FinnGen and The Road Ahead in Human Genetics

Professor Mark Daly is the Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine Finland. His lab has developed many foundational computational tools and statistical techniques in genome mapping, linkage and association, and automated interpretation of laboratory data. The lab has a significant and longstanding commitment in two major medical areas: the inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis) and neuropsychiatric disease (autism and schizophrenia). Dr. Daly has led international consortium efforts large-scale gene mapping efforts in each of these areas. He was the recipient of the Curt Stern Award from the American Society of Human Genetics in 2014 and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017.Dr. Daly is amongst the most cited scientists in the field, and one of the top 100 most cited scientists of all time.

FinnGen is a large public-private partnership aiming to collect and analyze genome and health data from 500,000 Finnish biobank participants. FinnGen aims on one hand to provide novel medically and therapeutically relevant insights but also construct a world-class resource that can be applied for future studies. FinnGen is one of the very first personalized medicine projects at this scale and the public-private collaborative nature of the project is exceptional compared to many ongoing studies. FinnGen brings together Finnish universities, hospitals and hospital districts, THL, Blood Service, biobanks, FINBB and international pharmaceutical companies and hundreds of thousands of Finns.