Barcelona launches world’s first joint program on evolutionary medical genomics

Three research institutions in Barcelona have teamed up to launch the world’s first Joint Program on Evolutionary Medical Genomics.

The initiative, launched this week at an inaugural symposium in Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB), is a collaboration between the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), and the Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (IBE: CSIC-UPF).

Spearheaded by ICREA Research Professor Manuel Irimia, the program seeks to harness evolutionary principles to better understand the molecular roots of disease and improve human health. It is backed with a provisional funding of one million euros from the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Understanding the evolutionary history of our genomes is not just an academic exercise but a crucial step toward personalised medicine. By studying genomic diversity across species, populations, and even individual cells, we can gain unprecedented insights into how disease mechanisms have evolved through the history of life on Earth.”

Dr. Manuel Irimia, ICREA Research Professor 

The Evolutionary Medical Genomics (EvoMG) programme combines the two emerging disciplines of evolutionary medicine and medical genomics. Medical genomics provides invaluable insights into the genetic bases of human disease by using genomic data, whereas evolutionary medicine offers a unique angle to better understand disease and pathogens.

The EvoMG Program will work across these disciplines, exploiting genomic diversity generated by evolution to enhance precision medicine. While traditional biomedical research focus on the physical and molecular causes of disease, EvoMG will explore why humans might have evolved to be susceptible to particular diseases in the first place, and how we can use evolution to manage these conditions.

Research groups forming part of the programme have already made important advances in the field. For example, researchers Mafalda Dias and Jonathan Frazer at the CRG have developed an algorithm using genomic variations across the whole diversity of life to predict clinically relevant mutations in patients. Their work is being used by hospitals in the United States to identify harmful genetic variants.

The field of evolutionary medicine and genomics has already made real world impact. The urgency and importance of the field was underscored during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evolutionary analyses of SARS-CoV-2 genomes were instrumental in tracking the virus’s spread and predicting new variants, saving millions of lives.

In cancer research, evolutionary models have led to the development of adaptive therapies, some of which are currently in clinical trials and have significantly extended patient survival rates. The arms race between antibiotic development and bacterial resistance is another area where evolutionary insights are crucial.

Infrastructures like the European Genome Phenome Archive (EGA) provided a secure platform for storing and sharing genomic and phenotypic data, facilitating international collaboration among researchers. This enabled the worldwide scientific community to access valuable data necessary for understanding COVID-19’s evolution, transmission patterns, and the genetic factors affecting patient susceptibility and response to the disease. It is also a crucial resource to accelerate cancer research.

The program will leverage the unique synergy of expertise from the research groups and infrastructures like EGA to position Barcelona as a new hub of innovation for advances in evolutionary medical genomics. “The collaboration between our institutions will allow us to approach complex medical challenges from multiple angles,” says Dr. Irimia. “This program is a testament to Barcelona’s commitment to being at the forefront of scientific innovation.”

The inaugural symposium of the EvoMG Program took place between November 20 to 22 at the PRBB Auditorium. The event featured keynote speeches from renowned experts in the field including Debbie Marks of Harvard Medical School and Sandy Anderson of the Moffitt Cancer Center.

“This wasn’t just an inauguration but a call to action for scientists and clinicians alike,” Professor Irimia emphasized. “We want to foster a community that is excited about integrating evolutionary perspectives into medical and biological research.”

The Evolutionary Medical Genomics programme is the first initiative worldwide to explicitly combine both evolutionary and genomics approaches. With its unique focus on genomics, it joins a growing list of international efforts to integrate evolutionary principles into medicine. Institutions like the Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida and the University of Arizona have established centres focused on evolutionary therapy and medicine, highlighting the global momentum for the field.