BACKGROUND :

The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand study (EGAT study), the first cohort study of chronic disease in Thailand, was set up by a group of cardiologists at Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok, in 1985. Their basic aim was to examine the effects of cardiovascular risk factors, as identified by Framingham and other studies, on health in the Thai population, specifically to see if the same risk factors worked in the same way as elsewhere. In the past decade, the EGAT cohort study has expanded its arms into ageing research, cancer research and genetic epidemiology research. Increasing numbers of researchers from several organisations, faculties, and institutions, both national and international are using EGAT data to answer their research questions and nation's needs. In this side meeting, we will review our past works, demonstrate some of our recent researches, and discuss on future direction. As an example of a sustainable public-private partnership in health research, we aim to expand our collaborative works more onto health policy both national and international scale.