Baseline Study

Baseline Study is a medical and genomics project that aims to map a healthy human body. It is organized by Verily Life Sciences (formerly Google Life Sciences), Alphabet, Inc.'s health sciences division, and was announced in the Wall Street Journal on July 24, 2014.[1] It will begin by collecting data from 175 individuals anonymously, and plans to collect it from thousands more in its later stages. The project is run by Andrew Conrad, a molecular biologist at Google X, and employs between 70 and 100 experts from widely varying scientific fields.[1] The project is not the first one to aim to collect data on many individuals for medical purposes, but it aims to collect a much larger amount of data covering a broader array of topics than its predecessors.[1]

Purpose

The project's stated purpose is to enable doctors to predict the onset of diseases such as cancer and heart disease far earlier than is currently possible. The project's organizers hope this will move medicine toward an era centered on prevention rather than treatment.[2] The study also aims to identify biomarkers that make certain people more or less susceptible to various diseases.[1]

Methodology

The project began in the summer of 2014, when Google began recruiting volunteers to collect bodily fluids such as urine, blood, saliva and tears for a pilot study. Conrad and his team will then analyze this data and design a much larger study in conjunction with Duke's and Stanford's medical schools,[1] whose institutional review boards will also monitor the study and make sure the data from it is not misused, according to Google. Google also stated that all the data in the study would be anonymized before they would have access to it.[3]


Ethical concerns

Specialist online reporting service STAT News reported in 2016 that the contract for testing of the 200 patients for the study's pilot phase had been awarded without competitive bidding to the California Health & Longevity Institute, a luxury health clinic largely owned by Conrad that offers medical and cosmetic para-medical services and alternative medicine in a spa-like setting.[4] The report said that Conrad had stated that the clinic had the advantage of having all the testing equipment needed for the study in one location, but neither he nor officials from the clinic would disclose what relevant experience the clinic had in conducting the complex research required for the project.[4] Conrad further stated that the contract had been vetted by Google X's compliance and ethics officers when Verily was still part of that division, and a spokesperson stated that Conrad had recused himself from the decision-making project, but a former Verily employee claimed that Google X's vetting of the deal was perfunctory.[4]

STAT had also reported that Conrad’s leadership style, described by ex-employees and contractors as disrespectful and demoralizing, had led to the departure of key leaders from the company.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Barr, Alistair (24 July 2014). "Google's New Moonshot Project: the Human Body". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Stone, Jeff (25 July 2014). "Baseline Study, New Google 'Moonshot,' Continues Health-First Trend After Google Lenses, Project Loon". International Business Times. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Alter, Charlotte (28 July 2014). "Google Seeks Human Guinea Pigs for Health Project". Time. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Piller, Charles (7 April 2016). "Google's biotech venture hit by ethical concerns over deal with luxury clinic". STAT News. Retrieved 12 June 2016.

See also

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