Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
What does it take to build a national biobank with the power to reshape the future of medicine? Lili Milani, Head of the Estonian Biobank and Professor of Pharmacogenomics at the University of Tartu, shares the ambitious vision behind one of the world’s leading population health resources. In this installment of the SPRQ Your Research series, discover how Estonia is combining comprehensive electronic health records with advanced genomics to create a powerful engine for discovery.
Professor Milani discusses the Estonian Biobank’s pivotal transition to PacBio HiFi sequencing for its 10,000 genomes project. Learn why high-quality, long-read data is essential for analyzing pharmacogenetically important genes and other complex regions of the genome that were previously inaccessible with short-read sequencing. This approach aims to generate data robust enough for both cutting-edge, multiomic research and to support future clinical applications.
Explore how the PacBio Revio system and SPRQ chemistry are enabling the biobank to scale its efforts, accelerating the project timeline and expanding its scope. Professor Milani outlines the future of the biobank: a goal to sequence the entire cohort, help drive known findings toward translational programs for clinical decisions and collaborate internationally to advance the use of genomics in healthcare.
00:00 The vision of the Estonian Biobank
02:39 Estonia's innovative and ambitious mindset
04:52 The essential role of HiFi long-read sequencing
05:54 Why PacBio was chosen for the 10,000 genomes project
06:59 Combining genomic and deep phenotype data
09:45 How SPRQ chemistry enables project scaling
10:41 Pharmacogenetics: A key area for clinical implementation
11:41 The future of the Estonian Biobank
Subscribe for more insights from PacBio: youtube.com/@PacificBiosciences?sub_confirmation=1
Learn more about PacBio at pacb.com
Legal & Trademarks: Visit pacb.com/legal-and-trademarks
What does it take to build a national biobank with the power to reshape the future of medicine? Lili Milani, Head of the Estonian Biobank and Professor of Pharmacogenomics at the University of Tartu, shares the ambitious vision behind one of the world’s leading population health resources. In this installment of the SPRQ Your Research series, discover how Estonia is combining comprehensive electronic health records with advanced genomics to create a powerful engine for discovery.
Professor Milani discusses the Estonian Biobank’s pivotal transition to PacBio HiFi sequencing for its 10,000 genomes project. Learn why high-quality, long-read data is essential for analyzing pharmacogenetically important genes and other complex regions of the genome that were previously inaccessible with short-read sequencing. This approach aims to generate data robust enough for both cutting-edge, multiomic research and to support future clinical applications.
Explore how the PacBio Revio system and SPRQ chemistry are enabling the biobank to scale its efforts, accelerating the project timeline and expanding its scope. Professor Milani outlines the future of the biobank: a goal to sequence the entire cohort, help drive known findings toward translational programs for clinical decisions and collaborate internationally to advance the use of genomics in healthcare.
00:00 The vision of the Estonian Biobank
02:39 Estonia's innovative and ambitious mindset
04:52 The essential role of HiFi long-read sequencing
05:54 Why PacBio was chosen for the 10,000 genomes project
06:59 Combining genomic and deep phenotype data
09:45 How SPRQ chemistry enables project scaling
10:41 Pharmacogenetics: A key area for clinical implementation
11:41 The future of the Estonian Biobank
Subscribe for more insights from PacBio: youtube.com/@PacificBiosciences?sub_confirmation=1
Learn more about PacBio at pacb.com
Legal & Trademarks: Visit pacb.com/legal-and-trademarks
