If you are a scientist studying populations that are not well represented in current genomics research, the 23andMe Research Team would like to work with you.
<h2>Collaborate</h2>
We are searching for qualified researchers interested in the full spectrum of human genetic diversity to collaborate with us.
Researchers will work with 23andMe scientists to study our database, including 23andMe’s large African American and Latino cohorts who have consented to participate in research. This effort will be through 23andMe’s <a href="https://research.23andme.com/research-innovation-collaborations/">Research Innovation Collaborations Program</a>, which we have previously used to partner with dozens of academic and non-profit institutions to advance genetics research.
Most of 23andMe’s <a href="https://research.23andme.com/publications/">120 peer-reviewed publications</a> have come through this program.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-26387" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/iStock-664962264-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1854" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/iStock-664962264-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/iStock-664962264-1024x741.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/iStock-664962264-1180x854.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/iStock-664962264-300x217.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/iStock-664962264-768x556.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/iStock-664962264-880x637.jpg 880w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />
<h2>Improve Representation</h2>
With this initiative, 23andMe hopes to improve the representation of understudied populations. Our mission has always been to help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome. But people can only benefit if scientific advances are relevant to them.
Unfortunately, that is <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/diversity-matters-in-research/">not currently the case in the field of genomics. </a> More than 88 percent of research participants in genome-wide association studies are in groups of European ancestry only. To make precision medicine a reality for everyone, we must conduct research on a diverse range of populations.
“Collaborating with 23andMe allowed our team to conduct the first genome-wide association study of uterine fibroids among African American women,” said Digna Velez Edwards, Ph.D., M.S, a division director of Quantitative Sciences.
Edwards, the director of Women’s Health Research, and an associate professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said improving diversity in research is vital.
“The lack of diversity in research is widely acknowledged,&#8221; she said. &#8220;For scientists like me, collaborating with 23andMe and leveraging its large and rich database of African American customers who have consented to participate in research offers an opportunity to make new genetic findings that benefit those underrepresented populations.”
<h2>More Work Needed</h2>
Some of the studies 23andMe has worked on have focused on non-European populations, such as our previously mentioned research on uterine fibroids in African American women. But we recognize that more work needs to be done. For example, we are currently working with researchers on the genetics of height and weight. That study leverages 23andMe’s large African American cohort.
&#8220;If the underlying diversity of a dataset is limited, then scientific findings are less meaningful across populations,&#8221; said Joel Hirschhorn, an institute member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the Concordia Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Genetics at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Hirschorn is collaborating with 23andMe on the <a href="https://www.broadinstitute.org/blog/high-hopes-understanding-height-and-obesity">project</a> to better understand the connections between genetics, height, and obesity.
&#8220;Only by connecting with people across many different backgrounds and experiences and participating together in research can our genetic studies into human biology yield insights that apply across the diversity present within our shared humanity,&#8221; he said.
<h2>Unique Opportunity</h2>
Now, 23andMe has one of the largest groups of genotyped and phenotyped Latinos and African Americans who consented to participate in research worldwide. This presents a unique opportunity for researchers interested in leveraging this data for equitable genetic research.
So for this summer’s Research Innovation Collaborations Program cycle, we are especially interested in applications that focus on the population, molecular, and medical genetics of understudied populations. These include groups with African, Latino, East Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern ancestry within 23andMe&#8217;s database. Collaborators are expected to contribute to a project either with their unique expertise, novel methods, or comparable datasets for meta-analysis. Or they could contribute with validation in other cohorts. 23andMe does not grant access to our consented customers’ data. However,  our researchers will analyze these cohorts statistically for accepted collaborators.
Topics of interest for diversity-related collaborations include:
<ul>
<li>Phasing and IBD estimation</li>
<li>Population substructure</li>
<li>Population history</li>
<li>PheWAS of suspected functional variants common in understudied populations</li>
<li>Gene-by-environment interactions (GxE) replication or development focused on suspected functional variants</li>
<li>Studies of conditions or traits that are relevant to understudied populations</li>
</ul>
Please read more about the application process and <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIe1Q_84kQODJeenkDfhvlT8HDzbifi0DrhusKPl-dMjMunA/viewform">submit an application here</a> by June 12, 2019.

