Author/Authors :
Joubert, Bonnie R. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - National Institutes of Health, Durham, NC, USA , Berhane, Kiros Keck School of Medicine - University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA , Chevrier, Jonathan McGill University, Montreal, Canada , Collman, Gwen National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - National Institutes of Health, Durham, NC, USA , Eskenazi, Brenda University of California, Berkeley, San Fracisco, CA, USA , Fobil, Julius University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana , Hoyo, Cathrine North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA , John, Chandy C. Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA , Kumie, Abera Addis Abada University, Addis Abada, Ethiopia , Nicol, Mark University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa , Ramsay, Michèle Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience - Faculty of Health Sciences - University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa , Smith , Joshua Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA , Steyn, Adrie Africa Health Research Institute, Durban, South Africa , Tshala-Katumbay, Desire Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA , McAllister, Kimberly National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - National Institutes of Health, Durham, NC, USA
Abstract :
Individuals with African ancestry have extensive genomic diversity but have been underrepresented in genomic research. There is also extensive global diversity in the exposome (the totality of human environmental exposures from conception onwards) which should be considered for integrative genomic and environmental health research in Africa. To address current research gaps, we organized a workshop on environmental health research in Africa in conjunction with the H3Africa Consortium and the African Society of Human Genetics meetings in Kigali, Rwanda. The workshop was open to all researchers with an interest in environmental health in Africa and involved presentations from experts within and outside of the Consortium. This workshop highlighted innovative research occurring on the African continent related to environmental health and the interplay between the environment and the human genome. Stories of success, challenges, and collaborative opportunities were discussed through presentations, breakout sessions, poster presentations, and a panel discussion. The workshop informed participants about environmental risk factors that can be incorporated into current or future epidemiology studies and addressed research design considerations, biospecimen collection and storage, biomarkers for measuring chemical exposures, laboratory strategies, and statistical methodologies. Inclusion of environmental exposure measurements with genomic data, including but not limited to H3Africa projects, can offer a strong platform for building gene-environment (G x E) research in Africa. Opportunities to leverage existing resources and add environmental exposure data for ongoing and planned studies were discussed. Future directions include expanding the measurement of both genomic and exposomic risk factors and incorporating sophisticated statistical approaches for analyzing high dimensional G x E data. A better understanding of how environmental and genomic factors interact with nutrition and infection is also needed. Considering that the environment represents many modifiable risk factors, these research findings can inform intervention and prevention efforts towards improving global health
