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Global Biobank Meta-analysis Initiative: Powering genetic discovery across human disease

  • deCODE Genetics
  • , Estonian Biobank
  • , FinnGen
  • , Generation Scotland
  • , Genes & Health Research Team
  • , Lifelines
  • , Mass General Brigham Biobank
  • , Michigan Genomics Initiative
  • , National Biobank of Korea
  • , Penn Medicine Biobank
  • , Qatar Biobank
  • , The QSkin Sun and Health Study
  • , Taiwan Biobank
  • , The HUNT Study
  • , UCLA ATLAS Community Health Initiative
  • , Uganda Genome Resource
  • , UK Biobank
  • , Biobank of the Americas
  • , Biobank Japan Project
  • , BioMe
  • BioVU, CanPath - Ontario Health Study, China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group, Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine
  • Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Broad Institute
  • Program in Medical and Population Genetics
  • Department of Biomedical Informatics
  • Harvard University
  • Department of Statistical Genetics
  • The University of Osaka
  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  • Division of Medicine and Laboratory Sciences
  • University of Oslo
  • University of Bristol
  • Division of Clinical Pharmacology
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
  • University of California at Los Angeles
  • UMCG
  • University of Groningen
  • Department of Clinical Genetics
  • Amsterdam University Medical Centers
  • Department of Immunology
  • Uppsala University
  • University of Tartu
  • Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
  • University of Helsinki
  • Clinic of Medicine
  • University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
  • Center for Neuropsychiatric Research
  • National Health Research Institutes Taiwan
  • Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program
  • Division of Biostatistics
  • National Taiwan University
  • Department of Genetics
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Queensland Institute of Medical Research
  • School of Biomedical Sciences
  • Queensland University of Technology
  • Qatar Foundation HQ
  • University of Oxford
  • Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
  • Peking University
  • Galatea Bio
  • Inc.
  • Graduate School of Data Science
  • Seoul National University
  • Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistics Genetics
  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Qatar Genome Program
  • Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
  • deCODE Genetics
  • VA Medical Center

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Biobanks facilitate genome-wide association studies (GWASs), which have mapped genomic loci across a range of human diseases and traits. However, most biobanks are primarily composed of individuals of European ancestry. We introduce the Global Biobank Meta-analysis Initiative (GBMI)—a collaborative network of 23 biobanks from 4 continents representing more than 2.2 million consented individuals with genetic data linked to electronic health records. GBMI meta-analyzes summary statistics from GWASs generated using harmonized genotypes and phenotypes from member biobanks for 14 exemplar diseases and endpoints. This strategy validates that GWASs conducted in diverse biobanks can be integrated despite heterogeneity in case definitions, recruitment strategies, and baseline characteristics. This collaborative effort improves GWAS power for diseases, benefits understudied diseases, and improves risk prediction while also enabling the nomination of disease genes and drug candidates by incorporating gene and protein expression data and providing insight into the underlying biology of human diseases and traits.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100192
JournalCell Genomics
Volume2
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 Oct 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • GWAS
  • ancestry diversity
  • biobank
  • genetic association studies
  • meta-analysis
  • phenotype harmonization

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