Professor Andres Metspalu, WP7 lead, University of Tartu, Institute of Genomics / author Alejandro Roa
The Genome of Europe (GoE) has launched a public awareness survey across five European countries (Estonia, France, Greece, Portugal and Slovenia) to assess citizens’ understanding and attitudes towards genetics and genomics-based personalized medicine. The survey is part of a wider scientific and societal effort to ensure that all Europeans can benefit from the promises of modern genomic medicine.
Genetics plays a key role not only in the development of diseases but also in how individuals respond to medical treatments. While the human genome is 99% identical across individuals, each has unique genetic variations that influence their health and medical outcomes. Recent advances in science and medicine have made it possible to use this genetic information to predict, prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases more precisely—a concept known as personalized medicine.
The current survey is part of the Genome of Europe initiative, a pan-European research project uniting 27 countries to create a comprehensive reference database of genetic data from people of diverse ancestries living across Europe. This reference data is crucial for developing fair and effective personalized medicine accessible to all European citizens, regardless of their background.
In addition to building genomic reference cohorts, the project seeks to raise public awareness and engage key stakeholders on the benefits and implications of genomics-based healthcare through various communication activities. This survey plays a key role in shaping those efforts.
” There is an increasing interest in genetics and personalized medicine across Europe, driven by advancements in genomic research and technology. We are polling people in 5 member countries to address the relevant communication more precisley. If people do not undrestand what is the personalised medicine and how it would improve the health care in coming years, they are not going to use it“ said prof. Andres Metspalu, Professor of Genomics and Biobanking at the University of Tartu.
The survey’s primary objective is to evaluate public knowledge of genetics and attitudes toward using genomics in personalized healthcare across different European regions. The results will help identify knowledge gaps, misunderstandings, or ethical concerns and guide future communication and engagement strategies. The survey is conducted in two phases: the first in the early stages of the project (2025), and the second just before its conclusion in 2028.
This awareness study is co-funded by the European Union’s Digital Europe Programme under grant agreement number 101168231.
To learn more about the project or the survey, please visit: www.genomeofeurope.eu
About GoE
The Genome of Europe (GoE) project – co-funded by the European Union’s Digital Europe Programme (101168231) – is building an European reference genome that will help unlock new advances in medicine and benefit public health policy. The project will establish the first pan-European reference database consisting of 100 000 genomes which will reflect genetic and ancestral diversity of Europe to boost developments in personalised medicine and prevention.