FROM BIOBANK DATA TO ACTIONABLE HEALTH INTERVENTIONS IN ESTONIA

Large biobanks have set a new standard for research and innovation in human genomics and 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. Today, more than 20% of the adult population in Estonia has joined the biobank (n=212,000), and general support for the biobank in the wider society is high. 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. Such studies have included monogenic findings in genes for breast cancer, familial hypercholesterolemia, Wilson's disease, neurodevelopmental disorders and drug metabolism. 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 pharmacogenomic information as well as fun facts such as caffeine metabolism profiles and ancestry reports. Over 120,000 participants have logged in to the portal and signed the dynamic consent specifying which areas they wished to receive results in. My talk will provide an overview of journey of the Estonian biobank – from participant engagement to translational studies. I will share the learnings from building and launching the MyGenome portal, and the feedback we received from the participants that visited the portal.