Frontiers in Genetics (Feb 2021)
Welfare Genome Project: A Participatory Korean Personal Genome Project With Free Health Check-Up and Genetic Report Followed by Counseling
- Yeonsu Jeon,
- Yeonsu Jeon,
- Sungwon Jeon,
- Sungwon Jeon,
- Asta Blazyte,
- Asta Blazyte,
- Yeo Jin Kim,
- Jasmin Junseo Lee,
- Jasmin Junseo Lee,
- Youngjune Bhak,
- Youngjune Bhak,
- Yun Sung Cho,
- Yeshin Park,
- Yeshin Park,
- Eui-Kyu Noh,
- Andrea Manica,
- Jeremy S. Edwards,
- Dan Bolser,
- Sukyeon Kim,
- Yuji Lee,
- Changhan Yoon,
- Changhan Yoon,
- Semin Lee,
- Semin Lee,
- Byung Chul Kim,
- Neung Hwa Park,
- Jong Bhak,
- Jong Bhak,
- Jong Bhak,
- Jong Bhak
Affiliations
- Yeonsu Jeon
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Yeonsu Jeon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Information-Bio Convergence Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Sungwon Jeon
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Sungwon Jeon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Information-Bio Convergence Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Asta Blazyte
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Asta Blazyte
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Information-Bio Convergence Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Yeo Jin Kim
- Clinomics Inc., Ulsan, South Korea
- Jasmin Junseo Lee
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Jasmin Junseo Lee
- Human Biology Program, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Youngjune Bhak
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Youngjune Bhak
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Information-Bio Convergence Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Yun Sung Cho
- Clinomics Inc., Ulsan, South Korea
- Yeshin Park
- Clinomics Inc., Ulsan, South Korea
- Yeshin Park
- Department of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Ajou University School, Suwon, South Korea
- Eui-Kyu Noh
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, South Korea
- Andrea Manica
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Jeremy S. Edwards
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
- Dan Bolser
- Geromics Ltd., Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Sukyeon Kim
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Yuji Lee
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Changhan Yoon
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Changhan Yoon
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Information-Bio Convergence Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Semin Lee
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Semin Lee
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Information-Bio Convergence Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Byung Chul Kim
- Clinomics Inc., Ulsan, South Korea
- Neung Hwa Park
- 0Department of Internal Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, South Korea
- Jong Bhak
- Korean Genomics Center (KOGIC), Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Jong Bhak
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Information-Bio Convergence Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, South Korea
- Jong Bhak
- Clinomics Inc., Ulsan, South Korea
- Jong Bhak
- 1Personal Genomics Institute (PGI), Genome Research Foundation (GRF), Osong, South Korea
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2021.633731
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 12
Abstract
The Welfare Genome Project (WGP) provided 1,000 healthy Korean volunteers with detailed genetic and health reports to test the social perception of integrating personal genetic and healthcare data at a large-scale. WGP was launched in 2016 in the Ulsan Metropolitan City as the first large-scale genome project with public participation in Korea. The project produced a set of genetic materials, genotype information, clinical data, and lifestyle survey answers from participants aged 20–96. As compensation, the participants received a free general health check-up on 110 clinical traits, accompanied by a genetic report of their genotypes followed by genetic counseling. In a follow-up survey, 91.0% of the participants indicated that their genetic reports motivated them to improve their health. Overall, WGP expanded not only the general awareness of genomics, DNA sequencing technologies, bioinformatics, and bioethics regulations among all the parties involved, but also the general public’s understanding of how genome projects can indirectly benefit their health and lifestyle management. WGP established a data construction framework for not only scientific research but also the welfare of participants. In the future, the WGP framework can help lay the groundwork for a new personalized healthcare system that is seamlessly integrated with existing public medical infrastructure.
Keywords
- genomics
- personal genome project
- Korean genome project
- population study
- integrated healthcare
- genetic report
