An ambitious vision to introduce mass genetic testing to the entire Australian adult population is being hailed as a solution to the country’s healthcare crisis. But can the health system cope?
S even years ago, a scientist and a lawyer working together at Melbourne’s Monash University started collaborating on an ambitious idea.
Geneticist Jane Tiller wants to scale up the genetic screening project to test 100,000 adults, a possible precursor to a nationwide program.for gene variants that increase the risk of certain hereditary cancers and heart disease. Logistically, it was challenging, and they needed government funding to make it happen. Their big breakthrough came in 2020 when the project received a $3 million government grant.
DNA tests have been growing in popularity for the past decade. Millions of people, including celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, are spitting into test tubes to learn about their ancestry, and police are using the science to solve crimes decades after they were committed. Screening as a way to detect the risk of disease is not new, but it is not widespread either.
Monash University genomics researcher Paul Lacaze and senior research fellow and lawyer Jane Tiller teamed up to launch DNA Screen. Monash is waiting on a funding decision for what it is calling the bridging phase. It proposes an investment by the federal government of $50 million to screen 100,000 Australians in partnership with the Department of Health over four to five years as a precursor to a nationwide government-funded screening program, which could be considered as early as 2030.
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