SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 9, 2006 — Affymetrix announced today that researchers from Boston University and Howard University will perform the first genome-wide scan of an African American cohort searching for genes associated with obesity, hypertension, diabetes and metabolic syndrome using the Affymetrix GeneChip® Human Mapping 500K Set. 

This collaborative study will be an important first step in understanding how genetics contribute to the disease burden of populations of African ancestry. Charles Rotimi, Ph.D., director of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University and current president of the African Society of Human Genetics, and Michael Christman, Ph.D., chair of the Genetics and Genomics Department at Boston University, will lead the study. The initial phase of the project will take less than a year, and the team hopes to secure additional funding to expand the study to include additional unique African cohorts.

Topics discussed during the interview include:

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Dr. Christman recently led a team of international scientists that discovered the first common genetic variant predisposing to obesity. The study, entitled “A Common Genetic Variant is Associated with Obesity,” appeared in the April 14, 2006 issue of Science. The group also performed the first dense genome scan of the Framingham Heart Study cohort, which consists primarily of European Americans. Click here to read the Affymetrix Microarray Bulletin article.