23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

23andMe’s Call for Collaborations to Study Underrepresented Populations

By Elizabeth Owuor
To honor Black History Month, 23andMe is sharing the untold stories of a few of the African-American scientists and figures who contributed to science each of whom made their mark despite great societal and institutional obstacles.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26905" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BHM-Microscope-300x165.png" alt="" width="300" height="165" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BHM-Microscope-300x165.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BHM-Microscope-271x149.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BHM-Microscope-372x204.png 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BHM-Microscope-574x315.png 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BHM-Microscope.png 702w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Overlooked, intentionally erased from the history books, or simply discredited. <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/health-traits/honoring-henrietta-lacks/">Henrietta Lacks</a>, a young African American mother from Baltimore, made her contribution to scientific advancement without ever knowing it. Cells from the tumor that killed her were taken and regrown in labs around the world without her or her family’s permission and became one of the most important cancer cell lines in medical history.
After visiting Dr. Howard Jones at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center in 1947, Lacks underwent a gynecological tumor biopsy and her cells were sent to a neighboring lab &#8211; without her knowledge or consent — where they were later harvested to create HeLa Cells, the first  infinitely reproducing cell line in medicine.
In fact, no one knew of Lack’s essential <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/henriettalacks/index.html">contribution to science</a> and the world-at-large until it was finally acknowledged nearly 40 years after her first visit to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. But Lacks isn’t the only African-American to aide scientific advancement without being fully acknowledged or credited. Throughout the ages, other Black figures have helped advance chemistry, genetics, pathology, and other essential scientific fields without getting due credit. In an effort to honor these hidden figures, we’ve collected a short roundup of a few of the overlooked sheroes and heroes whose contributions, even in the face of racial persecution and institutional disenfranchisement, left an important mark on the world of science and beyond.

