Genomic Origins and Admixture in Latinos (GOAL)

The GOAL Study was designed to comprehensively evaluate the genomic architecture of diverse Hispanic/Latino individuals with origins from the Caribbean, Central and South America, and to understand the impact of this diversity on genetic disease studies. Population structure and admixture are key confounders in genome-wide association and medical resequencing studies. In particular, accounting for difference in ancestry among cases and controls, both in terms of genomic and geographic location, is critical for proper analysis and interpretation of studies with multi- and trans-ethnic samples. Genomic studies of Hispanics/Latinos, the largest and fastest growing minority group in the US, reveal that they are a highly genetically heterogeneous admixed group with immense variation among individuals and populations in the proportions of African, European, and Native American ancestry. Knowledge of the underlying complex genetic structure of US Hispanic/Latino and Caribbean populations is, therefore, essential to ensuring robustness of genotype-phenotype associations and understanding the medical relevance of associated variants across diverse populations in the US and throughout the Americas. Furthermore, since much is known about the African and European migrations into the Americas over the past 500 years, population genetic studies of Hispanics/Latinos serve as an excellent model for developing novel algorithms and approaches for characterizing fine-scale genetic structure of admixed populations, in general. This project extends current studies of population genetic structure in US Hispanics/Latinos by densely genotyping parent-offspring triads from individuals (sampled in the US) of Caribbean-descent from six Latin American countries: Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras and Colombia. This study will provide immediate insights and new statistical methods to improve study design and genetic analysis for medical genomic studies in Hispanics/Latinos, other complex admixed groups, and multi- and trans-ethnic studies.]]> Consent FormEthnicity FormProtocolStudy DocumentsInclusion Criteria: Latino/Hispanic/Haitian heritage. This study targets individuals with origins from six countries of interest (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras and Colombia) but will in some cases enroll Hispanic individuals from other South American, Central American or Caribbean countries. Three of four grandparents born in the country of interest Normal, healthy adult volunteers Normal, healthy children (between 6 and 18 years of age) Pregnant women Subordinates/Employees Exclusion Criteria: Individuals of non- Latino/Hispanic/ Haitian heritage and absence of one or both parents**. Individuals less than 6 year of age. Less than 3 of four grandparents born in the country of interest. **Select groups will be systematically selected and recruited for this study. ]]>