Credit: LIH
On Wednesday 23 October 2024, the European Commission announced the participation of the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) in the Genome of Europe (GoE) initiative, a landmark multi-country effort aimed at revolutionising genomic research and healthcare across Europe.
The European Commission has awarded a €20 million grant to the GoE project. LIH, alongside the National Health Data Repository of Luxembourg (LNDS), is a full partner in GoE, playing a role in shaping the future of European healthcare.
The GoE project, with a total budget of €45 million and spanning 26 Member States along with several other non-EU countries, represents a landmark collaboration in genomics. Under this ambitious endeavour, LIH and LNDS will join forces with 48 partners across 27 European countries, to establish a European reference genome, based on the whole-genome data of 100,000 representative European citizens, with each country contributing according to population size. This reference genome, expected by early 2028, will serve as a cornerstone for cutting-edge medical research, personalised healthcare and public health initiatives. Notably, the LIH aims to contribute to the sequencing effort of the consortium by bringing in 200 samples from its existing cohorts, showcasing Luxembourg's commitment to advancing genomic research and healthcare innovation.
LIH's participation also underscores Luxembourg's commitment to genomic research and healthcare innovation. As part of the GoE project, Luxembourg will contribute to defining ethical, legal and societal conditions for generating the reference genome, ensuring data security, and embedding GoE data within the Digital Europe Programme-funded Genomic Data Infrastructure (GDI). GoE will thus actively contribute to the design and development of this federated Genomic Data Infrastructure, supporting the storage, management and integration of European Whole Genome Sequences (WGS) reference databases.
Dr Frank Glod, Deputy CEO of LIH, expressed enthusiasm about these developments, stating: "The Genome of Europe project represents a significant leap forward in our understanding of human genetics and its applications in healthcare. LIH and LNDS are proud to be full partners in this transformative initiative, which will pave the way for personalised medicine and improve health outcomes for individuals across Europe."
The Genome of Europe project aligns with LIH's mission to advance scientific knowledge and improve public health. Through collaborative efforts like GoE, LIH and LNDS continue to contribute to the global effort to harness the power of genomics for the betterment of society.
The Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) is a public biomedical research organisation focused on precision health and invested in becoming a leading reference in Europe for the translation of scientific excellence into meaningful benefits for patients.
