Strengthening our commitment to global data sharing: highlights from GA4GH 14th Plenary

2 Oct 2026

The global genomics community gathered in Singapore for the GA4GH 14th Plenary meeting, co-hosted by Precision Health Research Singapore (PRECISE), from 28 September to 2 October 2026. The meeting featured global perspectives, shed light on varying scales of genomics initiatives, and highlighted the launch of the Regional Hub Institution model with PRECISE committing to lead GA4GH engagement in Asia Pacific.

By Jaclyn Estrin, GA4GH Senior Science Writer

The global genomics community gathered in Singapore this week for the 14th annual Plenary meeting of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), co-hosted by Precision Health Research Singapore (PRECISE). Nearly 600 attendees joined the meeting in person in Singapore from 28 September to 2 October, with approximately two thirds of participants joining from Asia-Pacific countries.

GA4GH’s annual Plenary meetings convene representatives from across the genomics ecosystem, ranging from healthcare, to academia, to government, to industry. The Plenary meetings are designed to raise some of the most pressing topics surrounding genomic and health data sharing, while spotlighting a global array of perspectives and approaches to translate genomic medicine into positive health outcomes.

This meeting marks GA4GH’s first Plenary in Asia. GA4GH is working to extend its global engagement efforts, recognising the importance of bringing genomic standards and policy development into a variety of local contexts to ensure relevance and accessibility. Singapore has quickly become an exemplar in leading nation-wide genomics and precision medicine initiatives, building a strong foundation of public trust, comprehensive health data capture, and collaboration to embed data insights into healthcare. 14th Plenary was made possible through the tremendous support and expertise of the meeting’s co-host, PRECISE.

“We were delighted to host the GA4GH Plenary in Asia for the first time, and especially pleased to welcome over 400 delegates from across the Asia-Pacific region,” said Dr Shih Wee Seow, Senior Director, PRECISE (co-chair of the Plenary Programme Committee). “The strong regional participation reflects the growing precision medicine and genomics community across east Asia, and Singapore’s role as a trusted partner and convening point for these conversations. We hope this Plenary creates new connections and collaborations that will continue well beyond the meeting.”

14th Plenary was preceded by a full day convening of the GA4GH National Initiatives Forum (NIF) and was followed by GA4GH Connect, two days of concurrent working sessions.

NIF) brought together members of national and large-scale genomics initiatives to discuss progress, challenges, and best practices for implementing genomics in healthcare systems. This year’s NIF meeting hosted in-person representatives from 25 countries.

Sessions highlighted topics such as development of genomics infrastructure, improving genomic diversity in reference datasets, and integrating genomics into healthcare. A collaborative prioritisation session identified data infrastructure, interoperability, and international collaboration as top priorities for NIF to explore in the months ahead.

The 14th Plenary meeting officially commenced on 29 September with remarks from Patrick Tan (Executive Director of PRECISE) and Heidi Rehm (Chair of GA4GH). The meeting’s Guest of Honor, Mdm Rahayu Mahzam (Minister of State, Ministry of Digital Development and Information & Ministry of Health), welcomed attendees through an opening address.

During the opening session, GA4GH and PRECISE announced their newly formalised collaborative relationship by signing a Memorandum of Understanding for PRECISE to become an inaugural Regional Hub Institution of GA4GH, serving as a regional focal point to coordinate GA4GH engagement within the Asia-Pacific region. Read more in the press release here.

Heidi Rehm, Chair of GA4GH, said, “Our 14th GA4GH plenary welcomed a record number of participants. With a decade of growth and development, we are continually expanding our support for global data sharing. During our Plenary meeting, we were thrilled to witness the launch of a PRECISE-led Regional Hub Institution in Singapore, a critical step in engaging the Asia-Pacific region and advancing global representation within GA4GH.”

The Plenary meeting was headlined by six keynote speakers: Geoffrey Ginsburg (All of Us Research Program; National Institutes of Health), Bilal Mateen (Centre for Population Genomics — Garvan Institute; Murdoch Children’s Research Institute), Rob Annan (Genome Canada), Eric Green (Illumina), Robert Green (Mass General Brigham; Harvard Medical School), and Ee Shien Tan (PRECISE).

A dedicated Plenary Programme Committee thoughtfully designed the meeting’s agenda. The panels and talks centred around six themes: evolving models of genomic data sharing, AI in genomic medicine, demonstrating value in genomic medicine, embedding genomics into healthcare systems, genomic newborn screening, and genomics at population scale.

Speakers discussed how to advance global collaboration through responsible, secure, and interoperable data sharing, while shedding light on the evolution of genomic medicine from innovation to routine clinical care. A summary and recording of each session will be made available in the coming weeks in a comprehensive meeting report.

Concluding the Plenary week, participants engaged in two days of Connect sessions, which aim to advance GA4GH product development and implementation. An intensive two days of collaborative workshopping addressed technical questions, assessed community needs, and shaped the strategic direction of Work Stream priorities.

“Every time we come together in person, it is evident that each member of this community cares deeply about helping people, and cares deeply about connecting data to global communities,” said Sasha Siegel, Chief Product Officer of GA4GH. “It is the fundamental motivation of what brings us all here. GA4GH drives community-based development of standards and the Connect meeting fosters a specific opportunity for real-time knowledge exchange to advance standards development in a productive and substantial way.”

Conversations and continued progress will carry on through regular Work Stream and Community of Interest meetings throughout the year. Learn more about how to get involved with GA4GH here.

The community can look forward to gathering in-person again in 2027 for the April Connect meeting in Hinxton, UK from 27 to 30 April and in Cape Town, South Africa for a week of GA4GH meetings from 20 to 24 September, including the National Initiatives Forum, Connect, and the GA4GH 15th Plenary meeting. 

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Thank you to the Plenary Programme Committee (PPC) co-chairs Seow Shih Wee and Tan Ee Shien, both from PRECISE, and PPC members — Jakris Eu-ahsunthornwattana (Thai Society of Human Genetics; Thailand), Ada Hamosh (Johns Hopkins Medicine; US), Kahlil Lawless (Illumina; Canada), Tazro Ohta (Chiba University; Japan), Daniel Puthawala (Nationwide Children’s Hospital; US), and Serena Scollen (ELIXIR; UK) — alongside GA4GH representatives Heidi Rehm (GA4GH Chair), Peter Goodhand (GA4GH CEO), Angela Page, and Justina Chung, for their dedication in cultivating a meaningful event programme.

Thank you to the generous funders and sponsors who helped to make GA4GH 14th Plenary possible.