The stated goal of the Turkish Genome Project is to map out genetic structure and find reasons behind prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer or reasons behind longevity in a certain population group.The Health Ministry has also stated that it hope that the results of the project will lead to personalized medical treatment and create a biobank infrastructure.There has also been an other project in which 16 individuals had their DNA sequenced and this project is the next step in genetic sequencing in Turkey.The Health Ministry aims to have the 100,000 genomes sequenced within the first three years of the project's inception.
The project will focus on complex phenotypes which are regularly inherited from generation to generation, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It will also focus on rare diseases and types of cancers within the population. The project is important to the country as it has been a country with various populations intermingling for thousands of years, making the genetic make-up of the current population complex and unique. The country also has relatively high levels of consanguinity, which can result in an increase in diseases caused by recessive traits.
