Precision Medicine Flagship
Precision Medicine
Genomics has provided a detailed window into human diversity, however other factors, particularly the environment, also contribute to disease susceptibility and how individual patients respond to medications and other treatments. Precision Medicine refers to treatments and prevention measures tailored to individuals – the right treatment, to the right person, at the right time.
While genomic signatures have provided promise as biomarkers, more detailed examination of how specific genes operate in the context of specific environments is required. Proteomics and metabolomics have been particularly useful for this purpose, as they reflect the intersection between genetics, environment and other ‘personalised’ factors.
The NSW Node team
Daniel MacArthur, David James, Stephen Simpson, Jean Yang, Jason Kovacic, Boe Rambaldini, Maree Toombs, Marcel Dinger, Sally Dunwoodie, Jodie Ingles, Justine Clark, Ngiare Brown, Kath Keenan, David Thomas, Bethany Wadling.
NSWIGC members
The NSW Indigenous Governance Committee members are as follows:
Aunty Kerrie Doyle
Bethany Wadling
Boe Rambaldini
Haley Ferguson
Kane Ellis
Maree Toombs
Nathan Taylor
Nicole Turner
Skye Trugett
Two members of the NSWIGC will attend the ALIGN National Indigenous Governance Council meetings.
Precision Medicine Flagship Goals
The NSW Node will focus on the leading contributors to Indigenous health inequality – Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), and Cancer.
They will develop multi-omics analysis pipelines to identify new therapeutic, diagnostic and predictive biomarkers in T2D, examine the underlying genetic determinants of CVD and increase access to personalised therapies and clinical trials in cancer.
Multi-omic signatures – from genomics, proteomics and metabolomics – will be identified and used to identify patterns that accurately predict disease development.
Functional Genomics – an approach to look at how the genome and its products, including proteins, function and interact to affect different biological processes – will be used to efficiently screen variants of uncertain significance (VUS) for CVD, accelerating the pathway to a genetic diagnosis.
Precision oncology is critical to cancer management, enabling precision therapeutics and genetic risk management. Utilising the national reach and collaborative clinical trial capability of our partner OMICO, we will enhance the engagement of Indigenous Australians with advanced cancers in genomic screening, their receipt of matched therapy, personalised risk management, and ultimately seek to improve survival, remission, and long-term disease control.
The Precision Health Flagship will develop Indigenous leadership and capability in precision oncology to:
- Articulate a detailed plan of engagement with clinical networks that look after Indigenous peoples with cancer;
- Raise awareness of and referral of suitable patients for genomic screening;
- Increase the number and scope of clinical trials of targeted therapies accessible to Indigenous Australians, particularly in regional Australia; and
- Explore barriers to precision medicine in Indigenous cancer patients and their families.