Doctors may soon be able to accurately predict a patient’s risk of developing common diseases decades before symptoms appear, thanks to groundbreaking genetic research.

University of Queensland Associate Professor Loic Yengo joined Julie-anne Sprague on 6PR Afternoons to discuss how the research will be used to prevent common diseases. 

“The first step of the research will really focus on identifying those genes that are responsible for the risk, from this particular knowledge we hope to have better ways of preventing and predicting if someone is more likely to develop one of those diseases.”

“We want to be able to make these predications for most of the common diseases, those that are present in at least one per cent of the population. We are casting a wide net but we are confident we can deliver on that,” Associate Professor Yengo said.

Press PLAY to find out how the research will be conducted

Image: Canva