February 11, 2008
Made as part of the Center's Public Consultation on Genetics, Environment, and Health, this video gives an overview of the interaction of genes with environmental factors, and the impact of these interactions on health.

While some diseases are known to be caused by single genes or several genes working together, most common diseases - such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke - are more complicated and are a product of the interaction of genetics, lifestyle, and environment. The research necessary to understand these complex interactions is very challenging, and would require the participation of hundreds of thousands of volunteers who would be followed for many years. Such a study has yet to be undertaken in the U.S., and public consultation is crucial to determining whether it should done, and if so, how.

As part of a two-year, $2 million pilot project funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute, the Genetics and Public Policy Center is gathering input on issues related to large, population-based studies through a series of focus groups and community leader interviews in Jackson, Miss.; the Kansas City area; Middletown and Philadelphia, Pa; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Portland, Ore. In addition to the focus groups, the Center will conduct a national Web-based survey of up to 4,000 individuals and host town hall meetings in the five locations. The Center also is developing educational materials to provide background information for the focus groups, survey, and town hall meetings.

This project will help determine what Americans think about large-scale, long-term gene-environment research projects, what kinds of information people would need to decide whether to participate in such projects, what measures they would expect to be in place to safeguard their consent and privacy, what kinds of medical data they expect would be shared with them, and how they view this potential large-cohort study as contributing to U.S. public health or their own personal health. The pilot study is expected to inform the design and implementation of a large-cohort gene-environment study under consideration at the National Institutes of Health, and to set the groundwork for ongoing public consultation associated with such studies.

Video Link:
http://www.dnapolicy.org/video/gne/index.htm

<< Back to Video Library