Annual Conference 2023
On Wednesday 18th October 2023 the Adelphi Genetics Forum held its Annual Conference ‘On Population diversity, its biological
consequences and impact on disease risk’
This event was recorded and is available below.
It has long been known that people not only differ in DNA sequence from each other- (any two people plucked at random differ by the order of 0.1% of their DNA bases), but the frequencies of many of the nucleotide changes differ in different parts of the world. This means that people living within the same geographic areas or societal groups tend to cluster together as a result of their shared ancestry, while those living further apart may form distinguishable clusters. But migration of peoples leads to admixture, and also differing non-genetic factors in different parts of the world may lead to differential selection and thus also differences in gene frequency. So, our genetic history is complex. This conference attempts to address the extent and functional significance of this diversity. Talks will cover population history, single gene disorders and selection, disease susceptibility, pharmacogenetics and the challenges of precision medicine.
Population diversity, its biological consequences and impact on disease risk
Welcome and introduction – Nicholas Wood, President of Adelphi Genetics Forum / Professor of Clinical Neurogenetics, Institute of Neurology, UCL
& Emeritus Professor Dallas Swallow, Emeritus Professor of Human Genetics, UCL
Speakers
Dr Garrett Hellenthal – Associate Professor and Group Leader, UCL Genetics Institute
How ancestral intermixing is determined from our genetics
Professor Ambroise Wonkam – Professor of Medical Genetics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore
On the importance of research into African genomic variations in a range of health conditions and the implications for global health
Dr Gavin Band – Head of Statistical Genomics and Group Leader Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford
How our understanding of malaria has evolved in parallel with research on protective genotypes
Dr Mie Rizig – Clinical Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Neurology, UCL
Research into Parkinson’s disease, what this reveals, and where further investigation is required.
Dr Hannah Elliott – Lecturer in Molecular Epidemiology, University of Bristol
An exploration of epigentics and the impact of epigenetics on disease susceptibility
Professor Stephanie Malia Fullerton –
Professor and Interim Chair, Bioethics & Humanities, University of Washington, Seattle
As medicine develops and our understanding of genetics opens new treatment pathways, questions emerge about health equity