<h6>Alice Ball: The Collector of Many Firsts</h6>
1892-1916
Chemist Alice Ball didn’t shy away from being a pioneer: the first African American and the first woman to graduate with a Master’s in chemistry from the College of Hawaii (now the University of Hawaii), Ball later went on to be the first female chemistry professor at her alma mater.
But Ball was already accomplishing firsts long before graduating. A native of Seattle, she was born in 1892, at a time when women — particularly women of color — were denied access to education and employment. Ball earned her undergraduate degrees in pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacy from the University of Washington, before pursuing her graduate work in Hawaii. During the course of her career, she pioneered a treatment for leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, that was eventually coined the “Ball Method” due to its highly effective treatment of the symptoms of this vexing disease. The first injectable treatment of its kind, Ball’s treatment used oil from the chaulmoogra tree, which had previously only been used topically with mixed results. Medical professionals relied on Ball’s invention for 20 years before a new treatment was introduced.
Sadly, Ball wasn’t given full credit for her groundbreaking invention until decades after it was made available to the public. Her untimely death at 24 due to chlorine poisoning in her lab contributed to this, but so did the fact that the president of her university initially took credit for work. Although long overdue, Alice Ball was finally remembered by history in 2010 when the University of Hawaii declared February 29th “Alice Ball Day,” erecting a statue in her honor.
<h6>Dr. James Bowman: The Science Renaissance Man</h6>
1923-2011
Segregation may have hindered James Bowman from pursuing his dream of becoming an Army medical officer, but it didn’t stop the trailblazer from forging his own path in medicine and genetics despite the many obstacles erected by a racist society.
A 1943 biology graduate of Howard University, Bowman stayed remained at the university to secure his medical degree as part of the of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He later interned at the Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. and completed his residency in pathology at Chicago’s St. Luke’s Hospital from 1947 to 1952.
Always one to continually expand his knowledge base through research, Bowman moved to Iran in 1955 to study G6PD deficiency, a rare genetic disorder also known as  favism, that is linked to episodes of anemia and affects one in ten African American men. After successfully diagnosing an Iranian patient with the condition, he took his penchant for research and scientific rigor around the world. From 1961 to 1962, Bowman studied genetics at the Galton Laboratory at University College London and then later settled at the University of Chicago, where his scientific work took him to Uganda, Mexico, Ghana and other nations.
Eventually publishing more than 90 scholarly papers on human genetics, Bowman was also a fierce advocate for African-Americans. He was instrumental in ensuring that governmental and medical institutions considered bioethics and consent when testing on historically marginalized populations.
<h6>Marie M. Daly: The Chemistry Pioneer</h6>
1921-2003
The first black woman to receive a doctorate in chemistry in the United States, Marie M. Daly dedicated to spreading knowledge and conducting research. Daly pioneered innovative work on the relationship between chemistry and the human body. Inspired by her father who was hindered from completing his chemistry degree at Cornell University due to poverty, Daly received her bachelor’s degree with honors from Queens College in New York. She went on to receive a graduate degree at New York University, supporting her studies via work as a lab assistant.
After completing her master’s degree on an accelerated timeline, Daly began her doctoral studies in chemistry at Columbia University. She studied under the tutelage of Dr. Mary L. Caldwell, a celebrated female scientist who was dedicated to supporting other women in the field.
Ever the curious mind, Daly studied how the body digests food while at Columbia. Ultimately, she completed her doctorate in 1947 and became the first black woman in that nation to procure a chemistry Ph.D. But Daly didn’t stop her groundbreaking research there. After completing a seven-year research program at the Rockefeller Institute of Medicine, the scientist returned to her alma mater to investigate the relationship between clogged arteries and high cholesterol. In partnership with her colleague, Dr. Quentin B. Deming, Daly was responsible for revealing that dietary choices affect heart health and the circulatory system.
<h6>The Importance of Diversity in Genetic Research</h6>
Did you know that Africans and African Americans make up less than 4 percent of individuals included in genetic studies, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-018-0261-x#Sec1">according to a recent study</a>? The fact that these individuals face <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/black-health.htm">many serious</a> health outcomes and could benefit from the insights gained from genetic inquiry makes the present situation even more untenable. What’s more is that Africans and people of African ancestry are more genetically diverse than all the world’s populations combined. That’s why diversity in genetic research is so crucial. Insights for one group benefit all of us. And that’s not all, the need for diversity also extends to the scientists who conduct research. Ensuring that the scientific community looks more like the world around us will enable us to account for a wide-variety of perspectives. More diverse perspectives in the science community means better scientific research, and potentially more precise scientific advancements.
Know of any other hidden figures in the realm of scientific advancement? Join the conversation by commenting below.

Elizabeth Owuor

African Americans Who Contributed to Science

Diversity Matters in Research

We love what we do every day at 23andMe, and it shows. Today, 23andMe is among the winners of <a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm">Glassdoor</a>’s annual Employees’ Choice Awards, a list of the <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/Award/Best-Small-and-Medium-Companies-to-Work-For-LST_KQ0,43.htm">Best Places to Work in 2019</a>. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/BP19-Logo-Verical-English-ALT.png" alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-26737" width="214" height="278">
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This award is unique because unlike other awards, there is no self-nomination or application process. It’s based entirely on reviews from our employees who voluntarily and anonymously offer their feedback about working at 23andMe on the Glassdoor website. To determine the winners of the awards, Glassdoor evaluates all <a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/index.htm">company reviews</a> shared by employees over the past year. 23andMe is on the list for the small to medium sized company, those with 1,000 or fewer employees.
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“I especially appreciate this award because it’s reflective of our 12 years of effort to make 23andMe a place where people genuinely want to be and feel they can thrive,” said Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe’s CEO and Co-Founder. “It is a pleasure for me to come to work every day and share a mission with so many great people. We will continue to develop our environment to make it the most supportive, engaging and welcoming workplace possible for all people. ”
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What rises to the top of the reviews by employees is an appreciation of the company’s mission, its push for diversity in its workforce, and the support employees feel both from the company and their colleagues. 
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As one review states:
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“If you love the intersection between science and tech, you won&#8217;t find anywhere else like 23andMe. People are great to work with, company culture is AMAZING, intelligent but humble, great sense of family and mission between teams, and care of both our customers and our employees.”
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Maintaining that kind of culture has been by design, company officials said.
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“This kind of feedback illustrates that 23andMe has been able to maintain its culture and sense of mission even as it has doubled in size in the last 18 months,” said Mark Lipscomb, Vice President of People at 23andMe. The critical comments are also valuable, helping the company make adjustments to improve. So for example, after seeing anonymous comments from engineers about the need for clearer career paths within the company, senior executives began working to create those opportunities.
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But in general, the positive feedback illustrates that 23andMe employees have a solid drive and passion for 23andMe’s mission to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. 
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We also try to have fun while doing that! You can see a bit more about the company on our Glassdoor page.
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By the way, 23andMe is hiring. You can find out more <a href="https://www.23andme.com/careers/">here</a>.
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23andMe Named One of the Best Places to Work

