Individualized Medicine

Individualized medicine — the concept that diagnosis and treatment can be tailored to your unique genetic code — is revolutionizing health care. Providing personalized, patient-specific medical care has always been a focus of Mayo Clinic, and the Center for Individualized Medicine is furthering Mayo's ability to bring you the latest, most advanced individualized therapies.

As almost every disease has a genetic component, your genetic makeup offers clues to your risk of developing a disease, the probable course a disease will take and the most effective therapeutic options.

By learning more about how genes vary among people — and interact with one another and the environment — Mayo Clinic physicians will be empowered to:

• Earlier and more accurately diagnose diseases
• Better predict outcomes
• Customize treatments while minimizing side effects

In recent years, Mayo Clinic researchers have made major contributions to the field of pharmacogenomics, the component of individualized medicine that focuses on how genetic factors influence your body's response to different medications.

In another individualized medicine study at Mayo, a biobank is being used to investigate proteins in the blood that may increase heart disease risk.

Your contribution can speed the progress of individualized medicine research at Mayo Clinic. Please give online or call 800-297-1185 (toll-free) to discuss your gift today.