Abstract
Global multiethnic genome‐wide association studies have elucidated the genetic factors of diseases that affect humans and the influence of ethnicity on the association of each gene polymorphism or variation with psychiatric and other diseases. Therefore, to actualize personalized medicine in Japan, the activities of biobanks that collect biospecimens and data from Japanese people are crucial. The Tohoku Medical Megabank Project biobank, which has collected biospecimens and data from 150,000 participants in population cohort studies, as well as Biobank Japan and the National Center Biobank Network, both of which have collected biospecimens and data from patients, are the representative biobanks in Japan. Biospecimens (i. e., DNA, plasma, serum, urine, and blood cells) and data (i. e., cohort data, clinical data, and genomics data) in biobanks have been used in multiple studies, such as genomics, gene function, biomarker, pharmacogenomics, immunity, and stress response studies, for the actualization of personalized medicine.
