The Genetics Clinic of the Future (GCOF) project aims to ensure that the clinical implementation of genome technologies is relevant and responsive to the needs of all. It offers a stepping stone approach towards the genetics clinic of the future, engaging all stakeholders involved in a process of mutual learning and information exchange. The GCOF project implements key Science with and for Society issues, ensuring that ethical reflection and stakeholder involvement do not occur in parallel, but are effectively integrated in the core of the project. It establishes a robust communication and implementation strategy that integrates the project’s outcomes and recommendations in research and clinical practices and policy processes, outlining opportunities for a more responsive health research and innovation system by: 1. Envisioning the Genetics Clinic of the Future (WP1) 2. Mapping out the concept of data control (WP2) 3. Considering ethical and legal dimensions in the consent framework (WP3) 4. Exploring novel models for use of clinical data in research and vice versa (WP4) 5. Initiating public engagement, mutual learning and dissemination (WP5) 6. Engaging policy makers (WP6) The consortium brings together 12 key partners from 10 countries across Europe who represent the breadth of stakeholders involved in the genetics clinic of the future: genomics research, clinical genetics, bioinformatics, public health, policy making, patient representation, education, commercial genetics and bioinformatics services, social research, communication, responsible innovation and ethics and law. The GCOF project connects to the major EU-initiatives in the field of personalised health and care. The consortium also represents a variety of organisation types, including research organisations, businesses, policy makers, civil society organisations, education establishments and science & society centres.

Healthspan (the life period when one is generally healthy and free from serious disease) depends on nature (genetic make-up) and nurture (environmental influences, from the earliest stages of development throughout life). Genetic studies increasingly reveal mutations and polymorphisms that may affect healthspan. Similarly, claims abound about lifestyle modifications or treatments improving healthspan. In both cases, rigorous testing is hampered by the long lifespan of model organisms like mice (let alone humans) and the difficulty of introducing genetic changes to examine the phenotype of the altered genome. We will develop C. elegans as a healthspan model. Already validated extensively as an ageing model, this organism can be readily modified genetically, and effects of environmental manipulations on healthspan can be measured in days or weeks. Once validated as a healthspan model, it can be used for an initial assessment of preventive and therapeutic measures for humans, as well as for risk identification and the initial evaluation of potential biomarkers. It will also prove useful to study interactions between genetic and various environmental factors.