In less than a year 23andMe has surpassed its annual goal in recruiting individuals for the<a href="https://www.23andme.com/global-genetics/"> Global Genetics Project</a>, which will help diversify our research database and drive inclusion of understudied populations. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-300x300.png" alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-25983" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-300x300.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-150x150.png 150w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-768x768.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-880x880.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-271x271.png 271w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-372x372.png 372w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-574x574.png 574w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01-980x980.png 980w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1080_double_icon_wtext_01.png 1080w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
This rapid recruitment came despite many of the participants coming from communities for which 23andMe previously had few or no reference data. 
Launched in early 2018, the Global Genetics Project aims to enroll more than 10,000 people over two years from communities in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, who are not currently well represented in genetic research. The data will help diversify 23andMe’s database and thus improve results for our customers. It will also boost genomic studies in underrepresented populations worldwide.
“We’re encouraged by how quickly we have been able to recruit so many participants,” said Joanna Mountain, Ph.D., 23andMe Senior Director for Research. “Part of 23andMe’s mission is to ensure that everyone, no matter their ancestry, benefits from the insights being gained from the human genome.”
<h6>Improve Results </h6>
23andMe has undertaken this initiative primarily to improve results we provide to our customers from different ethnic groups, but also to help diversify the genetic research we do. Currently, <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v475/n7355/full/475163a.html">more than 90 percent</a> of research into the genetics underlying health conditions is on individuals of European descent alone.
The Global Genetics Project is not the only effort 23andMe is undertaking to improve diversity in research; we are also collaborating with individual academic researchers working with even more understudied communities across Africa, Asia, and the Americas. 23andMe’s<a href="https://research.23andme.com/populations-collaborations/"> Populations Collaborations Program</a> has already helped researchers collect data from populations in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. Next year our team will announce new collaborations with scientists working with other underrepresented communities in Africa.
<h6>Diversity Initiatives</h6>
The Global Genetics Project and the Populations Collaboration Program are part of a years-long effort to improve diversity in our genetics research. This effort goes back almost eight years, to when 23andMe launched its<a href="https://www.23andme.com/roots/#toc-Roots-into-the-future"> Roots into the Future</a> initiative. For that work, 23andMe enrolled 10,000 African Americans interested in participating in genetic research, to garner more insights into health conditions among African Americans. Then in 2016, 23andMe created the <a href="https://www.23andme.com/africa-project/">African Genetics Project</a>, to study people with recent African ancestry. More recently our researchers have been working with the National Human Genome Research Institute on an<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/african-american-sequencing-project/"> African American Sequencing Project</a>, to create a new reference panel for health studies by qualified researchers around the world.
The Global Genetics Project is part of this same effort to improve diversity in genetic research, so that more people can benefit from future scientific breakthroughs. These efforts will enrich not only our understanding of human genetic diversity, but also yield insights relevant to individuals from some of the communities who are underrepresented in genetic research.
Check out the landing page <a href="https://www.23andme.com/global-genetics/">here</a> to learn more.

