Starting today, we&#8217;re providing an easy way for our customers to share and crowdsource treatments they use to manage common health conditions, like depression, asthma, <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/new-23andme-report-on-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder">ADHD</a> and migraine.
<h6>Conditions Pages</h6>
All 23andMe Health + Ancestry service customers will be able to learn about the effectiveness and popularity of hundreds of different treatments for common conditions — and will also be able to contribute their own personal experiences. Crowdsourced treatment ratings are just one facet of our new <a href="https://you.23andme.com/research/condition/">Condition Pages</a>, which contain database insights on 18 <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-adds-another-important-condition-to-health-communities">common health conditions</a>.
Each condition page includes scientifically curated information describing the condition, its genetic and non-genetic influences, as well as how common it is in 23andMe research participants.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-26135 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Conditions-PageDepression.jpg" alt="An image from the health conditions page showing results around depression." width="890" height="681" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Conditions-PageDepression.jpg 890w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Conditions-PageDepression-300x230.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Conditions-PageDepression-768x588.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Conditions-PageDepression-880x673.jpg 880w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 890px) 100vw, 890px" />
The treatment section summarizes what 23andMe customers with these conditions say works or does not work in treating their condition.
<h6>Treatments Page</h6>
This kind of crowd-sourced tool allows individuals with say, depression, to see what other customers say is effective or not effective in treating the condition. This offers people a different kind of information than they could get simply by doing a Google search, because it comes from others like them living with the same conditions.
Since rolling out the treatment pages over the past few weeks, thousands of people have already contributed over 30,000 personal reviews of their responses to different treatments. This is allowing people to <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-adds-another-important-condition-to-health-communities">build communities</a> that share common conditions but have different strategies for dealing with them. At 23andMe, we believe in helping our customers manage their health — not just through <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry/">genetic reports</a>, but also by giving them access to lots of useful, relevant information.
“It’s evident by the growing response from our customers that there is a real desire for information around health treatments,” says Jessie Inchauspe, the product manager who spearheaded work on the treatment pages. “It’s important to enable people to actively engage in sharing health information with each other.”
This is the first time we’ve enabled customers to share real-time health information with one another.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-26134 size-large" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Treatment-effectivenss-1024x946.jpg" alt="A page from the health conditions feature that shows an example of how people report what they do for their depression including using medication and exercise and how they rate its effectiveness." width="1024" height="946" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Treatment-effectivenss-1024x946.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Treatment-effectivenss-300x277.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Treatment-effectivenss-768x710.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Treatment-effectivenss-880x813.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Treatment-effectivenss-1180x1090.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Treatment-effectivenss.jpg 1554w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
For example, you can see here the most <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/what-patients-say-works-for-bipolar-disorder">effective treatments for depression</a> reported by 23andMe customers. These include therapy, exercise, and antidepressants such as Zoloft and Wellbutrin.
<h6>Crowdsourced Information</h6>
You can also see what treatments could potentially lead to worse outcomes. For example, based on the data shared for asthma, inhalers were among the most used and most effective treatment, but they also included some cases where the symptoms got worse. However, “avoiding allergens” was a relatively effective approach without any potential negative effects.
Many treatments are designed for the average patient in mind, but few of us are actually average. We are each unique, and understanding those differences — even small ones — is essential to learn how to better treat conditions and make medical care more personalized. Genetics certainly offers important insight into how we differ in response to treatments. Allowing people to have a place to share their own experience will also aid in our understanding.
For now, the purpose of these pages is to share this crowdsourced information on the effectiveness of treatments. But the information could at some people aid in research into how people of different ethnicities or different genetic makeups respond differently to treatments.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

Crowdsource Treatments for Health Conditions

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have identified more than a dozen new genetic variants associated with depression, offering more details of the influence genetics has on the condition, which affects more than 322 million people worldwide.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/iStock_000009024892XSmall.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-17675" height="310" width="387" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/iStock_000009024892XSmall.jpg 387w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/iStock_000009024892XSmall-300x240.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 387px) 100vw, 387px" />
The study — funded by the science charity <a href="https://wellcome.ac.uk/about-us">Wellcome Trust</a> — was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03819-3">Nature Communications</a> and used data from more than 300,000 people that are part of the<a href="http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/"> UK Biobank</a>. Researchers identified almost 17 genetic variants associated with depression, and the findings were then replicated against data from a similar-sized dataset that consisted of 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research.
While twin studies have long shown a strong genetic influence for depression, pinpointing the genes and genetic variants involved has been elusive until only the last few years. Access to new and very large data sets is revealing genetic associations that could not be seen before in smaller studies.
“These new findings help us better understand the causes of depression and show how the UK Biobank study and big data research has helped advance mental health research,” said Professor <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/clinical-brain-sciences/news/news-jan-jun-2018/genes-trigger-depression">Andrew McIntosh</a>, Ph.D., of the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences and the lead author of the study.
The UK Biobank data includes individuals with depression classified in three different categories: clinically diagnosed major depressive disorder, self-diagnosed “probable” major depressive disorder, and a third category defined as broad depression that may also include traits such as anxiety. The researchers found associations across all three categories and identified 17 genetic variants associated with depression. While a few of these variants have been identified in other studies to be associated with depression, 14 of the associations are new. Those genetic variants influenced genes involved in the function of synapses in the brain.
&#8220;This study identifies genes that potentially increase our risk of depression, adding to the evidence that it is partly a genetic disorder,” said David Howard, Ph.D., a co-lead author of the study and a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh&#8217;s Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences.  “The findings also provide new clues to the causes of depression and we hope it will narrow down the search for therapies that could help people living with the condition.&#8221;
Separate to this work, 23andMe has worked on other studies investigating depression. In 2016, along with Massachusetts General Hospital and Pfizer, we published findings in what was by far the<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/ng.3623"> largest study</a> of its kind focused on major depressive disorder. In that study, researchers identified 15 new genetic regions linked to depression. And last year 23andMe launched a<a href="https://www.23andme.com/depression-bipolar/"> depression and bipolar disorder study</a>, quickly enrolling 15,000 people with major depressive disorder. That work is ongoing, and we look forward to continuing to contribute to advances in depression research.

