Systemo Twin Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A systems based approach to integrating genetic and longitudinal omics data to support diagnosis and prediction of common chronic disease
IRAS ID
199732
Contact name
Tim Spector
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
New technologies are providing opportunities to measure health and disease in many novel ways. The data produced is complex and hard to decipher even by clinicians and health workers. This proposal will investigate how we can use modern molecular techniques which measure in blood the activity and expression of genes and the signatures of chemical reactions (metabolites) in the cell to help predict early disease. To do this we need to explore how global gene expression and metabolites alter over time and how these longitudinal changes along with other new molecular and genetic techniques (called omics) can be used to explore disease mechanisms and susceptibility in ageing populations. To explore the biology of "omic" variability, and to lay the foundation for the clinical integration of genetic and genomic data, we will investigate the longitudinal relationships of cellular and genomic phenotypes, including global gene expression and metabolites, in 700 twins over 5 years, measured at two time-periods. The study subjects derive from the TwinsUK cohort on whom there is already extensive clinical information and cross-sectional genetic and genomic data. Building on these existing data, and making use of the specific methodological opportunities and advantages afforded by the twin design, we will explore how these genomic traits track and vary over time, determine how such variation relates to underlying genetic variation, and explore the joint contribution of genetic and genomic data to disease risk and onset. We will use and develop new analysis approaches to integrate these complex data sets and suggest which changes might play a role in the disease itself.
This study will provide novel insights into disease understanding and stimulate larger-scale efforts to combine modern genetic and genomic data for clinical benefit in the future. These studies will pave the way for individualised medicine.REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/NE/0118
Date of REC Opinion
6 Apr 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion