Tunis:Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence hosted the Global Genomics Summit, gathering researchers and healthcare leaders to discuss the role of artificial intelligence and large-scale genetic data in advancing precision medicine tailored to individual patients.
According to Emirates News Agency, the summit addressed the inclusion of non-European populations, whose genetic data is underrepresented, the interpretation of genetic information through AI, and the translation of research into equitable clinical care. Current genetic research largely focuses on European ancestry, with Arab populations representing less than 1% of study participants despite comprising 5-6% of the global population. Incorporating diverse genetic data can enhance predictive performance for polygenic risk scores across populations.
Carlos Bustamante, summit co-chair, emphasized the need for AI models to be trained on diverse data to avoid bias. He encouraged collaboration among researchers to fill existing data gaps, suggesting that teamwork is essential for advancing scientific research.
The summit also featured sessions on genomic infrastructure in East Asia, genomics networks in Africa, and biobanking. Discussions focused on predicting disease from medical records, polygenic risk scores, and AI models for interpreting rare genetic variations.
Yulia Medvedeva, also a summit co-chair, noted the potential of AI models to utilize growing genetic and biological data for research and precision medicine. She underlined the importance of trust and approved access to sensitive genetic data and mentioned federated learning as a promising approach to enable AI models to learn from multiple biobanks without compromising data privacy.
