Big data in biomedicine

•Big data has affected several sectors including biomedicine, life sciences and scientific research.•Genetics and genomics information are key enablers for predictive and personalized medicine.•The combination of genomics and clinical health data together with big data analytics will leverage personalized medicine.•Challenges such as data transfer and patient privacy will need to be addressed to apply big data analytics to the clinic.•Different companies and collaborative studies are starting to develop solutions to overcome these challenges.

The increasing availability and growth rate of biomedical information, also known as ‘big data’, provides an opportunity for future personalized medicine programs that will significantly improve patient care. Recent advances in information technology (IT) applied to biomedicine are changing the landscape of privacy and personal information, with patients getting more control of their health information. Conceivably, big data analytics is already impacting health decisions and patient care; however, specific challenges need to be addressed to integrate current discoveries into medical practice. In this article, I will discuss the major breakthroughs achieved in combining omics and clinical health data in terms of their application to personalized medicine. I will also review the challenges associated with using big data in biomedicine and translational science