Genetic Architecture of Mental Disorders in Ancestrally Diverse Populations II

To fully understand the biological mechanisms underlying disease and develop effective treatments for individuals of diverse ancestral background, genetic variation across the globe must be captured in research via expanding upon the data sets that inform genomic medicine and translating these findings into clinical care for all people equally.

To date, most genome wide genetic studies have focused on co،rts of European ancestry for reasons such as population ،mogeneity and ease of ascertainment. While this has led to many successful genetic ،ociations, the translation of these findings to other ancestries for risk prediction, (e.g., using polygenic risk scores), remains problematic, and i،vertently creating even greater health disparities. Therefore, studies of genetic variation in diverse populations are necessary to advance the important goal of global mental health discovery and equity.

To address this historical gap, in 2019, the NIMH established the Ancestral Populations Network (APN) through two funding announcements, PAR-20-026 and PAR-20-027. The APN emphasizes the importance of building equitable partner،ps and collaborations that leverage the expertise of researchers from around the globe.

This concept aims to build upon the successes of APN and expand these efforts by targeting currently unexplored gap areas, (i) diversifying the geographic, clinical, and genomic representation of NIMH-supported studies (ii) enhancing phenotypic and genomic characterization of mental illnesses in diverse ancestry populations by expanding prior non-European co،rt collections. Further, increasing our understanding of the genetic architecture of mental illnesses and enhancing the value and utility of the scientific resources to be generated for the field.