The Festival of Genomics 2025 is a two day event celebrating the innovation, collaboration and discovery in the field of genomics.
PET director Sarah Norcross was delighted to attend the festival which took place at ExCel in London.
There was a full programme of presentations but the first session on the main stage featured many of the key players in genomics.
There was an update from Professor Dame Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer at NHS England (NHSE). The audience learned about how NHSE is continuing to reshape health care with genomics. (Dame Sue is pictured above with Sarah.)
This was followed by a slot sponsored by Illumina. Sean Humphray, senior director for translational research at Illumina described their Constellation product which will hit the labs in 2026. Emma Baple (professor of genomic medicine at the University of Exeter) and Dr Andrew Parrish (head of department at the Exeter Genomics Laboratory) gave their perspectives on how Constellation stands to change the approach they use in the rapid genome sequencing of acutely unwell children.
The health minister Baroness Gillian Merron was next on stage and committed to putting the UK at the front of gemonics and precision medicine.
Broadcaster Vivienne Parry interviewed Professor Tim Spector, one of the founders of the Zoe App, about genetics, microbes and the future of personalised nutrition. After hearing about having olive oil on your toast with marmalade PET's director wasn't sure whether the food on sale at the festival was going to be on brief!
The final presentation of the session was from the science writer and broadcaster Dr Adam Rutherford. He gave a provocative talk called 'Genetics, Mendel and Bigotry: Our role in the Return of Scientific Racism'. As well as giving an overview of the eugenics movement he criticised how genomics is routinely taught in schools. He argued that it increases racist essentialist thinking.
During the Q&A Sarah asked him for his views on the Bill to ban first cousin marriage. As you may imagine, he was not a fan of such a piece of legislation!
Sarah had a great day at the Festival of Genomics 2025 and was very pleased to meet up with a former trustee at PET, Dr Christine Patch.