Our Future Health for translational science in common and rare disease | LATSS 2026

Speakers: Thorsten Forster (LifeArc) and Michael Cook (Our Future Health) Synposis: Our Future Health is the UK’s largest ever health research programme. It is designed to help everyone live longer and healthier lives through the discovery and testing of more effective approaches to prevention, earlier detection and treatment of diseases. In this joint session, Our Future Health’s Chief Science Officer will provide a high‑level overview of how Our Future Health’s design, scale and infrastructure open new opportunities for early‑stage translational research. This will be followed by LifeArc's Scientific Director for Health Data sharing concise early findings from CohorTS—our programme to discover and characterise rare disease cohorts within Our Future Health. We will briefly illustrate how Our Future Health’s questionnaire, genomic and linked electronic health data can be combined to assess feasibility, data completeness and early indicators of ‘trial‑readiness’ across selected rare conditions, underscoring the diverse possibilities of this approach and this unique research programme. This talk was recorded at the LifeArc Translational Science Summit 2026. ------------------------------------- LifeArc is a self-funded medical research organisation with one clear purpose – transforming the lives of people living with rare diseases and drug-resistant infections. We aim to deliver this by conducting and funding pioneering research, and working with partners to accelerate the translation of scientific breakthroughs into new tests and treatments. Our vision is a world where people living with rare diseases and drug-resistant infections can access effective, life-changing treatments faster. Find out more at lifearc.org