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by
Barbara
Murray
 The
National
Human
Genome
Center
at
Howard
University
is
unlocking
the
secrets
of
gene
mapping
to
help
eliminate
disease.
Curiosity
about
family
history
has
evolved
into
something
of
an
American
hobby
over
the
past
three
decades.
Author
Alex
Haley
piqued
the
country's
interest
back
in
the
'70s
when
he
shared
his
story
of
tracing
his
family
roots
back
to
Africa.
But
knowledge
of
our
past
serves
more
purposes
than
just
satisfying
our
curiosity-it
can
save
lives.
The
latest
advances
in
genetic
research
mean
knowing
the
history
of
our
origins
can
provide
us
with
answers
to
why
we
are
prone
to
certain
diseases-and,
eventually,
how
to
prevent
succumbing
to
those
ailments.
At
the
center
of
the
recent
scientific
developments
in
genetics
is
the
mapping
of
the
human
genome,
a
project
that
came
to
fruition
just
three
months
ago.
Defined
as
a
biological
specimen
collection
of
characteristics
and
corresponding
genes,
the
human
genome
encodes
the
approximately
80,000
genes
that
make
a
human,
human.
And
it
is
that
in-depth
knowledge
of
our
genetic
makeup
that
will
eventually
change
the
face
of
medicine.
With
that
said,
if
you
have
yet
to
hear
of
the
National
Human
Genome
Center
at
Howard
University,
you
soon
will.
Global
research
under
our
noses
It
would
have
been
nearly
impossible
to
miss
the
hoopla
surrounding
the
announcement
that
scientists
had
mapped
the
human
genome
earlier
this
year.
Yet,
in
spite
of
the
involvement
of
so
many
institutions
with
the
global
Human
Genome
Project,
the
media
was
unaware
of
Howard
University's
role
in
the
genetic
project.
But
at
some
point
during
2001,
all
eyes
could
be
on
the
university's
National
Human
Genome
Center
(NHGC)
and
its
Genomic
Research
in
African
Origin
Populations
(G-RAP)
with
study
sites
in
Nigeria,
Ghana,
and
the
United
States.
Upon
completion,
these
projects
will
assist
in
early
diagnosis-and
perhaps,
prevention-of
health
issues
that
have
historically
plagued
African
Americans
and
other
peoples
of
the
world.
With
the
help
of
this
project
and
others,
the
world
of
diagnostic
medicine
is
hoping
to
change
the
face
of
health
care
within
the
next
ten
years.
"There's
very
little
published
on
the
Genome
Center
itself
because
we're
still
being
formed,"
says
Dr.
Georgia
Dunston,
acting
director
of
the
National
Genome
Center
at
Howard
University.
While
offices
are
still
being
erected
and
grants
continue
to
roll
in,
the
Genome
Center's
research
moves
forward.
The
university's
involvement
in
the
Human
Genome
Project
dates
back
to
1985
when
Congress
appropriated
funds
for
the
establishment
of
research
centers
in
minority
institutions.
That
year,
Dunston
established
Howard's
Immunogenetics
Laboratory,
and
in
1990,
university
investigators
proposed
the
National
Institutes
of
Health
establish
genomic
research
in
the
African
American
community.
Thus,
the
G-RAP
project
was
born.
"The
purpose
of
the
Genome
Center
is
to
bring
multicultural
perspective
and
resources
to
the
Human
Genome
Project,"
Dunston
explains.
Dr.
Francis
Collins,
director
of
the
National
Human
Genome
Research
Institute
at
the
National
Institutes
of
Health,
verifies
the
importance
of
the
center
in
the
Genome
Project
as
a
whole.
"Advances
in
understanding
the
human
genome
will
only
happen
if
there
is
broad
participation
in
genome
research
by
diverse
groups,
from
many
institutions,"
Collins
says.
And
the
role
of
African
Americans
in
the
project
is
essential.
African
people
in
general,
and
African
Americans
in
particular,
represent
a
degree
of
genetics
that
is
not
captured
in
populations
of
primarily
European
origins.
"The
African
population
possesses
the
broadest
range
of
genetic
variations
of
all
humans.
Thus,
without
knowledge
of
Africans'
genetic
mapping,
scientists
cannot
have
a
complete
picture
of
the
human
genome,"
says
Dunston.