Study Finds New Genetic Associations for Depression

Expanding on a series of initiatives to improve diversity in genomic research, 23andMe is launching the <a href="https://research.23andme.com/populations-collaborations/">Populations Collaborations Program</a>, partnering with researchers working across the globe to genotype people in communities who are underrepresented in genetic research.

Everyone, no matter their ethnicity, should benefit from the scientific insights we gain through research but that hasn’t happened to date because of a lack of diversity in biomedical and genetic research. Underrepresented communities already frequently experience <a href="https://www.kff.org/disparities-policy/issue-brief/disparities-in-health-and-health-care-five-key-questions-and-answers/#footnote-195310-1">less access to health care and poorer outcomes</a>, and because there are <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/genomics-is-failing-on-diversity-1.20759">fewer studies among these underrepresented populations</a> those disparities are compounded.

Through the Populations Collaborations program, we will provide financial and scientific support for qualified researchers from academic research institutions in the United States to genotype people in communities across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This, in turn, will help improve the diversity of our data as well as improve genetics research globally.

“Many populations around the world remain missing from genomic databases,” said Brenna Henn, an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Davis. “In order to increase representation, DNA sampling often requires serious engagement from academic institutions and local communities, but few funding sources support the necessary field work. 23andMe’s Populations Collaborations Program provides an exciting new mechanism to improve our understanding of human history and genetic diversity everywhere around the world, while also helping their customers pinpoint their diverse ancestries.” 

&nbsp;
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/World-Map-1024x625.png" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-26132 size-large" title="Diversity in genomic research" height="625" width="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/World-Map-1024x625.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/World-Map-300x183.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/World-Map-768x469.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/World-Map-880x537.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/World-Map-1180x721.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/World-Map.png 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />


The effort follows collaborations 23andMe has <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/108/13/5154.long#sec-11">already completed</a> or initiated with researchers recruiting participants from places like Honduras and Angola. The most recent completed project is a collaboration with Dr. Nathan Nunn, Frederic E. Abbe Professor of Economics at Harvard, who is studying individuals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The genetic data we provide will assist those researchers in their studies, and be used by 23andMe to conduct research for publication and to improve our products and services, such as providing finer resolution for our ancestry reports.

In addition to considering scientific merit, we will evaluate how the research benefits the community being studied. The research process — which requires that researchers obtain consent from participants — will be overseen by an independent review board from the researchers’ institutions, as well as ethics review boards in the countries where the research is conducted. We will give preference to studies that engage local researchers and community members in the project, and we’ll provide additional support for community investments.

Improving diversity in genetic research is a global challenge, but it’s a priority for our company. 23andMe’s mission has always been to help people — all people — access, understand and benefit from the human genome. So over the years, we have endeavored to create programs to reach people in underrepresented communities. 

Those efforts go back several years and include 23andMe’s <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/roots-into-the-future/">Roots Into the Future project</a>, which was designed to study the genetics of diseases impacting African Americans. We’ve also worked on an NIH-funded project to develop a new way to detect disease-causing genetic variants among <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/news/announcements/23andme-scientists-improving-diversity-in-genetic-research/">ethnically mixed populations</a>. Our <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/the-african-genetics-project/">African Genetics Project</a> recruited people who emigrated from, or whose parents emigrated from, several specific countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in order to enhance research and enrich our services. 

More recently, we began an <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/african-american-sequencing-project/">African-American Sequencing Project</a>, which creates an African American sequencing panel from 23andMe customers who consented to participate in research. The data from this panel will be made available for qualified researchers conducting important health studies through an NIH database. At the end of last year, we also launched the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/global-genetics/">Global Genetics Project</a>, which provides complimentary kits to participants with all four grandparents born in countries underrepresented in our reference data. The project has gained significant momentum, with enrollment hitting over 1,600 participants in the two months since its launch.

We still have a lot of work to do, but we hope that these initiatives will help 23andMe expand its own reference data sets, improve the ability of our scientists to study groups who are currently underrepresented in genetic research, and reveal new insights. We hope our latest Populations Collaborations Program will help qualified researchers to conduct a wide range of research studies to benefit communities where they work and across the globe.

23andMe’s Populations Collaborations

Hair color is one of the first traits you notice about a person, but its genetic underpinnings are not so obvious. 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Blond-Hair.png" alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-22160" height="319" width="287" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Blond-Hair.png 287w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Blond-Hair-270x300.png 270w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 287px) 100vw, 287px" />
Twin studies suggest that up to 97 percent of variation in hair color is heritable, but the 13 loci associated with hair color that have been identified to date only explain about 13 percent of that heritability suggesting that many hair pigmentation genes remain undiscovered. 

