U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know
Here’s how you know

**Official websites use .gov**
A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

**Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
A **lock** ( A locked padlock) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Search Query:
			MAIN MENU

																				
              Health Topics
								All Health Topics A-Z
					
													
		

		Asthma


				

															Heart-Healthy Living


				

															High Blood Pressure


				

															Sickle Cell Disease


				

															Sleep Apnea


				

															Information & Resources on COVID-19
																				
              Health Education
								Education Programs and Initiatives
					
													
		

		The Heart Truth®


				

															Learn More Breathe Better®


				

															Blood Diseases and Disorders Education Program


				

															Publications and Resources
																				
              The Science
								Research Focus Areas
					
													
		

		Blood Disorders and Blood Safety


				

															Sleep Science and Sleep Disorders


				

															Lung Diseases


				

															Health Disparities and Inequities


				

															Heart and Vascular Diseases


				

															Precision Medicine Activities


				

															Obesity, Nutrition, and Physical Activity


				

															Population and Epidemiology Studies


				

															Women’s Health


				

															Research Topics


				

															Clinical Trials


				

															All Science A-Z
																				
              Grants and Training
								Grants and Training Home


				

															Policies and Guidelines


				

															Funding Opportunities and Contacts


				

															Training and Career Development
																				
              News and Events
								News and Events Home
					
													
		

		Email Alerts


				

															All News
					
													
		

		NHLBI News


				

															NHLBI in the Press


				

															Research Features


				

															All Events
					
													
		

		Past Events


				

															Upcoming Events
																				
              About NHLBI
								About NHLBI Home
					
													
		

		Mission and Strategic Vision


				

															Leadership


				

															Divisions, Offices and Centers


				

															Advisory Committees


				

															Budget and Legislative Information


				

															Jobs and Working at the NHLBI


				

															Contact and FAQs


				

															NIH Sleep Research Plan
						
						HOME
		Search Text: Home/< Back ToThe Science/Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program

Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program
                        
                                                Project began
            2014
                
            https://topmed.nhlbi.nih.gov/
              Point of contact
            
                
            Weiniu Gan, Ph.D.
                                        On this page
                        At a Glance
                                                                                                                    Contribution to Science
                                                            How It Works
                                                                                                                    Related Reading
        What is the goal of the TOPMed program?
                        
            The goal of the TOPMed program is to generate scientific resources that will improve the understanding of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders and advance precision medicine. Precision medicine is an emerging approach to disease prevention and treatment that considers the unique genes and environment of each patient.

The TOPMed program collects whole-genome sequencing and other -omics data. In biology, -omics refers to measurable differences or changes in biological molecules, such as genes, metabolites, proteins, and RNA. The program will integrate -omics data with molecular, behavioral, imaging, environmental, and clinical data to improve the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders.

The TOPMed program supports the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Precision Medicine Activities. The program also complements the *All of Us* Research Program, which is inviting one million people across the U.S. to help study a range of health issues and diseases.

In 2016, the NHLBI released its Strategic Vision, which guides the Institute’s research activities. The TOPMed program addresses many of the objectives, compelling questions, and critical challenges identified in the plan. For example, the program leverages new technologies and advances in data science to promote discoveries about the earliest origins of diseases and individual differences in disease processes. The program also leverages data from diverse participants in NHLBI’s population and epidemiology studies to enable research on health differences among populations.
                AT A GLANCE
                                        TOPMed consists of over 180,000 whole-genome sequences, of which around 60% are of predominantly non-European ancestry.
          TOPMed program studies are collecting -omics data—metabolic profiles, epigenetics, and protein and RNA expression patterns.
          The TOPMed program is leveraging data from NHLBI’s clinical and population studies.
            How does the TOPMed program contribute to scientific discoveries?
    The TOPMed program supports research that furthers our understanding of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. The program may lead to future scientific discoveries such as:

Treatments tailor-made to individual patients that shed light on racial and ethnic health disparities
	New ways to screen, diagnose, and treat patients for a variety of heart conditions by studying the genetic underpinnings of heart and vascular disease
	Biomarkers that increase or decrease the risk of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders
	Interactions between the environment and genes that affect health
	Potential targets for new treatments
	New ways to define heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders or subtypes of these disorders based on molecular signatures
	Targeted ways to develop and test personalized treatments in specific patients
	Advances in precision medicine to predict, prevent, diagnose, and treat heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders
              How does the TOPMed program work?
    The TOPMed program is collecting whole-genome sequencing data for individuals who have well-defined clinical phenotypes and outcomes from earlier NHLBI-funded studies. Currently, TOPMed consists of over 180,000 whole-genome sequences from over 85 different studies. Prospective cohorts provide large numbers of disease risk factors, subclinical disease measures, and incident disease cases; case-control studies provide large numbers of prevalent disease cases; extended family structures and population isolates provide improved power to detect rare variant effects.

TOPMed genomic data and the pre-existing parent study phenotypic data are available in the NHLBI BioData Catalyst (BDC) ecosystem to researchers granted access through the NIH Database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP). BDC is a cloud-based ecosystem providing tools, applications, and workflows in secure workspaces where researchers can find, access, share, store, and compute on large-scale datasets that are hosted in the ecosystem or that researchers bring to it.

TOPMed has contributed to research published in almost 150 publications and posted over 200 abstracts at numerous professional meetings.

The TOPMed program consortium includes many centers, including the Administrative Coordinating Center and the Informatics Research Center that serve the entire TOPMed program.
    More Information
      
	-
		Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program
    The TOPMed program consortium includes many centers, including the Data Coordination Center and the Informatics Research Center that serve the entire TOPMed program. As the TOPMed program grows, the NHLBI anticipates that other centers will join the consortium.
                                Related Scientific Focus Areas
                                    Precision Medicine Activities
              Population and Epidemiology Studies
              Women’s Health
              Lung Diseases
              Sleep Science and Sleep Disorders
              Obesity, Nutrition, and Physical Activity
              Blood Disorders and Blood Safety
              Heart and Vascular Diseases
                                                                                                                                                                Related Health Topics
                                    What Is Asthma?
              What Is Sickle Cell Disease?
              High Blood Pressure Back To Top Link
  

        

        Back to top
  Web Policies & Notices
  

        

              Accessibility
                      No FEAR Act Data
                      Privacy Policy
                      Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
                      HHS Vulnerability Disclosure
    
          Related Government Websites
  

        

              Health and Human Services
                      National Institutes of Health
                      Office of the Inspector General
                      USA.gov
    
          Stay Connected
    
      
            chat bubblesLive ChatLive Chat with us, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.envelopeGet Email AlertsReceive automatic alerts about NHLBI related news and highlights from across the Institute.
  Footer Bottom
  

        



Contact Us
                            Site Index
                            Jobs