Australian Centre for Precision Health

Improving the future of health with population health research

The Australian Centre for Precision Health (ACPreH) is a research centre within Adelaide University, bringing together a multidisciplinary group of leading experts in genomics, epidemiology and population health to generate evidence for next- generation solutions that improve health and well-being.

Our vision is to keep people healthy by personalising health advice based on the differences in our genes and environment. We do this by:

Discovering ways to improve risk prediction and identify risk factors
Developing and applying cutting edge methods for personalised prediction and prevention of diseases
Translating our findings into health education to help prevent the onset of disease.

Precision health brings together information on our genome with our internal and external environment to improve strategies for early disease prevention, and to find innovative solutions for existing population-level health problems.

Explore our research

Discover how we’re working to prevent disease before it strikes and create the next generation of innovative solutions for global health and wellbeing problems.

Engage with us

Our work is interdisciplinary by nature – whether you’re a student, statistician, doctor, pharmacist, nutritionist, or another health professional, you can collaborate with us to use and develop novel methodologies that support the delivery of healthcare and prevention.

Explore the Australian Centre for Precision Health

Research capabilities Research capabilities
Research impact Research impact
Our people Our people
Our partners Our partners

Our mission is to improve disease risk prediction and prevention to stop the disease before it strikes. We develop cutting edge methods to discover causes of common diseases and translate our findings to pre-emptively prevent onset of disease and to improve health outcomes for all. We have strong expertise in epidemiological analyses and statistical genetics, bioinformatics, big data analytics, pharmacometrics, and cutting-edge molecular biology techniques.

Our goal is to create the next generation of innovative solutions for global health and wellbeing problems.

We do this by:

Pioneering genomic medicine, developing methods and conducting research to improve risk prediction.

Using machine learning and other innovative approaches to find new ways to prevent disease.

Discovering genes and mutations for novel insights into disease prevention and treatment.

Finding solutions for overcoming genetic vulnerabilities affecting disease risk and response to medication.

Modelling and simulating pharmacotherapeutic use to optimize treatment for specific patient populations.

Researching the ethical, legal and social issues affecting the translation and implementation of precision health.

We are committed to collaborating across disciplinary borders and embracing novel technologies as we strive towards the future of health. With a strong focus on capacity building, we value research training and encourage the best and brightest students to pursue careers in precision and population health. As health professionals increasingly recognise the need to become data specialists, able to assess large pools of information to tailor prevention and care for an individual, we supply the evidence and expertise needed to meet these demands.

Our work has global impact and builds upon national and international research collaborations.

We are focused on building research that is community-facing and translates into easy-to-understand science.

Our research will contribute to:

Scientific discovery to improve disease risk prediction and prevention.

Expanding knowledge by publishing in top peer review journals

Method development by extending current methods for genomic analyses and harnessing potential with advanced statistical tools including machine learning

Increasing capacity in precision health, policy and practice.

Professor Elina Hypponen

Director and Nutritional and Genetic Epidemiology Lead
Email: Elina.Hypponen@unisa.edu.au

Steering group

Professor Elina Hypponen - Director and Nutritional and Genetic Epidemiology Lead
A/Professor Beben Benyamin - Complex genomics lead
A/Professor David Foster - Pharmacometrics lead
Dr Terry Boyle - Population Health lead
A/Professor Hong Lee - Statistical genomics lead
Dr Vijay Suppiah - Pharmacogenomics lead

Research leaders/senior staff

Professor Elina Hyppönen
A/Professor David Foster
A/Professor Hong Lee
A/Professor Beben Benyamin
Dr Terry Boyle
Dr Vijay Suppiah
Professor Markus Stumptner (Affiliate)
Dr Jan Stanek (Affiliate)

The Australian Centre for Precision Health partners with industry, academics and students to deliver our goals.

Health Professionals

In the future, health professionals will be increasingly expected to critically appraise guidance from AI models and to interpret large pools of information to tailor prevention and care for an individual. With the growing availability of consumer genotyping kits, this transition is already ongoing. We use big data to create the type of information that is required for improving disease prevention and care in the context of individual genetic makeup. We are committed to delivering postgraduate training in genomics and precision health to medical doctors, pharmacists, nutritionists or other health professionals hoping to upskill for the future, including statisticians and epidemiologists who wish to develop into methodologists to support these developments.

With us, you will also have the opportunity to develop skills to use novel technologies to support the delivery of healthcare and prevention.

Industry

By connecting with industry, we have partnered with:

Large scale international consortia
Consumer and patient advocacy groups focused on cancer and other diseases.
The Rural Development Administration (RDA), South Korea, through the development and application of the MTG2 software
Alzheimer’s, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson’s, and motor neuron disease groups
Pharmaceutical companies and National Competency Standards Framework for Pharmacists in Australia (Pharmacogenomics testing)
Aged care, community, and hospitals and pharmacies

We welcome outreach for prospective partnering opportunities.

Contact us

Australian Centre for Precision Health

Location
Australian Centre for Precision Health
Adelaide University
Level 8 South SAHMRI Building, North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000

Email: acpreh@unisa.edu.au