To fill in those gaps, a research team from King’s College, London, worked in collaboration with 23andMe on a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-018-0100-5">recently published study in Nature Genetics</a>, where they identified 124 loci significantly associated with self-reported hair color.

The team, led by Tim Spector, MD, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Director of the TwinsUK Registry, utilized large genomic datasets, including research participants from 23andMe (n=157,653) and the <a href="http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/">UK Biobank</a> (n=133,238), to identify much of the missing heritability for pigmentation. Participants self-reported their natural adult hair color as one of the following categories: blond, red, light brown, dark brown, and black. In order to minimize population admixture and stratification, the analyses were adjusted for age, sex, and the first ten principal components of the genotype matrix. The analyses were also restricted to individuals of homogenous European ancestry.

The results of a genome wide association study meta analysis reached conventional genome-wide significance (p&lt;5&#215;10-08) in 124 loci, including all 13 previously known pigmentation loci. To validate these results and introduce a testing dataset, researchers collected GWAS summary statistics from the International Visible Trait Genetics (VisiGen) Consortium, and conducted another meta-analysis of that dataset. Despite the lower statistical power of the replication cohort due to smaller sample size, most leading SNP loci from the discovery meta-analysis replicated with the same direction of association (73 of 124 loci). Analyses also confirmed a strong association in line with the known North-South cline in <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/hair-color/">hair color variation</a>, especially in the less ethnically homogeneous 23andMe cohort.

The loci identified in this study explain 34.6 percent of red hair, 24.8 percent of blond hair, and 26.1 percent of black hair heritability, vastly improving our understanding of pigmentation in humans. While additional pigmentation genes are still yet to be discovered, this research will help guide future studies, including those on the functional mechanisms leading to pigmentation variation. These advances could ultimately lead to the discovery of treatments for diseases that result from biological impairment of pigmentation, such as melasma and vitiligo, and may aid forensic and anthropological applications of DNA-based prediction.

The full set of summary statistics can be made available to qualified investigators who enter into an agreement with 23andMe that protects participant confidentiality. Please contact dataset-request@23andMe.com for more information.

Hysi PG, Valdes AM, Liu F, Furlotte NA, et al. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-018-0100-5">“Genome-wide association meta-analysis of individuals of European ancestry identifies new loci explaining a substantial fraction of hair color variation and heritability.”</a> Nature Genetics. 16 April 2018.

More on the Genetics of Hair Color

A new study has identified hundreds of genes associated with <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/traits/hair-color/">hair color</a> using a predictive model incorporating multiple genes to help explain the shades of blond locks, black manes, brown dos, and red curls among people of European ancestry.



“This work will impact several fields of biology and medicine. As the largest ever genetic study on pigmentation, it will improve our understanding of diseases like melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer,&#8221; said Professor Tim Spector of King’s College London, one of the lead authors of the paper. &#8220;The genes that affect hair color also affect other cancer types, while other pigment genes affect the chances of having Crohn’s and other forms of bowel disease.&#8221;



This very large genome-wide association study gives new insight into the genetic influence on human hair and pigmentation, according to the researchers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-combing-through-the-data">Combing through the Data</h2>



Led by scientists at Kings College London, the study included contributions from researchers at more than a dozen institutions and data from more than 300,000 people. About half of the data came from individuals who contributed data to the UK Biobank, and the other half came from 23andMe customers who consented to participate in the research.



Published in the journal Nature Genetics, the findings, including identifying 124 genes associated with hair color, were validated using two smaller datasets.



Combining the data, the researchers said that the hundreds of genetic variants they identified help explain about a third of the genetic variation that contributes to whether someone has red hair and about a quarter of the variation for both black and blond hair.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iStock-521623751-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26009" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iStock-521623751-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iStock-521623751-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iStock-521623751-768x513.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iStock-521623751-880x587.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iStock-521623751-1180x788.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/iStock-521623751.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-latitude-and-hair-color">Latitude and hair color</h2>



The study also confirms the so-called “North-South cline” in hair color — this is the strong association between hair color and latitude, where darker hair is more common among people with ancestry from European countries in lower latitudes, and lighter locks are more common among those with ancestry from European countries in more northern latitudes. The difference also relates to the sunlight in northern and southern latitudes. Less sunlight means it is harder to produce vitamin D. An adaptation to living in those environments has lighter skin and hair that comes with less pigmentation, which in turn makes it easier to produce vitamin D.



“Besides substantially increasing our understanding of human pigmentation genetics in general, finding these new hair color genes is also important for further increasing the accuracy of hair color prediction from DNA traces in future forensic applications, which can help to find unknown perpetrators of crime,” said Professor Manfred Kayser, of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam who is also the co-lead author of the paper.



Of all the visible traits among people of European ancestry, hair color is one of the most distinguishing, but hair cells don’t control the color of each strand. Hair strand color is controlled through skin cells called melanocytes that make pigments known as melanin. The amount and type of pigmentation control the color and shade of hair. It’s this connection to the pigmentation process that, in part, explains the substantial overlap between skin pigmentation, hair color, and eye color.



While this study confirms the strong genetic influence on hair color, it also vastly improves our understanding of melanin pigmentation, which, according to the researchers, could lend further insights into diseases and conditions related to the impairment of the pigmentation process.



&#8220;While the genetics of hair color is an interesting problem in itself, we hope that better understanding of the biology of melanin pigmentation will be applicable to studies of diseases that interact with pigmentation, such as skin cancer or vitiligo,&#8221; said David Hinds, PhD, 23andMe principal scientist and a co-author.

