Feero 2024 JAMA
| Feero WG, Steiner RD, Slavotinek A, Faial T, Bamshad MJ, Austin J, Korf BR, Flanagin A, Bibbins-Domingo K (2024) Guidance on use of race, ethnicity, and geographic origin as proxies for genetic ancestry groups in biomedical publications. JAMA https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2024.3737. |
Feero WG, Steiner RD, Slavotinek A, Faial T, Bamshad MJ, Austin J, Korf BR, Flanagin A, Bibbins-Domingo K (2024) JAMA
Abstract: In March 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a consensus study report titled Using Population Descriptors in Genetics and Genomics Research.1 Sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health, the report is more than a discussion of the use of terminology; the authors of the NASEM report suggest a tectonic shift away from current models that use race, ethnicity, and geographic origin as proxies for genetic ancestry groups (ie, a set of individuals who share more similar genetic ancestries) in genetic and genomic science. The recommendations are rooted in evidence that genetic variation in individuals falls, in general, on a continuum of variation not captured well by existing population descriptors and that the ongoing use of such descriptors as analytical variables jeopardizes the scientific validity of research.2 Furthermore, the authors of the NASEM report point out that current scientific practices can sometimes perpetuate harmful typological thinking about individuals, including racism.
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