To find new links between genes and disease, researchers often need to share patient information. Large databases of patient health information have been created to help with this. These databases combine data from many researchers and institutions. Information that identifies specific patients is removed. Researchers around the world can then Read more
Researchers in the Vanderbilt Genome-Electronic Records (VGER) project are studying how electronic medical records (EMRs) linked to patient DNA samples can help us understand how genes affect disease. This project will study how genes affect disease outcomes and drug responses over long periods of time. Information about outcomes and drug Read more
To find genes linked to disease, researchers often study the genes of people with a particular disease. They look for gene differences (variants) between people with the disease and people without the disease. Variants that show up more often in people with a disease are “linked” with that disease and Read more
A person’s genetic background, or ancestry, plays an important role in health and disease. Some diseases are more common in certain groups of people. For example, the gene change that causes cystic fibrosis is more common in people with European ancestry. Many studies about genes and disease now use electronic Read more