Molecular Phenomic Approaches in Population Health and Disease Diagnosis

09:45 – 10:50: Opening Ceremony cum Keynote Speech - Professor Jeremy Nicholson

Molecular Phenomic Approaches in Population Health and Disease Diagnosis

Synopsis

Living a long and healthy life is a universal aspiration. Our individual health, disease risks and ultimate death is shaped by complex interactions of genes, microbes, lifestyle, and diet from the moment we are born. Phenomics is the systematic study of the continuum of gene-environment interactions throughout life and the measurement of the emergent physical and chemical properties (metrics) that result from these interactions and define individual and population phenotypes in health and disease. In molecular phenomics we are concerned with the chemical and biochemical signatures (metabolites, proteins, transcripts etc.) of cells and biofluids and how these characteristically change during the onset, development, and recovery from disease. From phenomic models and measurements we can also develop new prognostics and diagnostics that consider gene-environment interactions that are relevant to many common diseases. I will describe the theoretical and practical background of molecular phenotyping and the modelling of health, disease and aging trajectories. COVID-19 provides an interesting example of phenomic medicine discovery that extends to beyond the acute viral infection itself to reveal new insights into other major diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and dementias.