Exposomics: A shift in biomedical research with potential to improve human health

Exposomics: A shift in biomedical research with potential to improve human health Recent advances in exposomics offer an exciting opportunity to comprehensively catalog human exposures and link them to biological responses determining health and disease. Pamela J. Lein, Ph.D. from the University of California, tells us more. The sequencing of the human genome was heralded as a major scientific achievement that would revolutionize medicine by identifying genetic causes of disease, which could then be cured using gene therapy. However, while genomic research has identified numerous genetic variants in the human genome that confer risk for disease, it has become increasingly clear that only a small fraction of disease can be attributed solely to genetic causes. Indeed, genetic evidence indicates a critical role for diverse environmental factors in determining an individual’s health throughout their life.