Manipal: A future with the possibility of personalized healthcare is a possibility, if researchers focus towards the same. This was the message of Dr. Hans Lehrach, Director, MPI for Molecular Genetics, Germany, during the inaugural session of the international conference on ‘Advances in Cellular, Genomic and Epigenomic Insights on Environmental Mutagenesis and Health’ held at Manipal.

In his inaugural address, Prof. Lehrach pointed out the benefit of having personalized medicine, especially due to the many cases of death by ‘adverse drug reactions’.

This not only causes loss of lives but also increases the cost enormously. With his research experience using genomics and predictive tools, he pointed out a successful example of identifying a drug that was originally used for treating rheumatoid arthritis, to be useful in treating a particular type of cancer in a personalized manner.

He suggested that personalized healthcare could be hastened with the help of predictive models and envisioned a future, where such a thing becomes reality.

In his presidential address, Manipal University Vice Chancellor Dr. Vinod Bhat commented on the importance of the interplay between genes and the environment, and said that this conference would help in filling the gaps in knowledge and lay a foundation for future collaborations.

Earlier Dr. BS Satish Rao (Associate Director-Research, SLS) welcomed the gathering. Dr. Padmalatha Rai (Associate Director-Academics, SLS) proposed the vote of thanks. The conference continues with expert lectures, poster presentations and other deliberations until January 29, 2017 at Manipal.