The genetic heritage of a person or a population not only reveals their origins, but is also fundamental to understanding attributes such as vulnerability to diseases and clinical symptoms, responsiveness to treatments, and susceptibility to adverse effects of treatments. There are different initiatives around the world that collect genetic and lifestyle information from the population to contribute to the formulation of public health policies, support biomedical and genome research projects, and determine strategies to prevent and treat different pathologies. This panel will examine the progress made by Latin American and Caribbean countries in population-based medical genomic research, especially with regard to establishing biobanks and formulating research and development strategies for precision medicine.