Blueprint Epigenome: Navigating Your Path to Optimal Health

BLUEPRINT is a large-scale research project receiving close to 30 million euro in funding from the EU. 42 leading European universities, research institutes and industry entrepreneurs participated in what is one of the two first so-called high-impact research initiatives that received funding from the EU.

The BLUEPRINT consortium has been formed with the aim of furthering the understanding of how genes are activated or repressed in both healthy and diseased human cells. BLUEPRINT has focussed on distinct types of haematopoietic cells from healthy individuals and on their malignant leukaemic counterparts. It generated at least 100 reference epigenomes and studied them to advance and exploit knowledge of the underlying biological processes and mechanisms in health and disease.

This resource-generating activity was complemented by hypothesis-driven research into blood-based diseases, including common leukaemias and autoimmune disease (Type 1 Diabetes), by discovery and validation of epigenetic markers for diagnostic use and by epigenetic target identification. Since epigenetic changes are reversible, they can be targets for the development of novel and more individualised medical treatments.