Twenty-Five Years of Public Health Genomics: A Mini Symposium

In 1997, in response to the Human Genome Project, the CDC formed the Office of Genetics and Disease Prevention, now called the Office of Genomics and Precision Public Health (OGPPH). The office serves CDC programs, other federal agencies, state health departments, and other external partners by identifying, evaluating, and implementing evidence-based genomics applications to prevent and control the country’s leading chronic, infectious, environmental, and occupational diseases.

At the same time, similar initiatives were launched around the world, culminating in an international meeting in 2005. Public health genomics was defined as the “responsible and effective translation of genome-based knowledge and technologies for the benefit of population health”.

In this mini symposium, we reflect on 25 years of progress in public health genomics around the world, review past and current achievements in the field, discuss the role of public health programs in translating advances in genomics into population health benefits, discuss workforce development and training needs, and consider ethical, legal and social issues in ensuring equitable applications of genomics into population- based research and health practice.