Genome Wide association studies (GWASs) have progressed by leaps and bounds since the first GWAS was published. The field has expanded greatly since then, and a vast amount of new information has come to the fore, and with it, the realization that small genetic variations collectively contribute to the development of a wide variety of human traits and complex diseases.
However, despite advances in the technological and practical aspects of the field, it has lagged behind in a very important way; in that of diversity. Most studies over the years have focused on European populations (or those of European ancestry), thereby ignoring large swathes of the global population. This selection bias inevitably creates a gap in our understanding of the genetic architecture of human beings more generally, which in turn hampers the development of effective precision public health and medicine.
The variety of social, environmental, and economic factors which peoples of non-European ancestry are often subject to across the world are under-represented in GWAS. This is even more apparent among immigrant populations, many of whom contribute their diverse experiences and varied heritages to their new countries of residence. Further GWASs in immigrant populations, or otherwise more diverse samples, could lead to the discovery of new genomic insights and address this diversity gap.
This Research topic welcomes not only Original research contributions addressing the current lack of knowledge on immigrant populations within the field of GWAS, but also Opinions, Perspectives, and Data reports. We welcome submissions relating to the following immigrant populations:
· Non-European ancestry individuals migrating to primarily European ancestry population countries
· Asian ancestry migrants to the Middle East
· Asian ancestry migrants to Africa
· European ancestry migrants to South East Asia
Keywords:
Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology, GWAS, Diversity, Diverse Samples, Global, Immigrant Populations, asian ancestry
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Genome Wide association studies (GWASs) have progressed by leaps and bounds since the first GWAS was published. The field has expanded greatly since then, and a vast amount of new information has come to the fore, and with it, the realization that small genetic variations collectively contribute to the development of a wide variety of human traits and complex diseases.
However, despite advances in the technological and practical aspects of the field, it has lagged behind in a very important way; in that of diversity. Most studies over the years have focused on European populations (or those of European ancestry), thereby ignoring large swathes of the global population. This selection bias inevitably creates a gap in our understanding of the genetic architecture of human beings more generally, which in turn hampers the development of effective precision public health and medicine.
The variety of social, environmental, and economic factors which peoples of non-European ancestry are often subject to across the world are under-represented in GWAS. This is even more apparent among immigrant populations, many of whom contribute their diverse experiences and varied heritages to their new countries of residence. Further GWASs in immigrant populations, or otherwise more diverse samples, could lead to the discovery of new genomic insights and address this diversity gap.
This Research topic welcomes not only Original research contributions addressing the current lack of knowledge on immigrant populations within the field of GWAS, but also Opinions, Perspectives, and Data reports. We welcome submissions relating to the following immigrant populations:
· Non-European ancestry individuals migrating to primarily European ancestry population countries
· Asian ancestry migrants to the Middle East
· Asian ancestry migrants to Africa
· European ancestry migrants to South East Asia
Keywords:
Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology, GWAS, Diversity, Diverse Samples, Global, Immigrant Populations, asian ancestry
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.