Tyranny of the Gene: Personalized Medicine and Its Threat to Public Health

This book is a fascinating description of the machinations at the highest levels of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to sell the US legislature and the public on the pending promise of personalized medicine, which touts "the right treatment for the right person at the right time." The push to prioritize personalized medicine is based on the notion that genes are the primary drivers of most medical maladies, even though GWAS (genome wide association study) investigations typically find trivial effects of genes on medical outcomes. Environmental contributors to medical problems have been downplayed, despite substantial evidence that environmental toxins (e.g., lead paint, water and air pollution) are major influences on disease. This book is a "must read" for anyone interested in how NIH leaders can steer research priorities -- and convince the US Congress that their priorities are crucial -- even when those priorities ignore clear and present dangers to public health. Review by Keith Widaman (using my partner's account)

I’m only about 1/3 of the way through this book, but it’s eye-opening. I’m an environmental health scientist & I wholeheartedly agree that we need to prioritize environmental health to prevent conditions rather than focusing on inequity-expanding & costly “personalized” medicine for treating them (which aren’t necessarily cures either!) I love that the author incorporates science, politics, & history to tell a story that more people should be aware of!!!

An excellently written tome revealing how a former head of NIH, was disingenuous about protecting the health of the nation by pushing personalized medicine -a highly overrated approach to medicine that rarely, if ever succeeded at the expense of proven public health approaches to both infectious and complex common diseases.