Concurrent Symposia Sessions

Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Natcher Conference Center
Symposia Session II
Conference Room F1/F2

Racial Disparities in Chronic Disease: Clues to Pathogenesis	10:30 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.

Co-Chairs: Charles Rotimi, NHGRI and Ola Landgren, NCI

Several chronic diseases (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, multiple myeloma, sarcoidosis, osteoporosis, obesity) show striking incidence disparity patterns across various ethnic population groups with ancestry from different parts of the world.  The observed patterns of disparities provide unique opportunities to improve our understanding of the complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of diseases.

Previously, research has been hampered by the fact that mechanisms that underlie differential disease burdens and response to drug typically involve multiple factors, such as genetics, environment, lifestyle, and behavior.  Today, we have access to better data and advanced molecular tools allowing us to conduct population-genetics research aimed to explore patterns and determinants of common complex diseases and differential response to therapeutic strategies.  This session will focus on current insights and future opportunities to study variable drug response and pathogenesis based on differential distribution of diseases by ethnicity and ancestry.

Program

Genomics and Health Disparities: Opportunity to Simultaneously Describe Our Similarities and Differences without Reaffirming Old Prejudices
Charles Rotimi, NHGRI

Relationship between Waist Circumference, BMI and Measures of Insulin Resistances in African Americans: Implications for Understanding Disease Etiology and Health Disparities
Anne Sumner, NIDDK

Current and Future Disease Gene Discoveries Investigating Racial Disparities Using Admixture Mapping
Michael W. Smith, NCI

Racial Disparity Patterns for Multiple Myeloma and its Precursor, Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS), Provide Novel Clues to Pathogenesis
Ola Landgren, NCI