Genetics in heart disease and breast cancer

A background briefing on the work of the London IDEAS Genetics Knowledge Park will be held at UCL on 30th October 2002.

This is a government funded, £3m five year initiative, which will fund both original lab research, clinical implementation, and broader engagement with the public.

Expert academic leaders will provide an overview of the work, to help as individual stories come up over the months to come.

Professor Steve Humphries, UCL will provide an update on work with familial hyperchoresterolaemia (FH) - with 1/500 adults carrying the relevant mutation, this condition has a significant impact on early heart disease statistics. Five per cent of those with a heart attack under 55 have the condition.

Dr James Mackay of NorthEast Thames Clinical Genetics Service will look at some of the dilemmas surrounding breast cancer genetics, including why a key risk population appears under-represented, are we screening the right people, will telemedicine improve the efficiency of consultations?

Professor David Latchman, Dean of the Institute of Child Health, will provide an overview of the gaps London IDEAS is intended to fill.

Professor Sue Povey, UCL, will outline the work of our knowledge dissemination unit, with training, schools and a translation service into minority languages.

If you are not able to attend, we will be happy to email written material afterwards.

London IDEAS proto-website is here

Lecture Theatre 2. Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Reseach, UCL, Gower Street. Wednesday 30th October, 10.00 for coffee 10.30 start
RSVP to coxs@gosh.nhs.uk 020 7829 8671