In
other
words,
mapping
the
human
genome
without
full
understanding
of
the
African
population
would
be
akin
to
building
a
house
without
a
foundation.
In
mapping
the
human
genome,
geneticists
utilized
genetic
information
from
people
of
European
origins.
Since
all
humans
have
the
same
construct
or
teh
same
genetic
map,
the
origin
the
sample
group
is
irrevelent.
but
Dunston
explains
that
at
the
sequence
level-which
is
where
genetic
variations
occur-there
is
a
great
deal
of
population
differentiation.
"The
variation
in
genome
changes
over
time,
so
in
older
populations,
there's
more
time
for
changes
to
occur,"
she
says.
And
the
oldest
populations,
the
doctor
notes,
have
been
traced
back
to
Africa.
Indeed,
the
3.2
million-year
old
skeleton
called
Lucythought
to
be
man's
earliest
human
ancestor
or
our
"missing
link"-was
discovered
in
1974
in
Ethiopia.
"The
human
genome
was
there
before
homo
sapiens-there's
more
variation
in
Africa
which
is
consistent
with
it
being
the
oldest
population,"
adds
Dunston.
So
when
observing
the
human
genome
in
the
United
States,
the
greatest
degree
of
variation
is
found
in
the
African
American
population.
To
understand
the
genetic
makeup
of
blacks
in
the
U.S.,
it
is
essential
to
look
back
at
Africa.
"The
period
of
evolution
in
Africa
was
much
longer
than
the
period
of
evolution
since
we
came
out
of
Africa,"
Dunston
says.
"We
tend
to
look
at
African
Americans
as
beginning
in
the
U.S.,
but
the
human
genome
was
established
before
humans
migrated
from
Africa.
The
group
moving
out
[of
Africa]
only
represents
a
subset
of
the
entire
group."
What
good
is
genetic
makeup
once
discovered?
The
greatest
benefit
to
studying
the
variations
in
the
human
genome
is
to
understand
the
basis
of
disease.
Dunston
says
that
even
when
you
discover
variations
in
the
genome,
those
variations
have
different
causes,
which
must
be
investigated
and
recorded.
"There
has
to
be
a
major
appreciation
for
the
difference
in
variations-natural
variations
versus
changes
associated
with
problems,"
she
explains.
"Diseases
are
multi
factorial,
involving
environmental
factors
and
biological
factors-most
issues
of
public
health
are
not
due
to
singlegene
defects."
Researchers
at
Howard's
genetic
center
are
currently
in
the
throes
of
investigating
four
diseases
that
appear
to
be
inherently
common
in
the
black
population:
prostate
cancer,
diabetes,
obesity,
and
hypertension.
"Cutting-edge
studies
on
the
genetic
contributions
to
diabetes
and
prostate
cancer
are
already
underway,
led
by
a
group
of
superb
investigators
who
have
gathered
together
at
Howard
to
form
the
National
Human
Genome
Center,"
says
NIH's
Dr.
Collins.
Statistics
show
that
in
the
United
States,
black
men
have
the
highest
frequency
of
prostate
cancer.
This
phenomenon
makes
Howard's
genetic
research
among
African
American
men
stricken
with
prostate
cancer
an
invaluable
activity.
The
ultimate
goal
of
the
research
is
to
determine
why
black
men
are
prone
to
prostate
cancer,
and
whether
the
susceptibility
is
somehow
exacerbated
by
certain
environmental
conditions.
The
project
requires
collaboration
and
cooperation.
Howard
has
formed
a
study
network
with
the
National
Human
Genome
Research
Institute
and
NIH
that
covers
seven
sites,
including
Washington,
D.C.,
Atlanta.
New
York,
Chicago
and
Detroit.
But
which
to
conduct
the
research
is
probably
more
difficult
than
the
science
itself.
The
criteria
for
subject
qualification
are
limiting,
to
say
the
least,
thus
making
viable
test
groups
difficult
to
assemble.
As
she
explains,
"four
men
in
a
family
must
be
diagnosed
with
prostate
cancer
and
eight
other
family
members
must
be
willing
to
give
blood
[for
comparative
testing]."
Dr.
Charles
Rotimi
heads
the
genetic
epidemiology
unit
at
Howard's
Genome
Center
where
scientists
are
working
to
unlock
the
mysteries
behind
the
unusually
high
incidence
of
diseases
like
hypertension,
diabetes
and
obesity
among
African
Americans.