Untangling the Genetics of Hair Color

Venus and Serena Williams, the Marx brothers, or our very own CEO Anne Wojcicki and her sisters Susan and Janet — our connections with siblings can be one of the strongest bonds in our lives. Finding those connections is one of the things that make 23andMe so special, our ability to reunite long-lost siblings — some have been looking for each other for years, while others never knew one another existed. 
Today on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siblings_Day">National Siblings Day</a>, we wanted to revisit a few of our favorite stories about brothers and sisters who built new connections with the help of 23andMe.

<a href="http://people.com/human-interest/identical-twin-sisters-separated-birth-find-each-other-33-years-later/">Amanda and Katey</a>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Amanda-Kay-1024x620.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-26115" width="1024" height="620" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Amanda-Kay-1024x620.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Amanda-Kay-300x182.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Amanda-Kay-768x465.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Amanda-Kay-880x533.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Amanda-Kay-1180x715.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Amanda-Kay.jpg 1311w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />The story of identical twin sisters Amanda and Katey finding each other still gives us goosebumps. The pair were both born in Seoul, South Korea, but separated after being adopted to two separate American families. Amanda grew up in California, while Katey was raised in Arizona. They found each other using 23andMe after 33 years being apart. They soon discovered uncanny parallels in their lives — from failing algebra the same year in school, to passing their driving test on the second try. After decades apart the two sisters are now making up for lost time.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw8G1JCr47w">Winnie and Meta</a>
<iframe loading="lazy" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hw8G1JCr47w" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Winnie always knew she was adopted. The 76-year-old always felt supported, had children and grandchildren who loved her, but always felt something was missing. Winnie spent decades searching for her birth family, pouring over her adoption records, and searching through tens of thousands of names she thought might lead her to her birth mother or father. Winnie’s big break didn’t come until she took 23andMe’s DNA test, which helped her find a nephew, and ultimately her half sister, Meta. This led her to two more half sisters and her half brother, who were overjoyed to meet her. Winnie shared with us when she found her family, “To actually hug someone you are biologically related at 75 years old, is just amazing.” 

<a href="https://www.today.com/video/watch-3-siblings-reunite-with-their-long-lost-sister-on-megyn-kelly-today-1185580099728">Laurie, Amber, Christine and Brian</a>

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Siblings-Laurie-Christine-Brian-and-Amber-1024x566.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-26116" width="1024" height="566" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Siblings-Laurie-Christine-Brian-and-Amber-1024x566.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Siblings-Laurie-Christine-Brian-and-Amber-300x166.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Siblings-Laurie-Christine-Brian-and-Amber-768x424.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Siblings-Laurie-Christine-Brian-and-Amber-880x486.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Siblings-Laurie-Christine-Brian-and-Amber-1180x652.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Siblings-Laurie-Christine-Brian-and-Amber-271x149.jpg 271w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Siblings Laurie, Christine, Brian and Amber were adopted at a very young age. While Laurie, Christine and Brian stayed together, Amber, the youngest, was adopted by a separate family. The four were separated for decades. Then Laurie took the 23andMe genetic test and got an unexpected message, “you have one direct family member” in her DNA Relatives report. For decades the four siblings had no means of finding each other. Now that they’ve connected, they are talking non-stop. Best of all, Amber is pregnant and she will be giving her child the gift of additional family, two aunts and an uncle. 

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eYt9CESTq4">Pat and Angel</a>
<iframe loading="lazy" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6eYt9CESTq4" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Pat was adopted as a baby, and never knew any of her birth family. Her daughter Kelle used 23andMe not knowing she would find her mother’s sister, Angel. For years Pat’s fear of being rejected by her birth family, prevented her from searching for them. But after she and her sister Angel connected in December 2016, she was welcomed with open arms and has never looked back.

Anyone with a brother or sister knows the bonds siblings can share. That’s what makes these stories of siblings finding each other so powerful. Not everyone is looking for long lost family, but we all have our own DNA stories. What’s your 23andMe story? We’d love to hear it. Please share it with us at <a href="mailto:stories@23andMe.com">stories@23andMe.com</a>.

23andMe Celebrates Siblings Day

Earlier this month 23andMe added a new <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-health-ancestry">Carrier Status* report</a> on a serious but rare condition that can lead to excessive insulin production.
Known as familial hyperinsulinism (FHI), this congenital disease is most commonly found in people with Ashkenazi Jewish, central Finnish and Saudi ancestry. FHI causes overproduction of insulin that in turn can lead to low blood sugar, low energy, irritability, seizures, and if left untreated, brain damage. But the condition can be treatable if caught early. FHI is usually diagnosed in infancy or early childhood.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/FHI-Detail-1024x606.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter wp-image-26107 size-large" width="1024" height="606" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/FHI-Detail-1024x606.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/FHI-Detail-300x178.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/FHI-Detail-768x455.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/FHI-Detail-880x521.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/FHI-Detail-1180x699.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/FHI-Detail.jpg 1687w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
This newly added Carrier Status* report doesn’t diagnose FHI. Instead, it reports on whether you are a carrier of one of three variants in the ABCC8 gene. The report is called “Familial Hyperinsulinism (ABCC8-Related), and it tests for three variants in the ABCC8 gene that can cause FHI. These three variants cover about 97 percent of ABCC8-related FHI variants in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, and about 41 percent of variants in people of Finnish descent.
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What’s a Carrier Status* Report?
Carrier status tests are a type of genetic test used to find out if you carry a genetic change – or variant. For the types of conditions included in a carrier status test, having one genetic change – being a carrier – typically means you do not have that condition, but you could pass the variant on to your each of your children.
 
