Humans differ not only in their appearance but also in their responses to medication and the susceptibility to diseases. These differences are determined to a large extent by our genome that is stored in our cells in the form of DNA. The deciphering of the human genome sequence cost 3 billion Swiss Francs 10 years ago. Owing to dramatic technical progress in DNA sequencing the determination of the genome sequence of individual persons will soon cost less than 1'000 Swiss Francs. This will permit individuals to learn more about themselves and their ancestry. By providing their anonymized genome sequence, health and medical records to medical research they can make an active contribution the understanding and treatment of diseases. Over the past 10 years we have learnt that only the comparison of millions of such datasets will permit physicians to make more reliable diagnoses and recommendation for disease prevention. As we deposit our money safely in the bank and expect interests, we may in the near future deposit our genome sequence and medical records to obtain personalized health recommendations and medical treatment. The opportunities and the challenges associated with the availability of personal genome data were discussed at the Symposium "Personalized Medicine" that was organized by Life Science Zurich Business Network on September 13, 2011 at the Technopark Zurich.

A video summary can be viewed here.

The symposium-program can be downloaded here.