Since its founding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the scientists of the All of Us Research Program have set the goal to analyze the largest diversity of the genomic population in the country and end the under-representation of its different groups. The project has expanded the vision of several pathologies, discovered thousands of new genetic variants, redefined the risk genes for common diseases, and stratified them, uncovering eight different forms in the case of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Their results create a pathway for a new age of precision medicine.

The most comprehensive analysis of gene dependencies in cancer cells to date has identified 370 “highly enriched” drug targets in defined molecular backgrounds. This latest iteration of the Cancer Dependency Map, published in Cancer Cell, Jan. 11, 2024, builds on an earlier version published in 2019, which was based on 324 cell lines.

A landmark, real-world study in the U.K. has demonstrated that combining whole genome sequencing with clinical data enabled tailored cancer treatment and improved outcomes. At one health care center, having DNA sequence data led to changes from usual standard of care in 25% of cases. “Mostly, [patients] got into clinical trials; some got medicines they wouldn’t have got. Others avoided medicines because their genetic make-up suggested that if they were exposed to the medicines, they would be at risk of harm,” said Mark Caulfield, professor of clinical pharmacology at Queen Mary University of London, who is co-author of a paper outlining the findings in Nature Medicine, Jan 11, 2024.