National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)’s Post

RNA Day might have been yesterday, but we’re always obsessed with RNA here. Beyond all the exciting new RNA research, cutting-edge technologies are emerging that will be able to fully sequence RNA and all of its different chemical modifications. By uncovering these mysteries, scientists will be closer to determining the functions of different RNAs, potentially leading to many key insights about health, disease, diagnoses and treatments. Learn more about RNA with our new fact sheet, or even try folding an RNA paper model! https://lnkd.in/ekFMDrSZ

Unless your research participants have full knowledge and understanding of your study, we simply won’t hear of it! Back to sleep!!   Important reminder: If you are working with participants in a genomics study, participants need careful explanation about how their genomic information will be used during and after the study and what will happen with any unanticipated findings that might arise from sequencing their DNA. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eKh4BGq3

NIH’s Loan Repayment Program can repay up to $50,000 of student debt a year! The program is now open to individuals who work in clinical and health disparities research and those with terminal doctoral degrees or a master's degree in genetic counseling. Check NHGRI’s Loan Repayment Program page for more information and resources to see if you qualify: https://lnkd.in/eVH29CYU. 

We were so excited to have Emily Graslie join us today to give an awesome talk on the importance of science communication! And we just HAD to give her a tour of the Zebrafish lab…

Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Hypertension can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other serious health conditions. In a new study, NHGRI researchers used data from the All of Us Research Program to look at a group of self-reported white, Black and Hispanic participants with hypertension — when their treatment started, what medications they were using to treat hypertension, and how effective those medications were. Compared to white participants, Black and Hispanic participants started medications when their blood pressures were higher and many of these drugs were less effective. The researchers also found that fewer Black participants were started on the recommended first-line medications compared to white and Hispanic participants. This study highlights racial and ethnic disparities amongst different populations in their treatment journeys. The results warrant future follow-up studies to further identify the reasons for these disparities, which may help to bridge these gaps. Importantly, since race and ethnicity are social constructs, these results do not demonstrate that biological factors are driving these observed differences; environmental, lifestyle, diet and other social determinants of health may affect drug effectiveness. Read about their study, published in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics: https://lnkd.in/eD7Qkz_f Learn more about the use of population descriptors in our factsheet: https://lnkd.in/eTHckrri

Happening tomorrow, August 1! 🚨 Join science communicator Emily Graslie for an awesome talk about her career and making science engaging for everyone. Join us in person or virtually! https://lnkd.in/eHYHzxQe

To have genomics research that’s gold-medal worthy, we need to look beyond having one human genome sequence! One sequence can’t possibly represent everyone’s genomic diversity.   That’s why researchers are working on a pangenome, a collection of complete genome sequences in which human populations and their genomic variants are better represented!   Researchers from the international Human Pangenome Reference Consortium have released a high-quality collection of complete reference human genome sequences! This will help make genomics studies more diverse and representative of all people! https://lnkd.in/eBNF7SXJ