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Cross-ancestry genomic research: time to close the gap

Neuropsychopharmacology (2022)Cite this article

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Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revolutionized our ability to understand the genetic underpinnings of biomedical traits; however, their extreme Eurocentric bias has exacerbated health inequities. In this perspective, we highlight recent efforts to address the imbalance of ancestral representation in genomics research, including the formation of large collaborative efforts and the development of novel statistical methods to improve translation of genomic insights across ancestries. Using more ancestrally diverse GWAS samples will improve our understanding of the genetic architecture of complex diseases, not only for the understudied populations, but for individuals of all ancestral backgrounds.

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Funding

This work is supported by the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (28IR-0070 to AAP and T29KT0526 to SSR and SBB), NIDA (DP1DA054394 to SSR), by the Department of Veterans Affairs via NIDA (R21DA050160 and 1IK2CX002095-01A1 to JLMO), the National Institutes of Mental Health (K01 MH121659 to EGA), the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (GM139534-01 to GET), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Elizabeth G. Atkinson & Grace E. Tietz

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Sevim B. Bianchi, Gordon Y. Ye, Abraham A. Palmer & Sandra Sanchez-Roige

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    José Jaime Martínez-Magaña & Janitza L. Montalvo-Ortiz

  4. VA CT Healthcare Center, West Haven, CT, USA

    José Jaime Martínez-Magaña & Janitza L. Montalvo-Ortiz

  5. US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Clinical Neurosciences Division, West Haven, CT, USA

    Janitza L. Montalvo-Ortiz

  6. Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Paola Giusti-Rodriguez

  7. Institute for Genomic Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Abraham A. Palmer

  8. Department of Medicine, Division of Genetic Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA

    Sandra Sanchez-Roige

Authors
  1. Elizabeth G. Atkinson
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  2. Sevim B. Bianchi
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  3. Gordon Y. Ye
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  4. José Jaime Martínez-Magaña
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  5. Grace E. Tietz
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  6. Janitza L. Montalvo-Ortiz
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  7. Paola Giusti-Rodriguez
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  8. Abraham A. Palmer
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  9. Sandra Sanchez-Roige
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Contributions

SSR conceived the idea. SSR and EGA wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors edited and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sandra Sanchez-Roige.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Atkinson, E.G., Bianchi, S.B., Ye, G.Y. et al. Cross-ancestry genomic research: time to close the gap. Neuropsychopharmacol. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01365-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01365-7

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