Fast Recruitment for 23andMe’s Global Genetics Project

This is the third and final set of videos from 23andMe’s new series, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw4rQoo2TiY&amp;list=PLFvkfbvHpp1nPvSN-Bjg2z2WIvCwDviHO">The DNA Download</a>, and it offers a nice way to explain another core focus of the company, our research.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-26584" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-300x168.png" alt="" width="300" height="168" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-300x168.png 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-768x430.png 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-1024x573.png 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-880x493.png 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM-1180x661.png 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-4.48.09-PM.png 1434w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
As with the all episodes of this series, the ever-enthusiastic Halleta Alemu hosts these videos, which each attempt to make the fascinating world of genetic science a little more approachable. In this set of videos a few of our scientists and specialists sit down with Halleta to explain aspects of 23andMe’s unique people-centered research model, and some of the basics on research in general.
<h6>HOW DOES GENETICS RESEARCH WORK?</h6>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BbJfch9gqiA" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
This video is a great place to start, with 23andMe product scientists James Ashenhurst, Ph.D. explaining some of the basics around not just genetic research but all scientific research. He uses some easy to understand descriptions of the scientific method and how it relates to the kind of work done at 23andMe.
<h6>UNDERSTANDING DNA VARIANTS</h6>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tD-KdsyaTsQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
This video touches on the data that helps fuel 23andMe research engine as 23andMe product scientist Kayla Capper, Ph.D., explains DNA variants. One of the fascinating aspects of genetics is how genetically similar any two people are — we are all 99.5 percent genetically the same. It’s that tiny fraction of a difference that offers opportunities for scientists to learn more about the biology of complex mix of traits that makes us each unique as well as health conditions. Kayla also explains the variants our researchers often look at in their work — single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs for short, which generate biological variation between people.
<h6>BRAINS, GAMES AND DNA DISCOVERY</h6>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eMCPmoo-Ir8" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
There are many ways we can gather data and in this video 23andMe research survey methodologist Will Smith explains how scientists combine games with neuroscience and genetics to learn how our brain works. Using these so-called brain games, our scientists hope to learn more about the genetics of neurological and mental health conditions. Ultimately we hope these insights will help advance treatment of conditions affecting the brain.
<h6>THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY IN RESEARCH</h6>
<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cgMqnNTEbh8" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The pace of discovery in genetic research is breathtaking, but it hasn’t benefited everyone because there has been a lack of diversity in genetic research. In this video 23andMe’s research communications scientist, Jey McCreight, Ph.D., tells us why diversity is so important in research, what 23andMe is doing to engage research participants with different backgrounds.
OK, we hope these videos, which were part of 23andMe’s <a href="https://education.23andme.com/">educational program</a>, sparked an interest in learning more. There are other resources, like our <a href="https://education.23andme.com/genetics-101-booklet/">Genetics 101</a> booklet, you can tap that are a part to explore more.

