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Review
. 2024 Feb 21:12:1343509.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1343509. eCollection 2024.

Public health genomics research in Italy: an overview of ongoing projects

Erica Pitini  1 , Valentina Baccolini  2   3 , Claudia Isonne  2 , Paola Maran  1 , Carolina Marzuillo  2 , Paolo Villari  2 , Daniela Galeone  1 , Francesco Vaia  1
Affiliations
Review

Public health genomics research in Italy: an overview of ongoing projects

Erica Pitini et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Public health genomics (PHG) aims to integrate advances in genomic sciences into healthcare for the benefit of the general population. As in many countries, there are various research initiatives in this field in Italy, but a clear picture of the national research portfolio has never been sketched. Thus, we aimed to provide an overview of current PHG research projects at the national or international level by consultation with Italian institutional and academic experts. We included 68 PHG projects: the majority were international projects in which Italian researchers participated (n = 43), mainly funded by the European Commission, while the remainder were national initiatives (N = 25), mainly funded by central government. Funding varied considerably, from € 50,000 to € 80,803,177. Three main research themes were identified: governance (N = 20); precision medicine (PM; N = 46); and precision public health (N = 2). We found that research activities are preferentially aimed at the clinical application of PM, while other efforts deal with the governance of the complex translation of genomic innovation into clinical and public health practice. To align such activities with national and international priorities, the development of an updated research agenda for PHG is needed.

Keywords: Italy; governance; precision medicine; precision public health; public health genomics; research.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of precision medicine projects by disease. (A) Cancer. (B) Non-oncological diseases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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