RELAGH - The challenge of having a scientific network in Latin America: An account from the presidents.

Augusto Rojas-Martínez,Roberto Giugliani,Aída Falcón De Vargas,Gerardo Jiménez-Arce,Alejandro Giraldo-Ríos

doi:10.1590/s1415-47572014000200017

Abstract

Latin America and the Caribbean region make up one of the largest areas of the world, and this region is characterized by a complex mixture of ethnic groups sharing Iberian languages. The area is comprised of nations and regions with different levels of social development. This region has experienced historical advances in the last decades to increase the minimal standards of quality of life; however, several factors, such as concentrated populations in large urban centers and isolated and poor communities, still have an important impact on medical services, particularly genetics services. Latin American researchers have greatly contributed to the development of human genetics and historic inter-ethnic diversity, and the multiplicity of geographic areas are unique for the study of gene-environment interactions. As a result of regional developments in the fields of human and medical genetics, the Latin American Network of Human Genetics (Red Latinoamericana de Genética Humana - RELAGH) was created in 2001 to foster the networking of national associations and societies dedicated to these scientific disciplines. RELAGH has developed important educational activities, such as the Latin American School of Human and Medical Genetics (ELAG), and has held three biannual meetings to encourage international research cooperation among the member countries and international organizations. Since its foundation, RELAGH has been admitted as a full regional member to the International Federation of Human Genetics Societies. This article describes the historical aspects, activities, developments, and challenges that are still faced by the Network.

Highlights

Latin America and the Caribbean region is composed of 32 countries and Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States
The Human Development Report 2013 of the United Nations Development Program showed that the majority of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have reached a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.741, which is considered a high HDI; several countries in the area exhibit a medium HDI (Human Development Report, 2013)
For the research of complex prevalent diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, psychiatric diseases, birth defects, and cancer, and for pharmacogenomic studies, the region offers unique conditions that are not present in the rest of the world, including environmental diversity, ethnic diversity, population structure, and a high rate of environmental exposures. This scenery favors the study of gene-environment interactions, and several admixture studies have analyzed the genetic factors involved in complex phenotypes. All of these developments and the promissing progress in the field of human and medical genetics inspired several of the founders and leaders of these disciplines in this region to create the Red Latinoamericana de Genética Humana (RELAGH) in the early 1990s, with the aim of creating a network for human genetics researchers, students, and practitioners in Latin America and the Caribbean; the goal of this network was to contribute to the development of collaborative projects for education, research and assistance, and to represent the region before the International Federation of Human Genetics Societies (IFHGS)

Summary

Background

Latin America and the Caribbean region is composed of 32 countries and Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. Several original clinical descriptions of Beguez-Chédiak–Higashi syndrome (OMIM #214500), Cantú syndrome (OMIM #239850), congenital generalized hypertrichosis (OMIM #307150), Grebe-Quelce-Salgado syndrome (OMIM #200700), acheiropodia (OMIM #200500), Yunis-Varon syndrome (OMIM #216340), IVIC Syndrome (OMIM #147750), odontotrichomelic syndrome (OMIM #273400), and several camptodactyly associated syndromes, among others [Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM)], were first described by Latin America geneticists; several regional hemoglobinopathies have been described and characterized These scientists have described notable genetic phenotypes clusters or large pedigrees for Huntington’s disease in Maracaibo (Negrette, 1963), Laron syndrome in Ecuador (Berg et al, 1992), early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in Colombia (Lopera et al, 1997), Jarcho-Levin syndrome in Puerto Rico (Cornier et al, 2004), twin births in Brazil (Tagliani-Ribeiro et al, 2012), and actinic prurigo in several American-aboriginal communities, among others. All of these developments and the promissing progress in the field of human and medical genetics inspired several of the founders and leaders of these disciplines in this region to create the Red Latinoamericana de Genética Humana (RELAGH) in the early 1990s, with the aim of creating a network for human genetics researchers, students, and practitioners in Latin America and the Caribbean; the goal of this network was to contribute to the development of collaborative projects for education, research and assistance, and to represent the region before the International Federation of Human Genetics Societies (IFHGS)

The Foundation of RELAGH

Latin American Meetings of Human Genetics

Internet Resources

Findings

Inheritance in