# Cannabis Use and its Medical Risks and Benefits: Leveraging Mobile Technology and Consumer Genomics

> **NIH NIH R21** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $196,719

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This R21 project implements an innovative online/mobile recruitment and assessment strategy and applies it to
identify genetic factors that influence cannabis use and related medical risks and benefits. Too often, recruiting
and developing sufficiently large cohorts for human genetic studies has been slow and expensive. Our
approach will greatly reduce time and costs by recruiting already-genotyped consumer genomics customers
and electronically assessing their substance use via mobile devices and the internet. The proposed work builds
on our prototype Genomics of Addiction (GENA) mobile app that earned third prize in the 2016 NIDA
Challenge “Addiction Research: There's an App for That” (https://www.drugabuse.gov/researchers/research-
resources/nida-challenges-program). Specifically, to identify loci involved in cannabis use and related medical
risks and benefits, we will: (1) Finalize and implement our “direct-to-participant” interface, which allows
participants to use our mobile app and website to provide informed consent, answers to cannabis use
questions, and secure access to their existing genome-wide genotype data; (2) Recruit and electronically
assess a large, well-powered cohort for a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of cannabis use traits
important to public health; (3) Analyze our new GWAS cohort to identify loci associated with medically relevant
cannabis use traits and quantitative frequency of use. Our novel, direct-to-participant protocol will immediately
address a high-priority substance, cannabis, and establish a platform for responding to emerging research
needs in the substance use field.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9899238
- **Project number:** 5R21DA046791-02
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** NANCY L SACCONE
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $196,719
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9899238

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9899238, Cannabis Use and its Medical Risks and Benefits: Leveraging Mobile Technology and Consumer Genomics (5R21DA046791-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9899238. Licensed CC0.

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