Social and scientific motivations to move beyond groups in allele frequencies: The TOPMed experience

Advancements in genetic research by the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos: A 10-year retrospective review

The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) is a multicenter, longitudinal cohort study designed to evaluate environmental, lifestyle, and genetic risk factors as they relate to cardiometabolic and other chronic diseases among Hispanic/Latino populations in the United States. Since the study's inception in 2008, as a result of the study's robust genetic measures, HCHS/SOL has facilitated major contributions to the field of genetic research. This 10-year retrospective review highlights the major findings for genotype-phenotype relationships and advancements in statistical methods owing to the HCHS/SOL. Furthermore, we discuss the ethical and societal challenges of genetic research, especially among Hispanic/Latino adults in the United States. Continued genetic research, ancillary study expansion, and consortia collaboration through HCHS/SOL will further drive knowledge and advancements in human genetics research.

Typological thinking in human genomics research contributes to the production and prominence of scientific racism

Public genomic datasets like the 1000 Genomes project (1KGP), Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), and the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study are valuable public resources that facilitate scientific advancements in biology and enhance the scientific and economic impact of federally funded research projects. Regrettably, these datasets have often been developed and studied in ways that propagate outdated racialized and typological thinking, leading to fallacious reasoning among some readers that social and health disparities among the so-called races are due in part to innate biological differences between them. We highlight how this framing has set the stage for the racist exploitation of these datasets in two ways: First, we discuss the use of public biomedical datasets in studies that claim support for innate genetic differences in intelligence and other social outcomes between the groups identified as races. We further highlight recent instances of this which involve unauthorized access, use, and dissemination of public datasets. Second, we discuss the memification, use of simple figures meant for quick dissemination among lay audiences, of population genetic data to argue for a biological basis for purported human racial groups. We close with recommendations for scientists, to preempt the exploitation and misuse of their data, and for funding agencies, to better enforce violations of data use agreements.