EU country) with €45 million in funding, of which €20 million comes from the EU under the “Digital Europe” programme.
Cyprus is expected to contribute with a total of 310 fully sequenced representative genomes of the Cypriot population from the biobank.cy Centre of Excellence of the University of Cyprus, as the responsible institution. More about the European Genome at the link: https://biobank.cy/portfolio/goe/.
The Genome of Europe data will also feed into the “European Genomic Data Infrastructure (GDI)” research project, which is part of the Digital Europe Programme and will enable access to genomic data across Europe for research, healthcare and public health policy purposes. The GDI project is designed to support the European 1+ Million Genomes (1+MG) initiative and will create opportunities for secondary use in the wider context of the European Health Data Space (EHDS). The GDI project is implemented by the biobank.cy Centre of Excellence of the University of Cyprus and the Ministry of Health. More information about the Genomic Data Infrastructure at the following link: https://biobank.cy/portfolio/gdi/.
All processes are governed by bioethical, legal and social considerations, strict data security standards and (inter)national guidelines for the responsible use of fully sequenced genomes to provide better healthcare for EU citizens.
Source: University of Cyprus | Latest news (https://tinyurl.com/4v98ny9d)