Lecture Overview

Research aimed at multifactorial diseases, such as lifestyle-related disorders, has increasingly focused on the acquisition of diverse omics data, including genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. In epidemiological studies in particular, omics data are most commonly obtained from blood samples. This is because blood circulates throughout the body and can be collected repeatedly in a minimally invasive manner, making it a promising source for identifying biomarkers that reflect systemic abnormalities. Consequently, blood-based omics research has often been conducted primarily for the purpose of discovering biomarkers for the early detection of disease.

At the same time, efforts have been made to elucidate the pathophysiology of multifactorial diseases through blood-based omics epidemiological studies. However, the term “blood samples” encompasses a wide range of specimen types, including serum or plasma, exosomes, and leukocytes, and the choice of specimen fundamentally influences both the type of omics data that can be obtained and the biological insights that emerge from the analysis. Strategic consideration of these factors is therefore essential for the successful design and interpretation of omics research.

The speaker has participated in a variety of cohort and registry studies and has contributed to large-scale genomic analyses as well as blood-based multi-omics analyses. In this lecture, the speaker will present representative case studies that illustrate the challenges of elucidating disease mechanisms using multi-omics data derived from blood samples.