Rotimi
explains
that
the
primary
goal
of
the
genetic
epidemiology
unit
is
to
design
large
population-based
studies
that
will
interact
to
increase
an
individual's
or
a
family's
proneness
to
some
diseases.
"We
know
now
that
some
diseases
like
diabetes
and
heart
disease
run
in
some
families,"
he
says.
Rotimi
and
other
scientists
at
the
NHGC
at
Howard
University
hope
to
take
advantage
of
the
old
and
rich
evolutionary
history
of
black
populations
around
the
world
(including
the
U.S.,
the
Caribbean
and
sub-Saharan
Africa)
to
identify
genes
and
environmental
factors
such
as
diet,
stress,
and
physical
activity
that
may
contribute
to
getting
diseases
like
diabetes,
hypertension,
obesity,
and
cancer.
Identifying
these
genes,
and
the
knowledge
of
how
they
work,
will
lead
to
better
understanding
of
the
factors
in
our
environment
that
may
increase
our
risk
of
developing
these
diseases.
As
the
principal
investigator
and
program
director,
respectively,
Rotimi
and
Dunston
are
excited
about
the
diabetes
project,
Africa
America
Diabetes
Mellitus
(AADM,
pronounced
ADAM-signifying
the
beginning).
Its
purpose
is
to
identify
genes
that
are
important
in
the
development
of
adult
diabetes
in
West
African
ancestral
populations
of
African
Americans.
The
study
is
an
international
collaboration
between
NHGC
investigators,
the
National
Human
Genome
Research
Institute
of
the
National
Institutes
of
Health,
and
West
African
scientists
in
Ghana
and
Nigeria.
Despite
initial
skepticism,
the
diabetes
study
has
been
a
gratifying
success
that
is
at
least
six
months
ahead
of
schedule.
In
fact,
the
first
scientific
publications
from
this
research
effort
have
been
accepted
for
publication
in
a
peer-reviewed
journal.
Later
this
year,
genetic
studies
of
diabetes,
obesity,
and
hypertension
involving
African
American
families
from
the
Washington,
D.C.,
and
Maryland
communities
will
begin.
Volunteers
are
hard
to
come
by
for
several
reasons,
including
the
not
so
"pure"
history
of
medical
studies
in
the
U.S.
and
other
countries.
According
to
Rotimi,
hesiataion
expressed
by
some
would-be
participants
in
these
genetic
studies
is
not
unfounded.
He
makes
specific
reference
to
the
Tuskegee
experiment,
a
U.S.
Public
Health
Service's
secret
and
deadly
study
of
syphilis-afflicted
black
males
from
1932
to
1972
in
Tuskegee,
Alabama.
The
project
officials
lied
to
most
of
the
participants,
telling
them
they
were
being
treated
for
the
disease
while,
in
actuality,
they
were
being
monitored
for
the
effects
resulting
from
lack
of
treatment.
Despite
the
"not
so
rosy"
history
of
medical
studies,
Rotimi
says,
"African
American
and
other
minority
communities
cannot
afford
not
to
participate
in
the
Human
Genome
Project."
Although
humans
are
99
percent
similar,
subtle
ethnic
differences
exist
at
the
genetic
and
environmental
levels.
If
an
ethnic
group,
such
as
African
Americans,
is
not
adequately
represented
in
these
genetic
studies,
scientists
may
not
be
able
to
develop
more
effective
preventive
and
treatment
protocols
for
that
group.
Research
institutions,
including
Howard
University
and
the
National
Institutes
of
Health,
now
have
review
boards
to
provide
direct
supervisory
oversight
for
medical
research
involving
human
subjects
to
prevent
human
rights
abuses
similar
to
those
of
Tuskegee.
These
review
boards
ensure
that
established
federal
safeguards
are
followed
and
properly
implemented
by
scientific
investigators.
Participants
must
be
given
adequate
information,
consent
must
be
voluntary,
and
people
must
have
the
freedom
to
withdraw
from
the
study
at
anytime.
In
addition,
the
risk
and
benefits
must
be
stated
clearly
to
all
potential
participants.
Rotimi
believes
minority
populations
must
participate,
but
must
first
acquire
adequate
information
about
the
studies
and
then,
speak
up
if
established
procedures
are
not
followed
appropriately.
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