#EBW25 Previews: Keynote with Prof. Dr. Lili Milani
It is our pleasure to introduce Prof. Dr. Lili Milani from the University of Tartu as the second keynote speaker at #EBW25. The subject of the keynote will be ‘Bringing the benefits of biobanking closer to the people’.
Prof. Dr. Lili Milani
Prof. Dr. Milani is the Head of the Estonian Biobank and professor of pharmacogenomics at the University of Tartu. She has a PhD degree in molecular medicine from Uppsala University, Sweden. Her research focuses on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, psychiatric conditions, and how genetic variation can influence drug response, including adverse drug reactions. She is convinced that healthcare can be considerably improved by data-driven precision medicine and is actively participating in the design and implementation of personalised medicine in Estonia in close collaboration with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Estonian Health Insurance Fund.
Keynote abstract
Large biobanks have set a new standard for research and innovation in human genomics and the implementation of personalised medicine. The Estonian Biobank was founded 25 years ago, and its biological specimens, clinical, health, omics, and lifestyle data have been included in over 800 publications. What makes the biobank unique is its translational focus, with active efforts to conduct clinical studies based on genetic findings and to explore the effects of return of results on participants. In June 2024, the biobank opened an online portal called MyGenome for all its participants. The portal contains personalised information on genetic and cumulative risk for type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease based on polygenic risk scores and other risk factors. The reports include interactive graphs that allow participants to explore how their risk can change with lifestyle modifications. The results section also contains fun facts such as caffeine metabolism profiles and ancestry reports. Over 100,000 participants have logged in to the portal and signed the dynamic consent specifying which areas they wished to receive results in. The keynote will provide an overview of the portal and the feedback received from the participants that completed the questionnaires at the end of each report.
Session details
- Date: Thursday 15 May
- Time: 11:00-12:30