Complementing the Genome with an “Exposome”: The Outstanding Challenge of Environmental Exposure Measurement in Molecular Epidemiology

The sequencing and mapping of the human genome provides a foundation for the elucidation of gene expression and protein function, and the identification of the biochemical pathways implicated in the natural history of chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and vascular and neurodegenerative diseases. This knowledge may consequently offer opportunities for a more effective treatment and improved patient management. Genetic research of this kind captures the public imagination in a positive manner and attracts political attention. For example, the 2003 UK Government White Paper on genetics (1), entitled “Our inheritance, our future: realising the potential of genetics in the National Health Service,”…