01.08.07

Final Report Approved for Large U.S. Population Cohort Project

Posted in news links at 6:36 am by Trevor

In November 2006, the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society (SACGHS) met to discuss and approve the final version of their report on policy issues associated with undertaking a large U.S. population cohort project on genes, environment, and disease. Our previous coverage of this project, including a brief summary of the project’s history and scope, can be found here.The task force that spearheaded work on the report was led by Dr. Huntington F. Willard, Director of the Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Willard began his presentation before the committee with a brief introduction regarding the project:

For those who are new to this, the issue at hand is to examine issues relevant to a possible United States large population study which we define in this report as an approach to learning more about relationships among genes, the environment, and common disease. And the goals of the studies, both ones ongoing and ones planned both in this country and elsewhere, are to determine mechanisms underlying common complex diseases to inform treatment and prevention strategies and ultimately, of course, to improve health in this country and elsewhere.

Following a half-day session discussing the fine details of the report, including suggested revisions to wording and substantial additions following review of public comments, the committee voted unanimously to approve the final report and send it to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on or around January 1, 2007. Transcripts and video webcasts of the committee’s 2-day meeting are available online. Link