What is Alliance for Genomic Discovery (AGD)?
The Alliance for Genomic Discovery (AGD) provides whole genome sequencing data from 250,000 BioVU samples, linked to de-identified clinical data.
Type of Data
- Genomic data (WGS)
Years Available
2007 to Present
Description
The Alliance for Genomic Discovery (AGD) is an ongoing initiative to increase the total number of BioVU participants and extent of genome-wide level data available to researchers. This initiative is a partnership between VUMC, NashBio, Illumina and 8 pharmaceutical partners (Abbvie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, GSK and Novo Nordisk. The initiative has two cohorts. Cohort 1 prioritized participants with relative majority African ancestry (~35,000 participants) and Cohort 2 is a randomized selection of BioVU participants that aims to match the disease distribution of the BioVU population (~215,000 participants).
Strengths
- Large-scale genomic data linked to phenotypic EHR data.
- Extensive quality control for high-standard research.
Limitation
- Due to the size of the data and storage in the cloud (BioVU Terra), egress is limited.
- External use is restricted until the embargo period ends in March 2026.
Availability
Data generated by the AGD is available to Vanderbilt researchers through BioVU as existing genetic data.
- Researchers must register study concepts via the VICTR resource request system.
- The data are available through BioVU Terra after study registration.
Note: External use of these data is limited during the embargo period through March 2026. Data cannot be shared in public repositories.
Contact Person
- BioVU team: biovu@vumc.org