Mayo awarded $3M to integrate genetic studies of heart disease into EMRs

The Mayo Clinic announced Wednesday that the National Human Genome Research Institute has awarded it more than $3 million to conduct genome-wide association studies that can more accurately determine patients’ risks of heart attacks, blood vessel diseases and adverse reactions to heart medications.

Mayo researchers will integrate advances in genetic studies of heart and blood vessel diseases into electronic medical records (EMRs) as part of the four-year grant.

In a genome-wide association study, researchers analyze hundreds of thousands of genetic variants in people who have or don’t have certain health conditions in order to identify genes that cause or contribute to diseases.

“We will develop genetic risk scores for heart attack and adverse drug reactions, as well as tools to communicate genomic risk to both patients and care providers,” said Dr. Iftikhar Kullo, Mayo cardiologist and co-principal investigator, in a news release. “The goal is to accelerate the translation of recent advances in genetics and pharmacogenetics to the clinical practice, leveraging the electronic medical record.”

The Mayo Clinic grant is part of the second phase of the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network (eMERGE) initiative whose goal is to develop, disseminate and apply approaches to genetic research based on large numbers of medical records gathered from multiple locations. The initiative seeks to know whether “EMR systems can serve as resources for such complex genomic analysis of disease susceptibility and therapeutic outcomes across diverse patient populations.”

Mayo is one of seven institutions part of the eMERGE network to have received a grant. A total of $25 million was awarded.