Pharmacogenomics in Indigenous Populations

Abstract

The integration of genomic technology into healthcare settings has the potential to transform health care through increased personalization of medical decisions. In particular, pharmacogenomic research on drug disposition and response can tailor and improve medication regimens for all patients by informing tests of function altering variation in drug metabolism and transport genes. Unfortunately, Indigenous peoples remain underrepresented in genomic and health research despite having a higher prevalence of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke than any other population. Effective strategies to create research partnerships between tribal communities and genomic researchers are often lacking, yet such partnerships are needed for trustworthy research. As such, Indigenous populations are less likely to benefit from personalized medicine if they are not represented in studies that ascertain genotype‐phenotype relationships that can lead to improved drug treatment efficacy.We review what is currently known about pharmacogenetic variation in Indigenous populations and evaluate three case studies in which pharmacogenetic research with Indigenous populations were conducted. We highlight the importance of including Indigenous populations in future pharmacogenetic studies and discuss strategies for ethical engagement and collaboration in genomic research with Indigenous communities. The inclusion of Indigenous and other underrepresented communities in genomic research has the potential to expand our understanding of genomic influences on health and improve clinical approaches for all populations.Support or Funding InformationNIGMS F32 GM119237This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.