Science AMA Series: We are Gonçalo Abecasis and Scott Vrieze,
researchers leading Genes for Good, a large scale study of genes, health
and behavior taking place on Facebook. Ask us and our team anything!
Abstract
Hello, Reddit! We are: Gonçalo Abecasis, professor of Biostatistics at
the University of Michigan’s Center for Statistical Genetics (UM / CSG)
Scott Vrieze, professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at the University
of Colorado’s Institute for Behavioral Genetics Chris Clark and Kevin
Wei Li, web application programmers at UM / CSG Gregory Zajac and
Katharine Brieger, graduate student research assistants at UM / CSG
Ellen Schmidt and Anita Pandit, research area specialists at UM / CSG We
use genetics to understand human health and disease and spend our lives
analyzing genomic data and developing tools to make these analyses more
informative. Tackling some of the big challenges in human genetics and
genomics requires engaging 100,000s of volunteers and collecting rich
information about their health, behavior and environment. Last year, we
launched Genes for Good, a study of genes, health and behavior through a
Facebook app. Volunteers complete health history surveys, daily health
tracking surveys, and behavioral tasks. After providing a base level of
information, we ship a free spit kit to participants to collect a DNA
sample. Results, including summaries of survey results, raw genotypes
and ancestry information, are freely shared with participants. To date,
over 12,000 people have used our Facebook app, completing over 500,000
health history surveys and trackers. Data stripped of information such
as names and addresses are shared with other scientists to ensure the
information is used to the greatest extent possible to understand links
between genes and health. Believe it or not, this is actually a
relatively new way of approaching medical research! You can read more
about the study on the Genes for Good informational website or join the
study here. It’s free and all you need is a Facebook account! We’re here
from at least 1pm-3pm EDT (10 am PST, 6 pm UTC) to answer questions
about the study and about the future of genomic research in general! Ask
us anything!