Polygenic Scores, Open Science, and the Future of Precision Medicine

In this episode, we sit down with Dr Sam Lambert, Assistant Professor of Health Data Science at the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Fellow at Churchill College, and visiting researcher at the European Bioinformatics Institute. Sam shares his journey into health data science and his dual focus on multimorbidity in cardiometabolic disease and the development of open science tools. We discuss the Polygenic Score Catalog (https://www.pgscatalog.org/), a global database he helped establish that now houses thousands of genetic risk scores for traits and diseases, and explore the opportunities and challenges of using polygenic risk in healthcare. The conversation touches on pressing ethical questions in genetic prediction, the challenges of applying risk models across diverse populations, and the potential role of polygenic scores in both primary and secondary care. Beyond research, Sam reflects on his teaching role in Cambridge, his experiences as Dean of Churchill College, and the advice he would give his younger self.

🎙️ Whether you’re curious about the future of genetics in healthcare, or interested in open science and data-sharing, this episode offers a thoughtful look at how health data science is shaping precision medicine.

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