Carrier status tests are typically offered for autosomal recessive conditions [or disorders]. For these conditions, a child needs to inherit a variant from both parents in order to have the condition. If both parents are carriers, each child has a one in four, or 25 percent, chance of being affected with the condition. 
(It’s important to note that this also means that each child has a 75 percent chance of not being affected.)
 
Autosomal recessive conditions for which carrier testing is commonly offered by healthcare providers include cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and sickle cell anemia, among many others.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Carrier-Status-300x239.jpg" alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26106" width="300" height="239" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Carrier-Status-300x239.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Carrier-Status-768x612.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Carrier-Status-1024x816.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Carrier-Status-880x701.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Carrier-Status.jpg 1137w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
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Carriers have a slight risk of developing a form of FHI. But the report is most relevant for prospective parents, who could pass the variant on to their children.
About one in 52 people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent are carriers of ABCC8-related FHI. And as we noted earlier, unlike with our other Carrier Status* reports, being a carrier of one of the three variants in our report does carry a small risk (less than 1 percent) of developing a form of FHI. 
The FHI report is the latest in a regular cadence of new FDA-authorized health-related reports 23andMe offers customers. This brings the total number of Carrier Status* reports to 43. 23andMe also includes Genetic Health Risk* reports, and next month, 23andMe will add a BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants)* report to its list of Genetic Health Risk* reports. The BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants)* report is the first-ever direct-to-consumer genetic health report on cancer risk.
As with other health-related reports, 23andMe has a tutorial customers can go through before viewing their Familial Hyperinsulinism (ABCC8-Related) report. In addition to the tutorial, the report itself offers details on the condition, the specific variants tested for and the scientific details supporting the report. There are also links to information about genetic counseling and support group resources.
*The 23andMe PGS test uses qualitative genotyping to detect select clinically relevant variants in the genomic DNA of adults from saliva for the purpose of reporting and interpreting genetic health risks and reporting carrier status. It is not intended to diagnose any disease. Your ethnicity may affect the relevance of each report and how your genetic health risk results are interpreted. Each genetic health risk report describes if a person has variants associated with a higher risk of developing a disease, but does not describe a person’s overall risk of developing the disease. The test is  not intended to tell you anything about your current state of health, or to be used to make medical decisions, including whether or not you should take a medication, how much of a medication you should take, or determine any treatment. Our carrier status reports can be used to determine carrier status, but cannot determine if you have two copies of any genetic variant. These carrier reports are not intended to tell you anything about your risk for developing a disease in the future, the health of your fetus, or your newborn child&#8217;s risk of developing a particular disease later in life. For certain conditions, we provide a single report that includes information on both carrier status and genetic health risk. Warnings &amp; Limitations: The 23andMe PGS Genetic Health Risk Report for BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) is indicated for reporting of the 185delAG and 5382insC variants in the BRCA1 gene and the 6174delT variant in the BRCA2 gene. The report describes if a woman is at increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, and if a man is at increased risk of developing breast cancer or may be at increased risk of developing prostate cancer. The three variants included in this report are most common in people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and do not represent the majority of BRCA1/BRCA2 variants in the general population. This report does not include variants in other genes linked to hereditary cancers and the absence of variants included in this report does not rule out the presence of other genetic variants that may impact cancer risk. The PGS test is not a substitute for visits to a healthcare professional for recommended screenings or appropriate follow-up.  Results should be confirmed in a clinical setting before taking any medical action. For important information and limitations regarding other genetic health risk reports and carrier status reports, [visit <a href="https://www.23andme.com/test-info/">https://www.23andme.com/test-info/]</a>

23andMe Adds A New Carrier Status Report on Familial Hyperinsulinism

By Jey McCreight, Ph.D., Research Communications Scientist
It takes a village to do research. 23andMe’s scientific discoveries are made possible by our more than three million customers who’ve consented to participate in research and by our collaborators. Those collaborators include people like Varun Warrier, MPhil, a graduate student in the laboratory of Simon Baron-Cohen at the University of Cambridge. Warrier has led several collaborative studies with 23andMe, including most recently two studies on empathy published in Translational Psychiatry and Molecular Psychiatry and another on “theory of mind” published in Scientific Reports.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-26099" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-150x150.jpg 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-300x300.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-768x768.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-880x880.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-1180x1180.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-271x271.jpg 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-372x372.jpg 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-574x574.jpg 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier-980x980.jpg 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Varun-Warrier.jpg 1481w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
<h2>Autism, Genetics, and Neuroscience</h2>
JM: What motivated you to start studying autism first?
VW: I don&#8217;t think anything specifically motivated me to study autism. I was interested in genetics and neuroscience, and during my undergraduate and master&#8217;s, I tried to choose between the two of them. Then, at some point, I realized that I didn&#8217;t have to choose — I could use methods in genetics to investigate the biology of mental health conditions. I wrote to Simon and asked if I could join his lab to do this research. What really attracted me to the Autism Research Centre was the fact that they were looking at the dimensional aspect of autism, which, to me, was a lot more exciting than thinking of mental health conditions as existing in silos.

