Jewish HapMap Project
A Joint Project of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and New York University School of Medicine
What is the Human HapMap Project?
The Human Genome Project is major Big Science scientific advance of the early 21st century. It defined the sequence of the entire human genome and, in turn, the repertoire of human genes.
The coda to the Human Genome Project was the Human HapMap Project that defined the major variation in DNA sequence in Europeans, East Asians and West Africans.
Analysis of these variants demonstrated the block-like structure in which these variants are inherited (referred to as haplotypes and are the basis of the ‘HapMap’).
The Jewish HapMap Project is a collaborative endeavor of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine and Jewish communities to understand the structure of the genomes in Jewish populations. It is an outgrowth of the Human HapMap Project.
Jewish populations are remarkable for maintaining continuous genetic, cultural, and religious traditions over 4000 years, despite residence all over the world.
Jewish populations are recognized to fall into three groups that reflect the migrations and long-term patterns of residence over the past 2500 years—Middle Eastern or Mizrahi Jews, Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews lived for over a millennium in Central and Eastern Europe, prior to migrating to the United States, Israel, Western Europe and other parts of the world.
Genetic analysis of these populations has demonstrated founder effects, that is, the contemporary descendants are the successors to a limited number of men and women who migrated to these locations.
Another manifestation of these founder effects has been the transmission of genetic mutations that predispose to over 40 genetic diseases within these populations.
The identification of these founder mutations has fueled discoveries about the causes of these genetic diseases and, the efficacy of genetic testing and of specific therapies.
Why should Jews participate in this project?
The development of Jewish HapMaps will substantially contribute to our understanding of the genetic histories of all three groups and could improve the efficiency of future genetic discoveries within these populations.
These discoveries would be particularly advantageous in New York, the second largest Jewish city in the world and, with its metropolitan region, the home of 15% of the world’s Jews.
The 2 million Jews in metropolitan New York represent the largest population isolate within this region.
The Jewish HapMap Project will be a powerful resource for studying the genetic factors which lead to the variation in responses to environmental factors, susceptibility to infection, and effectiveness and adverse responses to drugs and vaccines.
Perhaps most significantly, this research can lead to the development of new and necessary approaches to prevent, diagnose and treat common diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc.
What is involved with participation?
The analyses will be based on the results of high-density version six DNA chips from Affymetrix in Santa Clara, California, the pioneer in this field.
The analyses will be performed for 30 mother-father-offspring trios from five different Jewish population groups—Ashkenazi, Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, and Turkish.
This study design follows that of the Human HapMap Project and is very powerful and economical. Recruitment will be based on NYU Insitutional Reiew Board (Ethics Committee) protocol #9216, “Origins and Migrations of Jewish People.”
In every case, choice of subjects will be based on all four grandparents having origins from the same Jewish group and informed consent of the participants.
The data will be analyzed by teams from NYUSOM, AECOM and external consulting statistical geneticists from Columbia University. Data will be compared across groups as well as with the groups for which HapMaps were originally constructed.
How can I participate in the Jewish HapMap Project?
Participation in the Jewish HapMap project s being sought from members of the Ashkenazi, Iraqi, Iranian, Syrian and Turkish Jewish communities.
For each participant, all 4 of his/her grandparents must have come from the same Jewish community.
A prospective participant must recruit 2 other members of his family to participate as a trio – 2 parents and a child.
Participants must be able to provide knowledge of his/her family origins, informed consent, and 20 cc (1 1/2 tbs) of blood.
How can I contribute to the Jewish HapMap Project?
Support for the Jewish HapMap Project is not available from government funding agencies and thus must come from Jewish communities and philanthropic individuals. No gift is too small.
How will the Jewish HapMap Project benefit people?
The completed project will provide tools for large scale genetic studies of diseases and physical traits common in Jewish populations.
Future efforts of this Consortium will be directed toward recruiting large groups of subjects of known phenotype (diseases, physical attributes) with the goal of performing genetic epidemiological studies using the Jewish HapMap.
These studies would benefit not only Jewish populations, but also other groups in which these traits occurred, as similar genetic mechanisms may be involved.
For more information, to participate or to make a gift, contact hapmap@med.nyu.edu or hapmap@aecom.yu.edu.
