VIKING Health Study – Shetland teams up with the Scottish Genomes Partnership

We are delighted to announce that the Scottish Genomes Partnership has whole genome sequenced 500 samples from the VIKING Health Study – Shetland.

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Scottish Genomes Partnership Logo

Whole Genome Sequencing is a technique that is used to ‘read’ all the DNA in a person’s genes, letter by letter, to allow scientists to compare it with the DNA of other people worldwide.

The Scottish Genomes Partnership (SGP) is currently leading in four key research areas: cancer, rare genetic diseases, collaboration with the Genomics England 100,000 Genomes Project and collaboration with the Viking Health Study – Shetland.

The SGP is a collaboration led by the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee and NHS Scotland and has given researchers unprecedented access to whole genome sequencing technologies.

The SGP project aims to use the incredibly detailed data from the 500 VIKING Health Study – Shetland (VIKING) samples to help identify which genetic variants might be involved in a range of common diseases and traits such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood cholesterol and poor kidney or lung function.  

The family relationships and shared ancestry in Shetland means that much of the information gained from the 500 samples is relevant across the whole of the VIKING cohort, which includes more than 2,000 people. Variants of particular interest that are identified in this research will later be prioritised for further research, through mathematical analysis and in the lab.