How does ancestry affect our brain health? Learn more from the Lieber Institute’s new podcast The Rose Window.
The vast majority of genomic data used in biomedical research come from people of European ancestry, who make up just 16% of the world’s population. We can’t assume current drugs and diagnostics work on all people unless we develop them using data from people of all backgrounds. That’s where the African Ancestry Neuroscience Research Initiative steps in.
Neuroscience research is the gateway to new treatments for mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia and neurological disorders such as stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The AANRI is devoted to using genomic data from people of African ancestry to unravel the basic biological mechanisms behind these conditions and develop new treatments and diagnostic techniques to benefit all humans.
Researchers with the AANRI have access to an extremely unique resource—the repository of donated brains at the Lieber Institute for Brain Development. The collection includes almost 500 brain samples donated from people of African ancestry, a one-of-a-kind resource for scientists seeking to answer questions about how the brain works across diverse populations. Learn more about the brain repository and read the story of one donor of African ancestry.
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Missing in Action: African Ancestry Brain Research