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ABOUT GENOMICS

• A gene is the basic unit of heredity. Genes

act as instructions to make proteins, which 

carry out countless functions in the body. 

• The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an

international research effort to sequence 

and map all of the genes of humans, which 

are together known as the genome. When 

the HGP was completed in 2003, this gave 

scientists the ability, for the first time, to 

read nature’s complete genetic blueprint 

for the human organism.

• HGP has estimated that every human has

between 20,000 and 25,000 genes.

• The completion of the genome map has

created the emerging field of “precision 

medicine,” (also known as “personalized 

medicine”) which will allow health care 

providers to better optimize therapies for 

each individual patient in the future.

VA RESEARCH ON GENOMICS: 

OVERVIEW

• VA researchers are working to develop

personalized treatments, based on patients’ genes and other individual factors.

• VA is well-equipped to study genomics.

The department has a large and diverse 

patient population; an integrated network 

of basic research and clinical programs; 

and an electronic medical record system 

that offers a rich source of health and 

clinical data.

• A Genomic Medicine Program Advisory

Committee, which advises the Secretary 

of Veterans Affairs, lays the groundwork 

for the VA Research Genomic Medicine 

Program. Members include leaders in the 

public and private sectors and academia in 

the fields of genetic research and medical 

genetics; genomic technology; health information technology; and health care delivery, policy, and program administration. 

The committee also includes a Veterans 

Service Organization representative.

• Among the areas in which VA already uses

genomics-based approaches to provide 

care are tests to confirm hemochromatosis, 

a hereditary condition in which iron builds 

up in the body. VA also uses genomic 

medicine to predict Veterans’ responses to 

cholesterol-lowering statin drugs and to 

help diagnose and treat breast, colon, and 

other cancers.

• VA’s Million Veteran Program (MVP) was

conceived and implemented to foster discoveries and bring precision medicine to 

the forefront of VA care. MVP is now more 

than halfway past its enrollment goal of 

1 million Veterans, whose coded DNA samples and health information will provide an 

unprecedented resource for researchers.

SELECTED MILESTONES AND 

MA JOR EVENTS 

2006 – Launched a genomic medicine 

initiative to advance knowledge of how 

genes affect health and to promote 

personalized medicine for Veterans

2007 – Established a laboratory in Little 

Rock, Arkansas, to conduct diagnostic or 

treatment-related genetic tests for Veterans and to serve as a genetic research lab

2011 – Launched the Million Veteran 

Program (MVP) to establish one of the 

world’s largest databases of health and 

genetic information

2014 – Found that an alteration in a common gene could help predict how well 

patients with lung cancer respond to 

chemotherapy

2015 – The working group on the President’s Precision Medicine Initiative recommends that the governance of its new PMI 

cohort program include VA representation 

2016 – Developed a test to determine 

whether a respiratory illness is caused by 

an infection from a virus or bacteria

2016 – Announced a collaboration with 

the Department of Energy (DoE) to apply 

the powerful computing assets available at 

DoE National Labs to the MVP program

VA research on 

GENOMICS

New knowledge about the role of genes in health and 

disease holds the promise of developing safer, more 

effective, personalized treatments for many conditions. 

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VA’s Million Veteran Program (MVP) was conceived 

and implemented to foster discoveries and bring 

precision medicine to the forefront of VA care. 

2016 – Began the APOLLO Network,

a new tri-agency coalition with the 

Department of Defense (DoD) and the 

National Cancer Institute (NCI) that will 

enable oncologists to more rapidly and 

accurately identify effective drugs to 

treat cancer based on their patients’ 

unique genomic profiles

RECENT STUDIES: SELECTED 

HIGHLIGHTS

• A variation in a common gene called 

caveolin-1 could help predict how well 

patients with lung cancer respond 

to chemotherapy. Patients with that 

variation tended to respond better to 

chemotherapy, and also tended to have 

higher survival rates, in a study at the 

Atlanta VA Medical Center and Emory 

University. Because cancer patients and 

their doctors are often battling against 

both the disease and time, the ability to 

quickly identify which treatments will 

and will not be effective allows patients 

and doctors the ability to change treatment options sooner rather than later. 

(PLoS One, Sep. 15, 2014)

• Variants in a gene responsible for 

regulating blood pressure may also 

cause shrinking of the hippocampus, 

a small region of the brain that plays 

an important role in memory and 

spatial navigation. A research team 

from VA’s Geriatric Research, Education, 

and Clinical Center in Nashville and 

Vanderbilt and Duke Universities found 

that three variants of the AGTR1 gene, 

part of a hormone system responsible 

for regulating blood pressure and fluid 

balance, were associated with greater 

change in hippocampal volume and 

memory problems. (American Journal of 

Psychiatry, Nov. 1, 2014)

• Four specific RNA molecules were 

found at significantly lower than 

normal levels in Veterans who had had 

traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and also 

suffered from PTSD. Researchers at the 

James J. Peters VA Medical Center in 

the Bronx and VA’s War-Related Illness 

and Injury Study Center tested blood 

samples from 58 Iraq and Afghanistan 

Veterans. Veterans who had PTSD had 

significantly lower levels of the U55 RNA 

molecule, and Veterans who had both 

a TBI and PTSD had lower levels of that 

molecule and also the ACA48, U35, and 

U83A molecules. (American Journal of 

Neurodegenerative Diseases, Dec. 5, 2014)

• Injecting nerve growth factor 

directly into the brains of patients 

with Alzheimer’s disease can 

reactivate dying brain cells, according 

to researchers at the VA San Diego 

Healthcare System and the University 

of California. Nerve growth factor is 

a protein that promotes the growth, 

organization, and maintenance of 

nerve cells. The findings indicate that 

providing people with additional nerve 

growth factor is safe over extended 

periods, and merits continued testing 

as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s 

disease. (JAMA Neurology, October 2015)

• Two RNA molecules are missing in 

10 to 40 percent of tumors in patients 

with 12 common cancers—and patients whose tumors do not have these 

molecules have poorer survival rates 

than their peers. The two molecules, 

SNORD50A and SNORD50B, directly 

inhibit a well-known cancer-associated 

protein called K-Ras. According to researchers from the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System and Stanford University, 

this is the first time an RNA molecule 

of this kind has been shown to act as 

a powerful tumor suppressor. (Nature 

Genetics, January 2016)

For more information on VA studies 

on genomics and other key topics 

relating to Veterans’ health, please 

visit www.research.va.gov/topics

GENOMICS

Updated Setember 2016 • For a digital version of this fact sheet with active links to sources, visit www.research.va.gov/topics