The DNA Download Videos, Part III

This week, thousands of people will flock to San Diego for one of the most important conferences of the year. No, not Comic-Con — it’s the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, the flagship conference for scientists who study the human genome.  <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-25534 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/23andMe_Logo-1-e1521068586138.jpg" alt="An image of 23andMe's logo" width="800" height="528" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/23andMe_Logo-1-e1521068586138.jpg 800w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/23andMe_Logo-1-e1521068586138-300x198.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/23andMe_Logo-1-e1521068586138-768x507.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />
Participants can look forward to five days of seminars, panel discussions, and workshops on a wide range of topics, from risk models and population genetics, to ethics and education. This year’s main “Presidential Symposium” will feature a panel of experts discussing the latest advances in African genomics research and what our understanding of human origins can teach us about genetic variation in modern human populations. And when scientists are ready to unwind, they can look forward to a special performance by NIH Director <a href="https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/biographical-sketch-francis-s-collins-md-phd">Francis Collins</a>’s band Ethidium Spill.
More than 50 members of 23andMe’s Research, Therapeutics, and Product Science teams will be joining the genetics extravaganza. In addition to presenting <a href="https://research.23andme.com/publications/">our latest genetics research</a>, we’ll be answering all of your questions at booth #1225 about <a href="https://www.23andme.com/careers/">working for</a> and <a href="https://research.23andme.com/collaborate/">collaborating with</a> 23andMe (Did you know we have <a href="https://research.23andme.com/populations-collaborations/">a program that provides </a>support to researchers genotyping underrepresented populations? We recently selected researchers working in Ethiopia, Madagascar, and South Africa). At the booth, you can also receive a free copy of our children’s book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/You-Share-Genes-23andMe-Inc/dp/0989153703">You Share Genes With Me</a> or buy a discounted 23andMe kit. For those who can’t attend, we’ll be <a href="https://twitter.com/23andmeresearch">live-tweeting</a> at the meeting to provide a sneak peek of the action.
But of course, the most important part of ASHG is scientists coming together to learn about cutting edge genetics research. Below is a list of 23andMe’s scientific presentations at ASHG:<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-26615 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/J_Ashenhurst_ASHG18_final-scaled.jpg" alt="A poster showing the polygenic risk scores for self-reported mosquito attraction and bite response." width="1978" height="2560" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/J_Ashenhurst_ASHG18_final-scaled.jpg 1978w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/J_Ashenhurst_ASHG18_final-232x300.jpg 232w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/J_Ashenhurst_ASHG18_final-768x994.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/J_Ashenhurst_ASHG18_final-791x1024.jpg 791w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/J_Ashenhurst_ASHG18_final-680x880.jpg 680w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/J_Ashenhurst_ASHG18_final-912x1180.jpg 912w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1978px) 100vw, 1978px" />
<h6>Talks</h6>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=104002&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Incidence of uniparental disomy in 2 million individuals from the 23andMe database</a>
<ul>
<li>Priyanka Nakka, PhD, 23andMe intern, Brown University</li>
<li>Tuesday, Oct 16, 5:50pm &#8211; 6:10pm</li>
<li>Hall C &#8211; Ground Level</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=107002&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Combining genetic and exposure data significantly improves risk prediction for skin cancer</a>
<ul>
<li>Pierre Fontanillas, PhD, Senior Scientist I, Statistical Genetics</li>
<li>Wednesday, Oct 17, 9:15am &#8211; 9:30am</li>
<li>Ballroom 20BC &#8211; Upper Level</li>
</ul>
<h6>Posters<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-26614 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Populations.jpg" alt="A poster showing the ongoing initiative to increase the diversity of 23andMe's research populations." width="1024" height="1334" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Populations.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Populations-230x300.jpg 230w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Populations-768x1001.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Populations-786x1024.jpg 786w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Populations-676x880.jpg 676w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Populations-906x1180.jpg 906w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></h6>
All posters can be found in the Exhibit Hall on Ground Level of the San Diego Convention Center.
<h6>Wednesday, Oct 17</h6>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=10305139&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Updating an efficient pipeline for local ancestry inference</a>
<ul>
<li>Ethan Jewett, PhD, Scientist I, Population Genetics</li>
<li>2:00pm &#8211; 3:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #1479</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=10303249&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Prioritizing variants and reducing false positive associations in GWAS</a>
<ul>
<li>Keng-Han Lin, PhD, Scientist I, Statistical Genetics</li>
<li>3:00pm &#8211; 4:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #3498</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=10304048&amp;server=eventpilot.us">An initiative for genetic data collection from underrepresented countries and populations</a>
<ul>
<li>Kimberly McManus, PhD, Scientist I, Population Genetics</li>
<li>3:00pm &#8211; 4:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #2712</li>
</ul>
<h6>Thursday, Oct 18</h6>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=20303298&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Controls: How large is too large? A survey of methods for optimal subsampling in large-scale case-control studies</a>
<ul>
<li>Yunxuan Jiang, PhD, Scientist I, Statistical Genetics</li>
<li>2:00pm &#8211; 3:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #3547</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=20302464&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Accurate prediction of multiple pigmentation phenotypes</a>
<ul>
<li>Babak Alipanahi, PhD, Senior Scientist I, Computational Biology</li>
<li>3:00pm &#8211; 4:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #2578</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=20303283&amp;server=eventpilot.us">A survey of integrating age-at-onset genetics for predicting the age-specific disease risk</a>
<ul>
<li>Chao Tian, PhD, Senior Scientist I, Statistical Genetics</li>
<li>3:00pm &#8211; 4:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #3532</li>
</ul>
<h6>Friday, Oct 19</h6>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=30302465&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Itchy and scratchy: Polygenic risk scores predict self-reported mosquito attraction and bite response</a>
<ul>
<li>James Ashenhurst, PhD, Product Scientist II</li>
<li>2:00pm &#8211; 3:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #2579</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=30304083&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Initiatives to increase the diversity of populations represented in genetics research</a>
<ul>
<li>Anjali Shastri, PhD, Research Project Manager</li>
<li>2:00pm &#8211; 3:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #2747</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=30302021&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Deconstructing the genetic architectures of BMI and eating behavior phenotypes</a>
<ul>
<li>Janie Shelton, PhD, Scientist II, Data Collection</li>
<li>2:00pm &#8211; 3:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #2135</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=30312086&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Direct-to-consumer genetic testing for factor V Leiden and prothrombin 20210G&gt;A: the consumer experience</a>
<ul>
<li>Sarah Elson, PhD, Senior Scientist I, Program Management</li>
<li>3:00pm &#8211; 4:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #626</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=30303173&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Genetic associations with sleep apnea in a European population</a>
<ul>
<li>Yunru Huang, PhD, Scientist I, Biostatistics</li>
<li>3:00pm &#8211; 4:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #3422</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=30302408&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Opsin gene probes accurately predict red-green color vision deficiencies derived from a web-based Ishihara plate color perception test</a>
<ul>
<li>Michael Multhaup, PhD, Senior Product Scientist I</li>
<li>3:00pm &#8211; 4:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #2522</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://ativsoftware.com/appinfo.php?page=Session&amp;project=ASHG18&amp;id=30303269&amp;server=eventpilot.us">Finding rare variants of large effect using identity-by-descent mapping</a>
<ul>
<li>Suyash Shringarpure, PhD, Senior Scientist I, Statistical Genetics</li>
<li>3:00pm &#8211; 4:00pm</li>
<li>Poster #3518</li>
</ul>
If you’d like to learn more about 23andMe’s research initiatives, stop by booth #1225 or visit <a href="https://research.23andme.com/">research.23andme.com</a>.

