Personalised medicine is an important priority area for the Nordic co-operation in medical research. Nordic universities have now joined forces to set up a massive open online course (MOOC) targeting personalised medicine where medical experts from the Nordic countries have contributed.
Molecular medicine is the science of how humans function at the most basic level of genes, proteins and cells. It aims to understand and manipulate molecular processes to diagnose and cure diseases. Molecular medicine improves diagnosis, discovers effective individualized treatments for cancer and immune disorders, and creates vaccines against lethal infections.
Mental disorders are complex traits arising from both inherited and environmental contributions, particularly during early life phases. Understanding how interplay between nature and nurture during these sensitive early phases creates individual differences in human mental traits is a fundamental question spanning the social and life sciences.
NordForsk organised a scientific session, Nordic Registers and Biobanks: A Goldmine for Precision Medicine Research at this year’s AAAS meeting, which was held in Washington D.C. The session addressed how the Nordic registries are used in research, and shed light on how Nordic research councils and policymakers work together to promote cross-border cooperation. Speaking at the session were Camilla Stoltenberg, Director General of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Paul Franks of Lund University and NordForsk's Maria Nilsson.
