Guest Column: The future of medicine is personal

Modern medicine is magnificent. The technologies in hospitals and doctors’ offices are marvels of computing and engineering, and the breadth of knowledge that helps guide medical decision-making is breathtaking in scope. The pace of these advancements has greatly accelerated over the last several decades, which leads to the question: What does this mean for the future of medicine?

As a research organization, Van Andel Institute is uniquely positioned to help shape the answer. Our scientists study a range of diseases at the molecular level with the goal of contributing to life-changing new diagnostics, therapies and treatments. As the pace of discovery accelerates, one thing is clear: Care will be personalized, and it will be built on cutting-edge research.

Broadly speaking, personalized medicine is an approach to care that bases decisions on a person’s individual situation and makeup, such as their genetics and epigenetics, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. To achieve this, we need deep insights into the differences between health and disease on the molecular level as well as differences between varying types of the same disease.

At VAI, we’re helping lay this groundwork. For example, our scientists recently identified two major subtypes of obesity, each with their own distinct molecular and physiological characteristics. The finding was striking for several reasons. Many people think of obesity as a single condition, and even health professionals commonly use a single metric, body mass index (BMI), to diagnose it. This narrow focus on BMI misses much of the nuance of a person’s individual health profile.

Another example is cancer, which often is spoken of as a singular disease but is, in reality, a catch-all term for more than 100 different diseases. Treatments that may work for one type of cancer might not work for another; similarly, two people with the same type of cancer might respond differently to treatment.

The truth is, there are multitudes of molecular, physiological and environmental variables that make us who we are. Science is working to grasp the extent of all these factors and their implications for health and disease, as well as prevention and treatment.

Given the complexity, one might reasonably wonder how the future of medicine could possibly be personalized for every person on the planet.

Part of the answer comes down to the basic research being conducted by scientists at institutes like VAI. Labs are at the starting point of the research process, using cutting-edge techniques to study the differences between health and disease — and even within diseases — on the most granular levels. Importantly, research provides an important baseline of knowledge from which to develop personalized strategies.

None of this is possible, however, without data.

Data are the vast troves of information garnered from scientific experiments and analysis of biological samples. Scientists use this data, which is de-identified to maintain privacy, to discern health trends and pinpoint new areas for treatments and therapeutic targets. In fact, the VAI study that identified two subtypes of obesity arrived at its findings by analyzing data from a massive registry of thousands of European adult twins who volunteered their genetic and other health information to be available for research.

Another project between VAI and Grand Valley State University explores how to hasten the laborious task of sorting through reams of data. Currently, it requires powerful computers to crunch the numbers. But faculty at VAI and GVSU have identified a new way to compress data files and allow them to be run on simpler computers. This project stands to streamline and democratize the way data is used in research, opening doors to new revelations more quickly than before.

Of course, it’s impossible to predict the future. There are many challenges to navigate, and many questions yet to answer. The beauty — and the challenge — of science is what we know one day may evolve the next day as we gain new insights. But if we follow the science where it leads us, through thoughtful inquiry and rigorous research, we will have in our hands the beacon that lights our way into a better tomorrow.

David Van Andel is chairman and CEO of Van Andel Institute.