Project description:The Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network is a National Human Genome Research Institute-funded consortium engaged in the development of methods and best practices for using the electronic medical record as a tool for genomic research. Now in its sixth year and second funding cycle, and comprising nine research groups and a coordinating center, the network has played a major role in validating the concept that clinical data derived from electronic medical records can be used successfully for genomic research. Current work is advancing knowledge in multiple disciplines at the intersection of genomics and health-care informatics, particularly for electronic phenotyping, genome-wide association studies, genomic medicine implementation, and the ethical and regulatory issues associated with genomics research and returning results to study participants. Here, we describe the evolution, accomplishments, opportunities, and challenges of the network from its inception as a five-group consortium focused on genotype-phenotype associations for genomic discovery to its current form as a nine-group consortium pivoting toward the implementation of genomic medicine.
Project description:<p>An important potential enabling resource for Personalized Medicine is the combination of a DNA repository with Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems sufficiently robust to provide excellence in clinical care and to serve as resources for analysis of disease susceptibility and therapeutic outcomes across patient populations. The Vanderbilt EMR is a state of the art clinical and research tool (that includes >1.7 million records), and is associated with a DNA repository which has been in development for over 3 years; these are the key components of VGER, the Vanderbilt Genome-Electronic Records project, a part of NHGRI's eMERGE network. The VGER model acquires DNA from discarded blood samples collected from routine patient care, and can link these to de-identified data extracted and readily updated from the EMR. The phenotype we analyze here is the QRS duration on the electrocardiogram, since slow conduction (indicated by longer QRS duration) is a marker of arrhythmia susceptibility.</p>
Project description:PurposeCataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world, and in the United States accounts for approximately 60% of Medicare costs related to vision. The purpose of this study was to identify genetic markers for age-related cataract through a genome-wide association study (GWAS).MethodsIn the electronic medical records and genomics (eMERGE) network, we ran an electronic phenotyping algorithm on individuals in each of five sites with electronic medical records linked to DNA biobanks. We performed a GWAS using 530,101 SNPs from the Illumina 660W-Quad in a total of 7,397 individuals (5,503 cases and 1,894 controls). We also performed an age-at-diagnosis case-only analysis.ResultsWe identified several statistically significant associations with age-related cataract (45 SNPs) as well as age at diagnosis (44 SNPs). The 45 SNPs associated with cataract at p<1×10(-5) are in several interesting genes, including ALDOB, MAP3K1, and MEF2C. All have potential biologic relationships with cataracts.ConclusionsThis is the first genome-wide association study of age-related cataract, and several regions of interest have been identified. The eMERGE network has pioneered the exploration of genomic associations in biobanks linked to electronic health records, and this study is another example of the utility of such resources. Explorations of age-related cataract including validation and replication of the association results identified herein are needed in future studies.
Project description:Relationship between low LDL cholesterol concentrations not due to statin therapy and risk of type 2 diabetes: a US observational study using electronic medical records
Project description:Relationship between low LDL cholesterol concentrations not due to statin therapy and risk of type 2 diabetes: a US observational study using electronic medical records
Project description:<p>An important potential enabling resource for Personalized Medicine is the combination of a DNA repository with Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems sufficiently robust to provide excellence in clinical care and to serve as resources for analysis of disease susceptibility and therapeutic outcomes across patient populations. The Vanderbilt EMR is a state of the art clinical and research tool (that includes >1.7 million records), and is associated with a DNA repository which has been in development for over 3 years; these are the key components of VGER, the Vanderbilt Genome-Electronic Records project, a part of NHGRI's eMERGE network. The VGER model acquires DNA from discarded blood samples collected from routine patient care, and can link these to de-identified data extracted and readily updated from the EMR. The phenotype we analyze here is the QRS duration on the electrocardiogram, since slow conduction (indicated by longer QRS duration) is a marker of arrhythmia susceptibility.</p>
Project description:Return of individual genetic results to research participants, including participants in archives and biorepositories, is receiving increased attention. However, few groups have deliberated on specific results or weighed deliberations against relevant local contextual factors.The Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network, which includes five biorepositories conducting genome-wide association studies, convened a return of results oversight committee to identify potentially returnable results. Network-wide deliberations were then brought to local constituencies for final decision making.Defining results that should be considered for return required input from clinicians with relevant expertise and much deliberation. The return of results oversight committee identified two sex chromosomal anomalies, Klinefelter syndrome and Turner syndrome, as well as homozygosity for factor V Leiden, as findings that could warrant reporting. Views about returning findings of HFE gene mutations associated with hemochromatosis were mixed due to low penetrance. Review of electronic medical records suggested that most participants with detected abnormalities were unaware of these findings. Local considerations relevant to return varied and, to date, four sites have elected not to return findings (return was not possible at one site).The eMERGE experience reveals the complexity of return of results decision making and provides a potential deliberative model for adoption in other collaborative contexts.
Project description:We designed an algorithm to identify abdominal aortic aneurysm cases and controls from electronic health records to be shared and executed within the "electronic Medical Records and Genomics" (eMERGE) Network. Structured Query Language, was used to script the algorithm utilizing "Current Procedural Terminology" and "International Classification of Diseases" codes, with demographic and encounter data to classify individuals as case, control, or excluded. The algorithm was validated using blinded manual chart review at three eMERGE Network sites and one non-eMERGE Network site. Validation comprised evaluation of an equal number of predicted cases and controls selected at random from the algorithm predictions. After validation at the three eMERGE Network sites, the remaining eMERGE Network sites performed verification only. Finally, the algorithm was implemented as a workflow in the Konstanz Information Miner, which represented the logic graphically while retaining intermediate data for inspection at each node. The algorithm was configured to be independent of specific access to data and was exportable (without data) to other sites. The algorithm demonstrated positive predictive values (PPV) of 92.8% (CI: 86.8-96.7) and 100% (CI: 97.0-100) for cases and controls, respectively. It performed well also outside the eMERGE Network. Implementation of the transportable executable algorithm as a Konstanz Information Miner workflow required much less effort than implementation from pseudo code, and ensured that the logic was as intended. This ePhenotyping algorithm identifies abdominal aortic aneurysm cases and controls from the electronic health record with high case and control PPV necessary for research purposes, can be disseminated easily, and applied to high-throughput genetic and other studies.