Source: PIB
Context:
The Union Minister of State for Science & Technology launched the Phenome National Conclave on Longitudinal Cohort Studies: Cohort Connect 2025 at CSIR–IMMT, Bhubaneswar.
The initiative is part of Phenome India, aimed at building large-scale, India-specific health datasets for precision medicine and long-term disease prediction.
Key Highlights:
- What it is
- A nationwide scientific platform integrating India’s major longitudinal cohort studies under a unified framework.
- Designed to track how genes, lifestyle, nutrition, behaviour, pollution, and environment influence disease patterns in India.
- Objectives
- Build India’s largest long-term dataset for chronic and emerging diseases.
- Study links between conditions such as diabetes–TB, cancer patterns, neurological disorders, kidney and heart diseases.
- Enable precision medicine and evidence-based policy planning.
- Features of Cohort Connect 2025
- Integrates diverse cohort studies under one national programme (“Cohort Connect”).
- Uses genomic sequencing, biomarkers, digital health sensors, and AI-driven disease modelling.
- Strengthens India’s genomic research—built on sequencing of 10,000 Indian genomes, moving towards 1 million genomes.
- Brings together CSIR labs, DBT institutes, clinicians, epidemiologists, and industry.
- Focuses on India’s unique genetic, dietary, and cultural diversity, often missing from global datasets.
