Sequencing the Genome of an Entire Population

The ambitious Faroese FarGen project has set out to sequence the Faroese genome.

The project will be the first one in the world to map the genetic material of an entire population and will thereby bring the Faroes into the future of personalised genomics-based health systems.

“This is a joint community project and we will not only be creating a genetic biobank, but a completely new health system,” Bogi Eliasen said at the International Conference Copenhagenomics, which was recently held in Copenhagen.

Eliasen, the programme director of FarGen, points out that the project will resolve the Faroese's own unique genetic problems, future proof the health system in a small country with limited resources and lead the way globally.

Danish scientists are thrilled

"This is a very exciting project which can easily end up as a role model for the rest of the world," says Professor Torben Ørntoft, of the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory at Skejby University Hospital in Aarhus.

“The vision is right and we will also be doing that here in Denmark,” he says. “Five years from now I think...