A new PhD training programme will equip scientists to use genetic data to improve healthcare for everyone, not just people of European ancestry. Most genetic research today relies on data from people of European descent, meaning its benefits—from drug discovery to predicting disease—often bypass minority ethnic groups and deprived communities. This programme trains researchers to close that gap. It embeds skills in statistics, data science, epidemiology, and social science, alongside medical law and ethics, so trainees can tackle real-world public health problems. The programme also offers placements in industry or low- and middle-income countries, ensuring research addresses the priorities of those most affected by health inequalities. If successful, this could shift how genomics serves society. Instead of drugs and diagnostics that work best for a narrow slice of the population, healthcare systems could use genetic predictions that are accurate across ancestries. Hard-to-reach communities would gain access to genomic advances, and policymakers would have clearer evidence on how to regulate genetic testing and data use. The result is a more equitable foundation for public health genomics—one where the science benefits the many, not the few.
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Key goals This transformative programme will train professionals able to address key public health research needs including: - Improved healthcare through genetically-driven drug discovery, genetic prediction of disease progression and drug response; - Equal representation of minority ethnic and non-European ancestry individuals in genetic research; - The needs of deprived communities who have disproportionate environmental or lifestyle exposures with consequences that are better understood using genomic information; - Advancing the benefits of developments in genomics for hard-to-reach communities and; - Understanding the implications of genomics for healthcare professionals and policy-makers. We will achieve these goals through an agile, flexible trainee-centred programme designed using feedback from PhD trainees and early career researchers, including WTISSF Fellows, and from UoL Biomedical and Humanities DTPs, WTISSF best practice models and the Wellcome Trust Review on PhD Training. Our innovative programme will deliver: - Skills development in priority areas of statistics, data science, computer programming, epidemiology, genomics and social science, medical law and ethics, and public health; - Trainee-centred development of inter-disciplinary skills and perspectives that enable success in different workplaces; - Opportunities for research placements in industry or that address the priorities of LMICs; - The development of trainee track-records of high-quality, visible research outputs; - Preparation for career transitions throughout trainees’ journeys.
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