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Image: The National Centre for Indigenous Genomics

Your genes determine your height and eye-colour, but they also dictate how your body responds to medication. People have different needs based on the expressions of their genetics. Pharmacogenomics is the field applying this principle to healthcare to create precision medicine. Imagine a future where a pill or antibiotic can be made to treat you, based on your DNA.

Most of the world’s information on genes is currently based on people of European descent. The National Centre for Indigenous Genomics is filling the research gap, to understand Indigenous genes, and better target healthcare for Indigenous Australians.

With a collection of over 7,000 samples from the second half of the 20th Century, researches must first gain consent from descendants and communities before the genetic information is sequenced.

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