Putting genomics data to work for all Canadians

We are living in the age of big data—a time where organizations are inundated by massive volumes of complex information daily and must find ways to make sense of it. For businesses, figuring out how to parse the onslaught of data can lead to growth and innovation opportunities. For governments, the goal is ensuring citizens’ optimal health and well-being while growing the economy. Genomics is a big data science: one person’s genome contains billions of data points that can be mined for actionable insights. Some researchers have suggested that genomics could produce more data by 2025 than ultra-high-resolution astronomy sites or platforms like YouTube and Twitter. There is probably no better example of the importance of data right now than COVID-19. When our leaders announce decisions about mask use, lockdowns, border and school closures and economic recovery packages, they are basing them on plentiful data, properly analyzed. The data generated is outpacing our systems to create optimal value from them. Our current systems for collecting, curating, comparing and analyzing data were built for the 20th century, and are under strain as we lean into the 21st. The pandemic has turned a spotlight on these pain points, revealing a data landscape where fragmentation impedes our best use of data. We need new methodologies, tools, standards and protocols that better support today’s interconnectivity and interoperability. This is no place to be in the data age. Recognizing this, Canada launched the National Digital Research Infrastructure Organization earlier this year. But getting ahead of the data deluge to capture value and translate it beyond the research lab means getting more expertise on board. Genome Canada is well-positioned to contribute, working with others to develop a national genomics data strategy. Linking disease or plant traits to genomic data enables the application of artificial intelligence to solve practical problems. Image courtesy of Pixabay In April, Genome Canada launched CanCOGeN, the Canadian COVID-19 Genomics Network. Its mission is to establish a pan-Canadian, cross-agency network for large-scale SARS-CoV-2 and human host sequencing to track viral origin, spread and evolution, characterize the role of human genetics in COVID-19, and inform time-sensitive, critical decision-making by health authorities. Coordinating data analysis and sharing is central to this work. In short, because we know genomics, we know data. This knowledge is being harnessed to help Canada make better decisions about our health, the economy, food systems and the environment and much more. Genome Canada has the national breadth and regional depth to help realize a national genomics data ecosystem—that is, a collection of infrastructure, analytics and applications to capture and analyze genomics data—with the potential to create value for all Canadians. This much-needed ecosystem, to be successful, will require a focus on equity, security and interoperability. Equity in genomics data means two things: gathering data that is truly representative of the population as a whole, and getting data into the hands of a diverse set of stakeholders who can then create value from it for broad public benefit. With good models in place, that means researchers generating knowledge, clinicians helping patients, farmers producing food, policymakers improving lives, and companies engineering solutions. Next, we need to secure our data (and Canadians’ privacy) by creating standards for generating and anonymizing it, protocols for ensuring database security, and parameters that ensure access is on an as needed basis. And we need to develop more data assets in Canada, for Canadians. In an increasingly internationalized world, we need to put in place measures to ensure Canadians retain sovereignty over their own data and control how—and for what purposes—it is shared and used. Finally, data interoperability means ensuring that our systems and services that generate, exchange and consume data are mutually compatible, with shared expectations for content and context. Important to realizing the value of genomic data is understanding its context. For example, linking disease or plant traits to genomic data enables the application of artificial intelligence to solve practical problems. Our increasingly data-driven “intangibles” economy favours knowledge over physical assets, and our businesses and governments need a data infrastructure that can keep up. Let’s collaborate on a unified national genomics data ecosystem that recognizes this fact and contributes to the broader data effort. Such a world-class data infrastructure will help businesses seize opportunities, governments make informed decisions, and citizens trust their leaders, creating value for all Canadians. Let’s get started. Dr. Rob Annan is president and CEO of Genome Canada. He holds a PhD in biochemistry, with a focus on genomics, from McGill University. The Hill Times