Gene Forum 2026 examined how close personalised medicine is to everyday care
The 25th International Gene Forum brought researchers, clinicians and policymakers to the Estonian National Museum in Tartu for two days of talks, hosted by the Institute of Genomics at the University of Tartu. The anniversary programme, curated by Andres Metspalu, looked at how genomic research is being turned into tools for prevention and personalised care.
The first day opened with two keynotes. Sir Peter Donnelly (CEO and Co-Founder, Genomics plc; Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford) made the case for using genomics in prevention, with genetic risk information built into existing screening programmes. André Uitterlinden (Emeritus Professor of Complex Genetics, Erasmus MC, and a principal investigator in the TeamPerMed consortium) followed with the Genome of Europe project, which aims to build a genomic reference reflecting the diversity of Europe’s populations, the kind of reference data that tools such as polygenic risk scores depend on. Asked in an interview at the Forum whether personalised medicine is on the verge of a breakthrough or already under way, Uitterlinden said:
“We’re right in the middle of it, but indeed it’s mostly now in the research arena, but also in the translational research arena.”
The anniversary sessions took up how genomics can move from discovery into routine care at population scale. Matt Brown (King’s College London; former Chief Scientific Officer, Genomics England) described England’s national sequencing programmes across the life course; Emma Duncan (King’s College London) spoke on the genetics of common and rare bone disease; and Lina Basel-Salmon (Maccabi Healthcare Services; Tel Aviv University) addressed the return of secondary findings to patients. Further anniversary sessions looked at the infrastructure and ethics underpinning genomic medicine across Europe, including a contribution from Jens K. Habermann, Director General of BBMRI-ERIC, the European research infrastructure that links national biobanks and biomolecular resources.
The second day was organised around four themes, each opened by a keynote: Evan Eichler on the complexity of the human genome, Nicole Soranzo on advances in single-cell technology, Molly Przeworski on population genomics, and Rob Knight on the microbiome. Across the two days, the talks covered how new sequencing methods and larger, more representative datasets are expanding the range of questions genomic research can address.
The Forum also hosted the presentation of the Artur Lind Scholarship, which supports doctoral students in Estonia working in genomics, biomedicine and related fields. This year it was awarded to Anu Valkna, Kai Tätte and Kerli Ilves, all PhD students at the University of Tartu.
Our thanks to everyone who made the two days what they were: the speakers who shared their research and thinking, and the many participants who brought their questions and ideas to the discussion. Twenty-five years on, the Gene Forum remains a place where the genomics community comes together to exchange ideas and take stock of where the field is heading. We look forward to the next one!
(Pictured: Andres Metspalu and Jens K. Habermann. Photo by Andres Tennus)
