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The Underrepresented Populations working group, facilitates increased representation and analysis of genetic factors associated with Parkinson’s disease in non-European populations.
About the Underrepresented Populations Working Group
The GP2 Underrepresented Populations Working Group is committed to addressing a critical issue in genetics research: the lack of diversity. Approximately 80% of GWAS are conducted on people with European ancestry, leaving other populations underrepresented. As an example, Asians, who make up 60% of the global population, account for just 10% of GWAS samples, while Latinos and Africans are represented in far smaller numbers. This imbalance limits our understanding of disease mechanisms and perpetuates inequities in developing diagnostics and treatments based on genetic data.
We aim to increase representation in genetic research and identify the genetic factors associated with PD in underrepresented populations. As a forum within GP2, we address barriers to inclusion and propose culturally and ethically sound solutions to promote recruiting individuals with PD and matched healthy controls. Through virtual meetings, we foster collaboration among researchers from underrepresented regions, creating opportunities for mutual learning and growth. We also strive to ensure community engagement at every step, raising awareness about the problem of underrepresentation and developing strategies to empower researchers working in these regions. By fostering South-South collaborations, we aim to amplify the voices and contributions of researchers from these areas.
Collaboration is at the heart of what we do. We help the other working groups achieve their goals, taking into account underrepresented populations and researchers. To build local capacity, we prioritize training junior researchers and equipping them to lead genetic studies in their regions. This effort includes organizing workshops and mentorship opportunities in collaboration with the GP2 Training Working Group. We also focus on enhancing infrastructure by developing biobanks and other physical resources to support research in participating countries. Together with the Monogenic and Data Analysis Working Groups, we aid in identifying multiplex families and develop tools to address the complexities of genetic admixture.
Our ultimate goal is to bridge the diversity gap in genetics research and ensure that all populations can benefit from PD diagnosis and treatment advances. By promoting inclusivity and equity, we can unlock the full potential of global collaboration and create more representative and impactful results.
Meet the leads & co-leads
Lead
Ignacio (Nacho) F. Mata, PhD
Cleveland Clinic, Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH, USA
Co-Lead
Shen-Yang Lim
University of Malaya | Malaysia
Co-Lead
Artur Schuh, MD,PhD
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul / Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre | Porto Alegre, Brazil
Co-Lead
Bashayer Al Mubarak, PhD
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center | Saudi Arabia
Meet the participants
Member
Soraya Bardien, PhD
Stellenbosch University | Cape Town, South Africa
Member
Rauan Kaiyrzhanov
University College London | Kazakhstan
Member
Prashanth Lingappa Kukkle
Manipal Hospital | India
Member
Njideka Okubadejo
University of Lagos | Nigeria
Member
Mario Cornejo-Olivas, MD
Universidad Científica del Sur, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Neurológicas | Lima, Peru
Member
Azlina Ahmad-Annuar
University of Malaya | Malaysia
Member
Alastair Noyce, MD, PhD
Queen Mary University of London | London, UK
Member
Kin Ying Mok, PhD
Univeristy College London | UK
Member
Naomi Louie, MPH
Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research | Bellevue, USA
Member
Sara Bandres-Ciga, PharmD,PhD
National Institutes of Health | USA
Member
Mohamed Salama
The American University in Cairo | Egypt
Member
Inas Elsayed
Faculty of pharmacy University of Gezira | Sudan
Member
Miguel E. Rentería, PhD
QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute | Brisbane, Australia
Member
Karen Nuytemans, PhD
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine | USA
Member
Wael Mohamed, MD, PhD
International Islamic University | Malaysia
Member
Thiago Peixoto Leal, PhD
Cleveland Clinic | Cleveland, OH, USA
Member
Yasser Mecheri, MD,MSc
Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Dr Benbadis Constantine | Constantine, Algeria
Member
Santiago Diaz Torres, PhD
Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR Berghofer) | Brisbane, Australia
Milestones
Completed
- Published an article about underrepresented populations in PD genetics research
Active
- Conduct first multi-ancestry genome-wide meta-analysis in PD
- Increasing URP data collection efforts
- Preliminary GWAS analysis in East Asia and Africa
- Supporting training opportunities to researchers from URPs and engaging with trainee network
- Identify barriers to genetic testing in countries with predominantly underrepresented populations
- Encourage URP researchers to submit project analysis proposals to GP2
- Support underrepresented research groups in recruitment and analysis
- Identify and engage with new URP sites that are not currently represented in GP2
Not Started
- Conduct a survey about unprofessional peer review and barriers to publish
Outputs & publications from the Underrepresented Populations Working Group
Explore more outputs
Multi-ancestry population attributable risk assessment of common genetic variation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases
Multiple scientific studies, mostly performed within European populations, have unraveled many of the genetic factors…
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Underrepresented Populations in Parkinson's Genetics Research: Current Landscape and Future Directions
Research on Parkinson's disease genetics has lacked diversity, with a focus on European populations. A systematic…
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Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease
A multi-ancestry meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease identified 78 significant genetic loci, including 12 new ones.…
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