Project

​

Cytochrome P450 (CYP450) allele frequencies vary extensively across world populations, but Indigenous populations and other groups remain underrepresented in pharmacogenomic (PGx) studies. We are working with a tribe in British Columbia, a part of the Coast Tsimshian peoples, to examine PGx variation in underrepresented groups using high throughput methods. This project will enable us to understand how local adaptation and past admixture interplay with adaptation to new environments.

​

Additional Information

​

The entire set of CYP450 variation has not yet been fully characterized in an Indigenous North American population to date. We established a research partnership with a tribe in British Columbia, a part of the Coast Tsimshian people. With permission from the tribe, we are reexamining previously collected data from contemporary Tsimshian individuals and their Ancestors to address the following questions: How have PGx allele frequencies changed over time in the community, and what were the impacts of European colonization? Are PGx enzymes subject to adaptation and positive selection, and what are the implications for evolutionary medicine?

​

We are also collaborating with colleagues to characterize structural variation in the 1000 genomes database, which includes high coverage sequencing data from diverse peoples across the world.

​

Future Directions

​

Our future goal is to expand this project with other Tribes and populations, and re-sequence specific genome regions based on initial findings to obtain a deeper understanding of PGx variation and adaptation.

​