TECHNOLOGY
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Thanks to his work on genomics , epigenetics , biomarker discovery , Bio-IT , aging and longevity , Dr Axel Schumacher is an individual , highly revered in global healthcare , not only for his leadership , but also his ability to translate scientific discoveries into practical applications .
This , coupled with his forwardthinking approach to cutting-edge technology , means there are few people better placed to tackle the mammoth task of creating the largest , most ethnically and geographically diverse genomic and healthcare data hub the world has ever seen . And that is exactly what Dr Schumacher , along with his co-founders at Shivom , a blockchain-enabled platform , are embarking on right now .
To develop a better understanding of the ambition behind this project , Healthcare Global spoke to Dr Schumacher about his plans to make mass genomic data analysis a reality .
ORIGINS In essence the idea behind this project is fairly straightforward . Through the critical mass on Shivom ’ s platform and its proposed Unique Global Genome ID , researchers will be able to access more global data and be confident they are analysing each individual anonymous genome only once , therefore increasing the accuracy of research by removing the risk of re-analysing the same genomes again and again . But how did this all come to fruition ?
“ I ’ m a trained geneticist and have my own research group . I was working on complex diseases such as Alzheimer ’ s , schizophrenia and so on but I also moved into the business world where I was applying my knowledge of genomics to that world . I also started working for a company in Switzerland building genomics and precision medicine programmatics platforms for the top 25 pharma companies . It was around this time I started thinking about
AUGUST 2018