Māori and Pacific communities must not be left behind as a new generation of personalised medicine transforms healthcare around the world.
That was one of the key messages from the inaugural Indigenous Precision Medicine Symposium held in Apia, Sāmoa, bringing together health leaders, researchers, clinicians and community advocates from across the Pacific, Aotearoa, Australia and the United States.
University of Auckland researcher and symposium co-convenor Dr Natalie Netzler says precision medicine has the potential to significantly improve health outcomes by using a person’s genetic profile to help determine which treatments and medicines are most likely to work for them.
The approach could eventually mean patients receive treatments more closely matched to their individual biology rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all model.
But the development also presents a major challenge for Māori and Pacific peoples.
Indigenous populations have historically been underrepresented in genetics and genomics research, creating concerns that rapidly advancing medical technologies could actually widen existing health inequities if Māori and Pacific communities are not included.
Netzler says Indigenous participation therefore needs to be built into the development of precision medicine rather than added later.
That includes confronting major questions around Māori and Pacific data sovereignty, who controls genetic information, where it is stored, who can access it and how communities benefit from research involving their people.
Around 110 invited participants attended the three-day gathering in Apia, believed to be the first symposium dedicated entirely to advancing precision medicine specifically for Māori and Pacific health.
The event was co-convened by Netzler, Asiata Professor Satupaitea Viali from Oceania University of Medicine, University of Auckland Professor Peter Shepherd and Carmel Sang.
Participants examined how genomics and precision medicine could move from research laboratories into everyday clinical care while protecting Indigenous knowledge, rights and community interests.
The symposium also placed Indigenous leadership at the centre of the discussion.
Organisers say Māori and Pacific communities need to be involved in deciding how genetic research is conducted and how resulting technologies are incorporated into healthcare.
Training more Pacific scientists and strengthening research capability within the Pacific are also seen as critical if the benefits of precision medicine are to reach communities throughout the region and in Aotearoa.
For Māori, the discussion has important implications as researchers increasingly explore the potential of genomics to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of conditions carrying significant health inequities.
The challenge now is ensuring tomorrow’s medicine does not reproduce yesterday’s inequalities.
For Netzler and the researchers gathered in Sāmoa, the opportunity is to build precision medicine with Māori and Pacific peoples from the beginning — creating healthcare that is scientifically advanced while remaining equitable, culturally grounded and underpinned by Indigenous leadership.
#WaateaNews #RadioWaatea #DrNatalieNetzler #PrecisionMedicine #IndigenousPrecisionMedicine #Genomics #Genetics #MāoriHealth #PacificHealth #HealthEquity #IndigenousHealth #MāoriDataSovereignty #IndigenousDataSovereignty #MātaurangaMāori #TeAoMāori #KaupapaMāori #PacificResearch #PacificScience #Samoa #Apia #UniversityOfAuckland #WaipapaTaumataRau #MedicalResearch #HealthResearch #FutureOfMedicine #PersonalisedMedicine #WhānauHealth #MāoriNews #Aotearoa #NZHealth #NZNews
