A recently completed series on medical genomics—the study of how genes interact with each other and with various non-genetic factors—provides a reference for physicians and scientists. The series, appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, was edited by W. Gregory Feero, M.D., Ph.D., Special Advisor to the Director for Genomic Medicine at the National Human Genome Research Institute and Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Launched in 2010, the series updates an earlier compendium of reviews edited by Dr. Guttmacher and Dr. Francis S. Collins (now National Institutes of Health director) on genomics that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2002, as the project to sequence the entire human genome was nearing completion. The reviews in the new series describe trends in genomic medicine, and highlight research and practical applications of the new technology.
“Genomic technology has far reaching implications for medical research and health care,” Dr. Guttmacher said. “It has particular importance for the study of human development. Deciphering the genetic interactions that guide the formation of tissues, limbs, and organs will not only provide understanding of typical development, but also lead to ways to intervene when the process goes astray —such as with birth defects and developmental disorders. Similarly, understanding how genetic and environmental factors interact, often early in life, to influence lifelong health will be a major focus of the next decades of biomedical research.”
The articles in the series, all of which are listed below, are available free of charge from the Web site of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Genomic Medicine: An Updated Primer 
Ten Years On – The Human Genome and Medicine
Genomewide Association Studies and Assessment of the Risk of Disease
New Therapeutic Approaches to Medelian Disorders
Ancestry and Disease in the Age of Genomic Medicine
Genomics, Type 2 Diabetes, and Obesity
Genomics and the Continuum of Cancer Care
Genomics and Drug Response
Genomics and the Eye
Microbial Genomics and Infectious Diseases
Genomics, Health Care, and Society
Genomics of Cardiovascular Disease
Genomics and Perinatal Care
Genomics, Intellectual Disability, and Autism
Realizing Genomic Medicine
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About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute’s Web site at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/.
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