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In Person Lecture: Harnessing the Power of Big Biobanks for Precision Medicine

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Zhengming Chen, MBBS, D.Phil.

Zhengming Chen, MBBS, D.Phil.

Richard Peto Professor of Epidemiology
Nuffield Department of Population Health
University of Oxford

Fellow, Academy Europaea

Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture:  Unleashing the Power of Big Biobanks in the East and West for Precision Medicine

Date: March 16, 2023

Time: 5:30 - 6:30 p.m.  (Reception and hors d'oeuvres at 5 p.m.)

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About this Seminar

Many important genetic and non-genetic causes of major diseases still await discovery. Several big population-based biobanks have been undertaken this century, including the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) and UK Biobank, both based in Oxford. Each recruited 500,000 apparently healthy adults, recording lifestyle and physiological factors, storing biological samples, and monitoring their health through linkages with hospital records. CKB covered ten diverse areas distributed across China, and after >15 years of follow-up, it has recorded >1.5 million disease episodes of >5000 different disease types. Major findings are now emerging in CKB, some expected and some intriguingly unexpected but novel, including assessment of any causal protective effects of moderate alcohol drinking on CVD using the East Asian specific “flushing” genes. The big, maturing biobanks in the East and West — with different lifestyles, environments and genetic architectures — will greatly improve our understanding about aetiology of many diseases, benefiting populations worldwide.

Additional Details

This is a free event hosted by Dr. Michael Friedlander and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. For more information, please call 540-526-2059.

About Maury Strauss

Maury Strauss is a longtime community benefactor and businessman who supports biomedical research with the goal of energizing the local economy and improving quality of life in our neighborhoods and around the world. In order to ensure the continued success of Roanoke’s biomedical research enterprise, as well as the free public seminars, Mr. Strauss has made a generous gift to the series. Read More.

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