Global Exploration of Genomic Elements in Autoimmunity

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation’s leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency responsible for conducting and supporting medical research that improves health and saves lives. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) supports this mission by advancing genomics research to improve the understanding of human health and disease. NHGRI conducts and supports research that drives scientific and medical discoveries, develops new genomic technologies, and examines the role of genomics in society. Within NHGRI, the Medical Genetics Branch (MGB) studies the genetic causes of human disease, including inherited disorders of metabolism and human development. MGB investigators use advanced research methods to better understand disease processes and the biological factors that contribute to disease. The Genomics of Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease Section (GARDS), within MGB, studies the genetic, genomic, environmental, clinical, and metabolic factors that contribute to autoimmune diseases. GARDS seeks to better understand how clinical features, genomic variation, metabolomic factors, and environmental exposures are related in individuals with autoimmune conditions. To support this research, GARDS requires professional services to assist with the development of collaborations and community engagement activities necessary to establish well-characterized participant cohorts with autoimmune diseases in understudied global populations. Establishing these cohorts is necessary to improve understanding of disease risk, disease severity, and the genetic factors that contribute to autoimmune conditions across population