HomeAbout NHGRIAbout the Office of the DirectorOffice of Population Genomics The Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN)

Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN)

Overview

The Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN) is a public-private partnership of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Inc. (FNIH) and includes partnerships with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the private sector.

GAIN supports a series of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) designed to identify specific points of DNA variation associated with the occurrence of a particular common disease. Investigators from existing case-control or trio (parent-offspring) studies were invited to submit samples and data on roughly 2,000 participants for assay of 300,000 to 500,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms designed to capture roughly 80 percent of the common variation in the human genome. Specific genes involved in disease processes can be identified once particular areas of the genome are associated with disease occurrence.

With the sequencing of the human genome, lower cost and more efficient technologies, and the exploration of common patterns of genetic variation through the International Haplotype Map (HapMap) project, we now have the techniques and tools necessary to uncover causal genes that contribute to disease susceptibility, and thus facilitate discovery of new molecular targets for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

Applications for access to GAIN genotyping were submitted on May 9, 2006 and projects selected for genotyping were announced at the American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting on October 10, 2006. They include studies on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, diabetic nephropathy, major depressive disorder, psoriasis and schizophrenia. The resulting data has been deposited into the database of Genotype and Phenotype (dbGaP) within the National Library of Medicine at the NIH for the broad use of the research community.

The GAIN Kick-off Meeting and Analysis Workshop was held November 29-30, 2006. Visit the Workshop Web site: GAIN Kick-Off Meeting and Analysis Workshop [capconcorp.com]. The agenda and presentations are also available on the GAIN Web site at Foundation for the National Institutes of Health: GAIN Analysis Workshop I [fnih.gov].

The second GAIN Analysis Workshop was held October 17-18, 2007. Visit the GAIN Web site at Foundation for the National Institutes of Health: GAIN Analysis Workshop II [fnih.gov] for the agenda and presentations from the meeting.

The third and final GAIN Analysis was held November 10-11, 2008 at the Philadelphia Convention Center. Investigators from each of the studies presented their findings alongside users of the genotype data from dbGaP, who were given a special release on the embargo period for the data for this meeting only. See the Workshop Web site: GAIN Analysis III Workshop [fnih.gov].

GAIN Project Director for Foundation for the National Institutes of Health

David Wholley, M.A.
E-mail: wholleyd@mail.nih.gov

NHGRI GAIN Staff:

Teri Manolio, M.D., Ph.D.
E-mail: manoliote@.nih.gov

Lisa Brooks, Ph.D.
E-mail: brooksl@mail.nih.gov

Laura Lyman Rodriguez, Ph.D.
E-mail: rodrigla@mail.nih.gov

Lisa J. McNeil, B.S.
E-mail: mcmeilli@mail.nih.gov

GAIN Web Site

The Genetic Association Information Network (GAIN) [fnih.org]

Top of page

Last Updated: December 1, 2008