International Conference on the Genetics of the Peoples of Africa and the Transat

Univ Of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This conference proposal requests NIH funding to advance the developing areas of African human genetics and genomics, particularly as they relate to health disparities research. We are seeking support for a 2-day International Conference on the Genetics of the Peoples of Africa and the Transatlantic African Diaspora to be held March 19-20, 2012 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The conference will accomplish its objectives through funding of the travel, room, board, and conference materials and registration costs of 40 established and emerging scholar-speakers, and scholarships for 60 post-doctoral scientists, junior faculty, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates (many from groups underrepresented in the sciences), for a total of 100 invited participants. We expect that the total conference audience will be 200 individuals. The overall objective of this conference is to bring together leading scholars to provide a comprehensive assessment of the genetics and genomics of the peoples of Africa and of the Transatlantic African Diaspora. The theme of this conference is unique in that it seeks to unite, for two days, scholars working directly in genetics and genomics with scholars in affiliated disciplines to more fully understand the broader context within which the latest genetic and genomic technologies and findings among African peoples should be interpreted and applied, particularly in areas of relevance to understanding and resolving health disparities. The scope, content, and format of this international conference promise to make it both unique and timely. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that the interface of genetics/genomics and health disparities has been considered in African-descended groups on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Indeed, conferences that focus on the application of genetic/genomic technologies to continental Africans and African-descended persons in the Americas are uncommon in the United States. Given the recent availability and future releases of increased coverage in global genetic diversity from projects such as the International HapMap Project and the 1000 Genomes Project, it is increasingly important for researchers to frame the context, quality and ethical implications of this data for exploring health disparities and human evolution in general. This conference will provide an important forum for linking scientists and scientific information from diverse disciplines and for sparking interdisciplinary research agendas at the frontiers of both human ecological and evolutionary genetics and genetic contributions to health disparities. Conference lectures and discussion panels are topically diverse and include plenary sessions on non-genetic insights into African population genetics (including paleoanthropological, linguistic, biohistorical, geographical, ecological, and demographic), advances in genetic/genomic biotechnology, translation and its application (including epigenetic changes, the genetics of health disparities, linking the genotype and the phenotype, ethics of genetic research, variation in disease susceptibilities, and public health genetics), and a special session on future strategies in African and Transatlantic African Diaspora genetics and genomics. The goal of this last plenary session will be to outline a research agenda for future studies and their application to issues in health disparities both on the continent and in the Americas. The conference's 18 confirmed speakers include a diverse mix of senior and junior scientists, including many women and members of ethnic minority groups. The overall structure of the conference is well-designed to promote interactions among participants. The increased engagement in the meeting by young scientists will be facilitated by a multi-media, targeted marketing and advertising campaign, as well as by the participation of well-published and respected senior researchers who have committed to attending and actively participating in this international meeting. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The roles of genetic/genomic variations in health disparities among African descended peoples remain greatly understudied. This conference will provide a bridge of knowledge that will begin to fill the gaps in our current understanding of the magnitude of genetic diversity in Africa and the Americas, its origins, ecological context, geographical distributions, and biomedical significance. The conference will provide data on African genetic variants, the presence of African genetic retentions in the Americas, as well as evidence for new genetic configurations. Additionally, the conference will explore the more relevant non-genetic factors that have differentially influenced the 21st Century profiles of African genetic and genomic variations and the impact of some of these factors on gene expression, disease susceptibilities and health disparities.