Genome of Europe
Project funded by the Digital Europe Program
Call DIGITAL-2023-CLOUD-AI-04
Project No. 101168231
Budget: €44,465,986.08
Duration: 42 months
The Genome of Europe (GoE) project involves 51 partners from 29 European countries (26 EU+3 non-EU) to establish a single pan-European reference database comprising at least 100,000 genomes representative of European citizens, in line with 1+MG.
Key objectives include the implementation of a pan-European community of practice that will generate the reference genome by integrating existing genome datasets and de novo sequencing from diverse national populations, defining the ethical, legal and societal conditions for reference genome generation, ensuring data security and incorporating GoE data into the genomic data infrastructure funded by the Digital Europe Program.
The value and usability of GoE will be assessed through use cases focusing on genetic diversity, the establishment of multi-ancestry imputation services and the recalibration of genetic risk profiles.
Complementarily, GoE will be highly relevant for genetic-phenotypic discoveries, helping national genome programmes and the integration of genomics into the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
The GoE project prioritizes public engagement, transparency and adaptability for future scaling, ensuring responsible and sustainable genomic advances. Integration with other European initiatives enhances its potential impact for personalized medicine and aligns with broader scientific and healthcare objectives, including European competitiveness in genomics research and innovation.
The Genome of Europe project aims to map and analyse the genomic diversity of populations in Europe.
These data are essential for providing personalized medicine services, explaining disease aetiology and identifying new associations with complex diseases and traits, and understanding the genetic history of populations.
The European Reference Genome will operate in a federated and secure environment. The federated regime means that the data will remain secure in each country and partners in other countries will be able to query the database and obtain results without access to the raw data. Thus, this model enables international collaboration in genomics without compromising data sovereignty or patient privacy."