JM: How has the rapidly increasing availability of large datasets changed the field of psychiatric genomics?
VW: The progress has been immense. The earliest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of a psychiatric condition was a decade ago. Until about 2013 or so, we had a handful of genetic variants associated with any psychiatric condition or related traits. Thanks to large datasets like 23andMe and the UK Biobank, the number of variants discovered has seen a massive jump in the last five years. For instance, just about a month ago, a preprint was posted on BioRxiv that identified more than 600 genetic regions associated with risky behavior. We&#8217;ve crossed a milestone in psychiatric genetics. The next challenge is to link this to biology and use these polygenic scores to inform diagnosis and interventions.
<h2>Genome-Wide Association Studies and Autism</h2>
JM: What are the benefits of using GWAS to investigate autistic behavioral traits? Are there any limitations?
VW: First, the limitations. The underlying risk for developing autism is only partly genetic (60 to 80 percent). With traits like empathy or theory of mind, genetics account for an even smaller proportion of the variance. So we are very much working within that fraction of variance when we look at genetics. The other thing to bear in mind is that the environment plays a vital role in whether someone chooses to receive an diagnosis or not. For instance, if you&#8217;re in a supportive environment that allows you to flourish and have high autistic traits, then you may choose not to receive a diagnosis. There are quite a few other factors besides genetics that determine the relative wellbeing of an individual.
That said, the benefits far outweigh the limitations. Personally, I think trying to delineate the genetic mechanisms underlying autism is vital for us to understand anything else about the condition. The interesting thing about genetics is that, by and large, we can assume that reverse causality is absent. With almost anything else, you aren&#8217;t entirely sure if what you&#8217;re observing is a cause or a consequence of the condition. Once you better understand the genetic mechanisms of a condition like autism, you can use that to better understand things like neural circuits or methylation signatures in autism and understand causality.
<h2>Empathy and Autism</h2>
JM: Your recent papers investigate different processes contributing to autism, such as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-21737-8">theory of mind</a>, <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/11/14/050682">empathy</a>, <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/12/03/228254">systemizing</a>, and <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/10/05/196071">relationship satisfaction</a>. Why is it important to look at these individual processes rather than autism?
VW: Autism is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous group of conditions. We can think of it in two ways. In the first scenario, we can go by the diagnostic label of autism for research. However, we know that there is immense heterogeneity within the condition, which we may not be able to dissect genetically unless we look at it from other perspectives. An alternative is to investigate traits that are typically distributed in the general population but in which autistic individuals, on average, have strengths or difficulties in — or in other words, thinking of autism as being along multiple different dimensions. Our lab has a longstanding interest in investigating the dimensional nature of autism, and thanks to 23andMe and other genetic biobanks like the UK Biobank and ALSPAC, we could do just that using genetics.
<h2>The Role of Systemizing</h2>
JM: You recently identified three loci significantly associated with systemizing, a non-social autistic trait. What is systemizing, and why is it important to consider both social and non-social traits when investigating the genetic architecture of autism?
VW: Systemizing is an interest in or a talent for analyzing or building systems. If we think of all the information around us, we can try and classify them or order or group them based on some intrinsic properties in the natural world. For example, think of colors. When we think of colors, we don&#8217;t necessarily go and classify them. But if we wanted to, we could order them based on the natural visible spectrum. We could group them into warm or cold colors. We could order them based on brightness. Scientists like to find order and pattern in things to better understand them. The same seems to be true, on average, with autistic individuals. Research from our lab and others has demonstrated that, on average, autistic individuals have superior interests in systems. While most people think of autism as a social condition, there is also a non-social aspect to it that&#8217;s necessary for a diagnosis — unusually restricted or repetitive patterns of interest and behavior. We think that it is aspects of these that are reflected in the superior systemizing skills that are frequently observed in autistic individuals.
JM: Two of your recent GWAS did not find any significant loci associated with “empathy” or “theory of mind” (the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others and to use such mental state attribution to make sense of behavior and predict it). Why do you think this is so?
VW: This essentially boils down to sample size. We know that there is a genetic signal in these GWAS. Differences in the theory of mind and empathy are heritable. Twin studies show that approximately a third of the differences in how empathetic people are are due to genetics. Our studies have also identified a small but significant additive SNP heritability. However, the variance explained by each individual SNP is small. To find these minimal effects, we need large sample sizes.
<h2>Theory of Mind and Cognition</h2>
JM: Your studies suggest shared genetic architecture between different measures of theory of mind and cognition, as well as between empathy and autism, schizophrenia, and anorexia nervosa. Why are psychological traits so interconnected? Does this present any challenges or opportunities for your research?
VW: We can think of any psychiatric condition or cognitive and behavioral trait as emergent neural network properties. Genes contribute to these phenotypes primarily by altering these neural networks. They alter development, synaptic signaling, glial function, and so on, all of which contribute to altered information processing in the brain. Suppose a handful of these neural networks are altered. In that case, they will contribute to differences in multiple phenotypes, which probably explains the shared genetics we see between all these different conditions and behaviors. It&#8217;s challenging in that we need to figure out why some people get diagnosed with autism, and some others get diagnosed with ADHD when we know that there is considerable overlap in common and rare variants associated with the conditions. It&#8217;s a lot more tricky than anticipated, and we will have to investigate both interactions between genetic variants and interactions between genetic variants and other factors to better predict the differences in these conditions. On the other hand, we can leverage the shared genetics between multiple conditions to increase the statistical power in our studies and identify genetic variants.
<h2>Sex Bias in Autism</h2>
JM: Across the number of autistic traits you measure, women consistently score less autistic than men. Why do you think we see this sex bias in autism?
VW: We think there are multiple reasons for the sex bias. Some of it is biological. We know that women diagnosed with autism have, on average, a larger number of rare, usually de novo, protein truncating variants associated with autism compared to men diagnosed with autism. We have some evidence for sex differences in the genetic variants that contribute to some of the traits associated with autism, such as empathy. There could be other biological reasons — studies have demonstrated that elevated prenatal androgens are associated with increased risk for autism.
There are also other non-biological factors. Women are less likely to be diagnosed with autism as many clinicians may think that autism is primarily a condition seen in men. There is evidence that autism manifests differently in women. Women often need more autistic traits than men to receive a diagnosis. Finally, the diagnostic criteria for autism may not recognize how autism manifests in women. We need to explore all these factors, and both the biological and social factors likely contribute to the sex bias in autism.
<h2>Collaboration with 23andMe</h2>
JM: What made you first interested in collaborating with 23andMe?
VW: A few years ago, 23andMe approached the Autism Research Centre to include some of the tests developed by researchers there in the customer website. At some point in 2012, when the early GWAS studies on autism were published, we realized that we needed to investigate the dimensional nature of autism. We contacted 23andMe to see if they&#8217;d be happy to collaborate again on these phenotypes and conduct a GWAS.
JM: What’s your opinion now that you have collaborated with 23andMe?
VW: We&#8217;ve had a series of fruitful collaborations with 23andMe. I remain highly positive in general of collaborations with a consumer genetics company.
JM: Your advisor, Simon Baron-Cohen, has developed autism support services such as The Transporters, an animated DVD series that teaches emotion recognition to children with autism. Does your lab have any further plans to develop autism support services based on your research?
VW: Yes, our lab is conducting randomized control trials on various interventions, including apps that can help minimally verbal autistic children.
JM: What other research projects do you have planned for the future?
VW: We want to continue our work on the genetics of dimensional measures associated with autism. I am particularly interested in seeing if this can be used to stratify individuals within the autism spectrum.