23andMe at ASHG 2018

Today is<a href="http://time.com/4923164/indigenous-peoples-day-columbus-day/"> Indigenous Peoples’ Day</a>, embraced by a growing list of cities, states and universities in the United States, as an alternative to Columbus Day, and meant to recognize the Native Americans who first inhabited the Americas.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-517513144-300x288.jpg" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-26602 size-medium" width="300" height="288" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-517513144-300x288.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-517513144-768x737.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-517513144-1024x983.jpg 1024w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-517513144-880x845.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-517513144-1180x1133.jpg 1180w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-517513144.jpg 1767w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
&nbsp;
In the more than 500 years after Columbus’ journey to the New World, millions of indigenous Americans died of exposure to Old Word diseases at the hands of European colonizers. While whole tribes and their culture were wiped out, the genetic legacies of some of these early Americans remain — particularly in Central and South America. Extensive mixing of historical populations – called “admixture” – resulted in new (admixed) genetic and cultural identities that define the people of the Americas today.
&nbsp;
<h6>The First People of the Americas</h6>
The first people to populate the Americas, migrated across the land bridge that once connected Siberia to Alaska when the ice sheets receded some 15,000 years ago. Those people descended from populations that lived in northern and central Asia almost 30,000 years ago. Once they crossed into North America, they very quickly migrated south to populate all the Americas. Most Native Americans come from those early groups, although there is evidence of at least two later migrations — one group that contributed to the gene pool of Athabaskans found across western North America; and the other migration contributing to Eskimo-Aleuts.
&nbsp;
Most indigenous American ancestry comes from these first Americans, but there is evidence for at least two later migrations; one contributing to the gene pool of the Athabaskans found across western North America and another contributing in large part to the Eskimo-Aleuts who live along the arctic and sub-arctic shores of Canada, Alaska, and Greenland. Their genes tell a story of migration, adaptation and diversity that is still being written today.
<h6></h6>
<h6>After Columbus</h6>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-155283000-300x146.jpg" alt="" class="alignright wp-image-26603 size-medium" width="300" height="146" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-155283000-300x146.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-155283000-768x375.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/iStock-155283000.jpg 846w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
The genetic landscape of the Americas was irrevocably altered after 1492. Millions of indigenous Americans perished as a result of exposure to Old World diseases and genocide at the hands of European colonizers. Fewer than a half or one third of the more than 2,000 languages that were once spoken in the Americas remain, and lost with them were the rich diversity of cultures, but some of those people’s genetic legacies remain.
&nbsp;
<h6>Indigenous People Today</h6>
Indigenous people are remain integral to the Americas today.
Some indigenous languages and language families still have over 1 million native speakers, including Mayan and Nahuatl (Aztec) in Central America, as well as Guarani, Aymara, and Quechua in South America. 
&nbsp;
While there are fewer native speakers of indigenous languages in North America than in Central or South America, several languages still have many native speakers: Navajo is spoken by nearly 200,000 people, while Cree and Ojibwe are each spoken by around 90,000 people. Other tribes have reinvigorated efforts to save and preserve their language and culture. 
&nbsp;
While 23andMe can reveal genetic evidence of Native American ancestry, it cannot identify specific tribal affiliations. Testing also shouldn’t be considered as a confirmatory test or proof of Native ancestry in a legal context. Beyond that testing may not be able to detect distant Native American ancestry in a customer’s family tree. 
&nbsp;

Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Your genetics do not define you, but they can help inform your identity, and for Latinos — people who trace their ancestry to the ethnically diverse regions of Latin America — <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry">DNA testing</a> often helps them discover unexpected insights into their roots.



In National Hispanic Heritage Month, 23andMe wanted to examine what testing can uncover for those with Latino ancestry. (We prefer the term Latino because it encompasses non-Spanish-speaking populations in Latin America, like those in Brazil.)







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-native-american-ancestry-amp-latinos">Native American Ancestry &amp; Latinos</h2>



The one thing that genetic testing won’t tell you is whether or not you are Latino or Hispanic. That’s because people from Latin America typically are a mix of European, African, and Native American ancestry.



You might also find Middle Eastern, East Asian, and Ashkenazi ancestry folded into your results. As much as it is<a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/04/latin-america-s-lost-histories-revealed-modern-dna"> in the DNA</a>, that rich mixture of ancestry is also embedded in the art, music, and food that make up Latino culture.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="880" height="282" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/banner_2013_HAHM-1024x328-880x282.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-26566" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/banner_2013_HAHM-1024x328-880x282.jpg 880w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/banner_2013_HAHM-1024x328-300x96.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/banner_2013_HAHM-1024x328-768x246.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/banner_2013_HAHM-1024x328.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 880px) 100vw, 880px" /></figure>







<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-puerto-rican-dna">Puerto Rican DNA</h2>



We are reminded of the history of the region because the DNA includes the signature of the Native American people who first populated the continent, as well as the Europeans — mainly from Iberia but from a mix of European countries — who settled here and the Africans who were brought here as slaves. So, for example, on average, people of Mexico have about 4 percent African ancestry, while for the average Puerto Rican, the percentage is much higher.



This can be surprising for some Latinos who do DNA testing, or it can remind them of their history, as we’ve heard from 23andMe customers who have shared their stories with us. For<a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/23andme-helps-uncover-hidden-jewish-ancestry/"> Franciso Caravayo</a>, whose family came from Puerto Rico and were deeply Catholic, testing helped uncover that his family descended from<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Converso"> Conversos</a> — Portuguese and Spanish Jews who fled to Latin America to escape persecution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-mix-of-mexican-ancestry">The Mix of Mexican Ancestry</h2>



For many, testing just reminds them of their Latino ancestry and history, as a group of Latinos at Buzzfeed did so humorously a few years back. They had roots in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador, but their tests often revealed something unexpected. 



“It’s nice to know we’re all part of the world around us,” said Curley Vasquez.



<iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LCc1N52zSLg" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>



More recently, Carols Arias Vivas, a Mexican American college student, wrote about how his results reminded him of the Latino ancestry and history he already knew. However, he also noted that these results didn’t define his identity.



“To be completely honest, these results were not shocking,” he said in a student paper at the University of Pennsylvania. “After learning the history of colonization and the Slave Trade, it makes sense why my Latino ancestry composition has a mixture of European, African, and Indigenous makeup.”



DNA testing for Latinos reveals the rich mosaic of history that make up their heritage.



Explore the origins of your ancestry at <a href="https://www.23andme.com/dna-ancestry/">23andMe.com.</a>

DEI — Page 9