# African Ancestry Genomic Psychiatry Cohort

> **NIH NIH R01** · RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES · 2024 · $1,706,187

## Abstract

Project Summary
 We propose a 5-year renewal of our African Ancestry-Genomic Psychiatry Cohort (AA-GPC) R01-
MH104964. AA and other minority populations have been poorly represented in large-scale genomic studies,
and yet these populations (i) have the largest disparities in health care and outcomes, and (ii) have the
potential to broaden our knowledge of human genetics. In particular, AA genomes have nearly a million more
variants per individual and are characterized by shorter haplotype blocks than European ancestry (EA)
populations. As a consequence, genetic polymorphisms that are in perfect linkage disequilibrium (LD) in
Europeans are broken-up by recombination events in AA genomes, allowing the contributions of smaller
genomic intervals comprised of fewer variants to be assessed independently.
 Progress to date: During the initial funding period we will have enrolled and assessed ~10,000 new AA
participants and have already completed 8,000 AA whole genome sequences (WGS). We recently
demonstrated that among the 128 associated SNPs identified in the PGC-2 schizophrenia analysis, 41
increased in significance when combined with data from 10,000 AA-GPC participants, and for 12 of these
regions, there was a reduction in the number of SNPs in the associated interval. In addition, this trans-ancestry
meta-analysis of PGC-2 schizophrenia and AA-GPC results yielded 10 newly genome-wide significant loci.
Similarly, the trans-ancestry meta-analysis results yielded the best polygenic risk score “training” dataset,
explaining more variance in individuals of European and African ancestry, than scores based on either
ancestry alone.
 In Phase 1 of this renewal: we will study genome-wide common variation in our existing AA-GPC and
VA-CS#572 combined cohort of 36,322 AA participants. In Phase 2, we will perform an expanded analysis by
adding 5,000 new participants ascertained in this project, 27,500 additional controls from the VA, and 34,000
cases and controls from the NeuroGap-Psychosis study (NeuroPsychiatric Genetics in African Populations;
PI. Koenen). This meta-analysis will include over 100,000 AA participants, a sample of non-Caucasians with
the potential for significant novel discovery.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10883546
- **Project number:** 5R01MH104964-11
- **Recipient organization:** RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Tim Bernard Bigdeli
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $1,706,187
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10883546

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10883546, African Ancestry Genomic Psychiatry Cohort (5R01MH104964-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10883546. Licensed CC0.

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