Researcher Varun Warrier’s Work on Empathy

Editor’s note: This is another in a series of posts that first appeared in a student quarterly magazine called the DNA Decoder — a magazine written by students, for students. The magazine is designed to help students across the nation connect with each other and share interesting ideas around genetics. We in turn want to share a few of those stories with you on 23andMe’s blog. 
By Ava Daniel
In this article, we’ve highlighted some useful tips for how undergraduates can become more involved in genetics and academic research, both at their home institutions and around the country. Knowing how to join a laboratory as a research assistant can be a confusing task, so we’ve provided a comprehensive summary of advantageous steps to take that can make the process easier. Joining a research laboratory is a both a fun and extremely rewarding experience, and we’d love to explain why. 
<h5>What can Undergraduates Gain from Participating in Laboratory Research?</h5>
<div id="attachment_26072" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26072" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Abagail-and-Ava-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26072 size-large" height="768" width="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Abagail-and-Ava-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Abagail-and-Ava-300x225.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Abagail-and-Ava-768x576.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Abagail-and-Ava-880x660.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Abagail-and-Ava.jpg 1152w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Ava Daniel, l, and Ann Serbin working in the Tjian Lab at the University of California Berkeley during the summer of 2016.</div>
<h5> </h5>
Exposure to the field of laboratory research. This is a great way to find out if research could be a suitable career choice for you, especially in this era of scientific and technological innovation. Even if you may not foresee yourself working in a lab as a career, many areas of science (ex: medicine, biomedical engineering, technology) may call on you to engage in a lab environment at some point; so, it could only benefit you to get acquainted with even the most basic kinds of research.
Mentorship. A formative mentoring experience will help you to learn hands-on skills that you may not have the opportunity to gain otherwise. Having a mentor can be extremely beneficial for guidance, advice, and even letters of recommendation for your future learning and career opportunities as you progress through university and employment. 
Advantages in your different academic science courses. You will be able to personally see the applications of experimental techniques as they pertain to real-life laboratory and clinical uses.
A chance to be involved in groundbreaking research, either by witnessing it firsthand or even participating in it. This gives you the chance to potentially be included as an author on a publication or symposium presentation.
<h5>How can I participate in Laboratory Research? Where do I even start?</h5>
STEP 1 Try to think about what field of science interests you. Ex: genetics, cell biology, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, endocrinology (hormones), oncology (cancer), immunology (immune system), pathology (diseases), etc. 
STEP 2  Try to gain a foundational set of practical skills relevant to laboratory work, if possible. Take a lab course in the type of research you’re interested in (molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, etc.) or find out if your university offers any “Lab Fundamentals Bootcamps.” While not required, having a set of basic skills and familiarity with lab work will set you apart from other applicants. 
STEP 3  Approach instructors and graduate teaching assistants (TAs) in classes that you are especially excited about and ask if there are any research opportunities for undergraduates in their labs (or in other labs they may know of). If you perform well in the course or go out of your way to be especially thoughtful and curious, your teachers will likely be excited to welcome you into their labs.
STEP 4 Look into the labs that are thriving at your university. You can find labs by attending undergraduate journal clubs and/or research talks, doing online research, or talking to professors or TAs that are in the field of study you’re interested in.
You can then see what labs are run under which principal investigators (PIs) (via Google Scholar). 
<ul>
<li>How many articles have been published? </li>
<li>How many citations? </li>
<li>How recent? </li>
</ul>
If any of those PIs stick out to you, try to read some of their papers to familiarize yourself with the work. 
<h5>How to Choose a Lab </h5>
<ul>
<li>Look for a lab with a strong record of welcoming undergraduate students in their research. You can find this out by exploring the lab’s website.</li>
<li>Search for labs who have graduate students or post-doctoral researchers, as they may be able to answer questions and offer help while you work, or potentially act as mentors to you.  </li>
<li>Consider talking to other students further along in the major you want to pursue and see if they have any research experience or recommendations, either in a lab you want to work in or labs similar to it.  </li>
<li>Asking your peers for advice can be a great first step in identifying what you want to do. </li>
<li>Keep in mind that any kind of exposure can be beneficial to you. Although your lab of interest may not have openings for research positions right away, ask if you can do some periodic shadowing.  </li>
<li>Continue to check in with the lab to see if anything opens up over time.  </li>
<li>Don’t concern yourself too much about finding the perfect experience, especially right away.</li>
<li>You will learn over time, and you never know where or when a perfect opportunity may arise.</li>
<li>Take advantage of the resources already available to students who are looking for research opportunities.  </li>
<li>Many educational programs and departments have staff members who are dedicated to helping students find on-campus research opportunities.  </li>
