Personal genomics services company 23andMe is using social media and advanced data analysis as part of a large-scale research effort focused on Parkinson’s disease, NPR’s “Shots” reports.
In 2009, the company started recruiting individuals with Parkinson’s disease at conferences and through social media channels. Participants were asked to donate a sample of their DNA for genetic research, and in exchange, 23andMe offered its personalized genetics services to participants at no cost.
Hank Greely, a Stanford Law School professor, said the strategy could allow 23andMe “in theory…to involve 10,000 people with Parkinson’s disease, and do it cheaply and easily.”
Emily Drabant, 23andMe research director, said that collecting genetic data from many thousands of people could help the company identify the genes involved in the disease. She said, “[T]he idea is when you aggregate across many thousands of people, you can start to see genes that have perhaps a small effect on risk for Parkinson’s.”
According to Drabant, the study’s Internet-based approach might make some scientists uncomfortable, but it also could help researchers make important genetic discoveries faster and cheaper than in the past.
Robert Green of Harvard Medical School said, “[T]here’s no reason why social media and the Internet can’t revolutionize some aspects of medical research,” adding that the study is “part of a larger trend, not something that’s really restricted to genetic testing companies” (Cuda-Kroen, “Shots,” NPR, 8/20).
