Epidemiological methods can facilitate gene discovery and characterize how genes are distributed in populations, and how gene-environment interactions influence health outcomes. This will allow the field to evaluate the use of genetic information in treatment and prevention programs. The March 2005 Genomics and Epidemiology Symposium started a dialogue among participants on expanding research in North Carolina in the field of Population Genomics. The NC Task Force on Genomics and Public Health would like to continue this conversation with the creation of a BLOG site. We invite researchers in the field of genetics and epidemiology to share ideas.