<li>Take time to identify if there are such staff members in your program and set up an appointment to meet with them to discuss your interests. </li>
</ul>
<h5>How do I contact a lab that I&#8217;m really interested in?</h5>
Once you&#8217;ve narrowed down a lab you are very interested in, reach out to the Principal Investigator (PI) of the lab via email and attach your CV (see below).
If you choose to reach out by email, make sure to show them that you are interested in the specific work that they do by familiarizing yourself with their research, but not repeating the exact wordings from their lab website. Express interest in what you would hope to gain from working in their lab, and in what ways you could contribute to the work they do.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-264x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26071" height="300" width="264" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-264x300.jpg 264w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-768x873.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-900x1024.jpg 900w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-774x880.jpg 774w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-1038x1180.jpg 1038w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava.jpg 1407w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px" />
Come off as knowledgeable, informed, and professional. Feel free to reach out to a trusted professor, advisor, or TA to look over the email before you send it. 
If at first you don’t succeed, try again! PIs are often very busy traveling and running their lab. 
Try to reach out to multiple labs at once and wait to see who contacts you back. This way, you have more options in case something does not work out. 
You can try to reach out to individual researchers (graduate students and postdoctoral researchers) within the lab that are not the PI that you may want to personally work with. You can find the contact information of these researchers on the lab’s website, and you can reach out by sending them an introductory email similar to what you sent the PI. 
Remember, it is okay to reach out to a PI even if you have no lab experience. Labs are encouraged to be educational spaces, so do not feel intimidated if you have never had prior lab or hands-on science exposure.
<h5>What if you do not have access to research opportunities at your university? </h5>
At some universities, undergraduate research positions may be few and far between, or you may not find a research lab that peaks your exact interests. Also, it may be possible that your university may not have a strong laboratory science presence. 
There are other options for how you can get exposed to laboratory research. For example, you can look into paid summer internship opportunities at the National Institute of Health (NIH), The Broad Summer Research Program (BSRP), Amgen Research Scholars,  National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), Cold Springs Harbor Undergraduate Research Program, and other similar programs at other universities. These programs may offer you with funding for summer lab internship opportunities, or with alternative ways to apply to separate fellowships or grants that could provide you with funding. 
You should start applying to these opportunities as soon as you can, even in your freshman or sophomore years. By experiencing research early, you can make the decision for yourself if you want to continue to pursue it, or spend your time exploring something else. Always remember that you can and should reach out for help! Never be afraid of asking for guidance, recommendations, or general advice from professors, advisors, TAs, and peers in whatever area of study appeals to you. Your undergraduate years are meant for exploration and inquiry, so take advantage of as many resources and opportunities as you can.
<h5>Guidelines for a good CV </h5>
<ul>
<li>Break up your CV into sections: </li>
<li>Name and contact information</li>
<li>Experience Summary &#8211; brief overview of who you are</li>
<li>Education &#8211; list your institutions, GPA and activities done at each institution</li>
<li>Experience &#8211; describe each relevant work experience, the duration of the work experience, and whether you have a letter of recommendation available</li>
<li>Honors and Awards &#8211; list your awards, prestigious positions, fellowships, etc.</li>
<li>Skills Summary &#8211; list any of your best skills not highlighted in the previous sections</li>
</ul>
<h5>Useful Links </h5>
<a href="https://www.training.nih.gov/programs/sip">NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP)</a>
<a href="https://www.broadinstitute.org/bsrp/broad-summer-research-program-bsrp">The Broad Summer Research Program (BSRP</a>)
<a href="http://www.amgenscholars.com/">Amgen Research Scholars</a> 
<a href="https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp">NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates</a> 
<a href="https://www.cshl.edu/education/undergraduate-research-program/">Cold Springs Harbor Undergraduate Research</a> 
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-2-225x300.jpg" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26070" height="300" width="225" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-2-660x880.jpg 660w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-2-885x1180.jpg 885w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ava-2.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" />Ava Daniel is a sophomore at Yale University majoring in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. She is a Yale Freshman Research Fellowship recipient and a research assistant at the Yale School of Medicine. Aside from academics, Ava is a Community Health Educator, for which she teaches health education in New Haven public schools, as well as an active mentee of neurosurgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She is excited to be a Genetics Education Student Leader and create educational content to inspire students across the country in genetics and other areas of STEM. She is originally from Millbrae, California and hopes to attend medical school after Yale.

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