Personalized medicine constitutes the ability to tailor healthcare decisions based on an individual’s unique characteristics (genetics, demographic information, healthcare experience, environment and social factors) to more accurately diagnose the individual’s disease, predict its outcomes, and select treatments that increase the chances of a successful outcome and reduce possible adverse reactions.A key component in personalized medicine is the emergence of whole-genome-scale sequencing as a platform to identify gene variants. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) allows for the fast generation of thousands to millions of base pairs of DNA sequence of an individual patient. However, the new technologies bring new challenges, both at the technical level and in terms of data management, as well as for the interpretation of the results and for counselling.The challenges to moving next-generation sequencing (NGS) into the clinical setting are both technical and regulatory. While such tools have reduced many of the barriers to clinical application of NGS, the investment needed to bring NGS into medical practice remains significant with the scale of knowledge required being unprecedented at most hospitals. All these aspects justify the consideration of what will be the precise role of NGS in diagnosis, risk assessment, response prediction, and treatment monitoring, today and tomorrow. In this context, Nemhesys will develop an innovative, demand driven Master class, whose aim is to provide qualified biomedical personnel with the essential bioinformatics skills and knowledge necessary to begin to analyse next generation sequencing data and carry out some of the most common types of analysis. The Master class will consist of 5 modules, one per HEI based on their specialisation and will be taught simultaneously via an online platform. At the end of each session private companies run a workshops on technological topics adapted to the health sector to improve the use of NGS.
To train a new generation of biomedical scientists and professionals who can lead the implementation of NGS in clinical practice for the benefit of patients.1) To determine the current use and limitations of NGS in EU hospitals/research institutions as a tool to improve personalised medicine.2) To provide the biomedical community with the theoretical and practical knowhow on the generation, management and analysis of NGS data, highlighting its particularities in clinical and research fields.
The implementation of NGS into the clinic poses great challenges for healthcare professionals at technical and regulatory levels. Several Universities and Cancer Centres are developing NGS core facilities. However, it requires very specific knowledge and proper training to be able to provide reliable results. Therefore, there is a great “gap” in understanding of its potentials and exploitation by biomedical professionals and its meaning and value by today’s data scientists.
<< Background >> The implementation of NGS into the clinic poses great challenges for healthcare professionals at technical and regulatory levels. Several Universities and Cancer Centres are developing NGS core facilities. However, it requires very specific knowledge and proper training to be able to provide reliable results. Therefore, there is a great “gap” in understanding of its potentials and exploitation by biomedical professionals and its meaning and value by today’s data scientists. << Objectives >> To train a new generation of biomedical scientists and professionals who can lead the implementation of NGS in clinical practice for the benefit of patients.1) To determine the current use and limitations of NGS in EU hospitals/research institutions as a tool to improve personalised medicine.2) To provide the biomedical community with the theoretical and practical knowhow on the generation, management and analysis of NGS data, highlighting its particularities in clinical and research fields. << Implementation >> To design and perform: 1) a Survey on NGS across EU hospitals and research institutions; 2) an online training program (“Masterclass”), in which renowned experts in the NGS and cancer fields will teach biomedical scientists/professionals from all over the world on NGS and precision medicine; 3) a learning mobility program where students could visit another participating Institution to reinforce the online training and promote the implementation of NGS at clinical services and research projects. << Results >> The Survey highlighted the need to qualify biomedical staff to successfully perform clinical NGS, especially regarding data processing and interpretation (Publication: https://doi.org/10.1097/hs9.0000000000000541).Four editions of the “Masterclass” were held, enrolling 734 participants from 45 countries worldwide, being only 151 from partner institutions.Five Mobility Workshops, one at each HEI, of 4-5 days duration were carried out enrolling 25 students (https://youtu.be/tMj3-8yQPQQ)