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From diversity to delivery: the case of the Indian Genome Variation initiative

Nature Reviews Genetics volume 9, pages S9–S14 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

India currently has the world's second-largest population along with a fast-growing economy and significant economic disparity. It also continues to experience a high rate of infectious disease and increasingly higher rates of chronic diseases. However, India cannot afford to import expensive technologies and therapeutics nor can it, as an emerging economy, emulate the health-delivery systems of the developed world. Instead, to address these challenges it is looking to biotechnology-based innovation in the field of genomics. The Indian Genome Variation (IGV) consortium, a government-funded collaborative network among seven local institutions, is a reflection of these efforts. The IGV has recently developed the first large-scale database of genomic diversity in the Indian population that will facilitate research on disease predisposition, adverse drug reactions and population migration.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute. The Indian Council of Medical Research provided in kind co-funding for this research. The McLaughlin–Rotman Centre for Global Health, Program on Life Sciences, Ethics and Policy is primarily supported by Genome Canada through the Ontario Genomics Institute, the Ontario Research Fund, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Other matching partners are listed atThe McLaughlin–Rotman Centre for Global Health web site. A.S.D. and P.A.S. are supported by the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine. P.A.S. is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Distinguished Investigator award. The IGV project was supported by SCIR, India.

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Author notes

  1. Samir K. Brahmachari and Abdallah S. Daar: A.S.D. and S.K.B. are the senior lead authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Billie-Jo Hardy, Béatrice Séguin, Peter A. Singer and Abdallah S. Daar are at the McLaughlin–Rotman Centre for Global Health, Program on Life Sciences, Ethics and Policy, University Health Network and University of Toronto, MaRS Centre, South Tower, Suite 406, 101 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada.,

    Billie-Jo Hardy, Béatrice Séguin, Peter A. Singer & Abdallah S. Daar

  2. Béatrice Séguin is also at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3M2, Canada.,

    Béatrice Séguin

  3. Peter A. Singer and Abdallah S. Daar are also at the McLaughlin Centre for Molecular Medicine, MaRS Centre, Toronto Medical Discovery Tower, Suite 701, 101 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1L7, Canada.,

    Peter A. Singer & Abdallah S. Daar

  4. Mitali Mukerji and Samir K. Brahmachari are at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi 100 007, India.,

    Mitali Mukerji & Samir K. Brahmachari

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  1. Billie-Jo Hardy
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  6. Abdallah S. Daar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abdallah S. Daar.

Related links

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FURTHER INFORMATION

McLaughlin–Rotman Centre for Global Health

Africa Genome Education Institute

Census of India Rural–Urban Distribution

Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Participants

Genetics India

Guidelines for Exchange of Human Biological Material for Biomedical Research Purposes

Human Genetics and Genome Analysis

India Country Overview 2007, World Bank web site

National Biotechnology Development Strategy

National Institute of Genomic Medicine (INMEGEN), Mexico

New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative

Thailand Center for Excellence in Life Sciences

The Human Genome

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Hardy, BJ., Séguin, B., Singer, P. et al. From diversity to delivery: the case of the Indian Genome Variation initiative. Nat Rev Genet 9 (Suppl 1), S9–S14 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2440

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