The Genographic Project

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The Genographic Project A landmark study of the
human journey
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• 70,000 years ago, the human population was just a
  few thousand people living in eastern Africa
• Why, and when, did some leave? How did we get
  from there to here?
• Stones and Bones can answer a lot of questions,
  but new tools reveal more than we ever thought
  possible

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• National Geographic and IBM have partnered on a
  landmark five-year study to map how humankind
  populated the earth.
• Using DNA as a tool and collaborating with
  indigenous and traditional peoples around the
  world, we aim to better understand our common
  past as an extended family.

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• An ambitious initiative
• The Genographic Project
• Global DNA sampling collaboration with
  indigenous and traditional populations around the
  world to attain 100,000 voluntary samples
• Public participation through the purchase of
  cheek swab kits combined with a major global
  awareness campaign to encourage participation and
  share key results in the research
• Genographic Legacy Fund proceeds to give back
  to indigenous communities around the world

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Field Research Voluntary, Global DNA Sampling
on an Unprecedented Scale

• Dr. Spencer Wells, National Geographic Explorer
  in Residence
• Dr. Ajay Royyuru IBM Computational Biology
  Center
• 12 of the worlds leading geneticists, working
  with indigenous and traditional peoples from
  across the globe
• Advisory board comprising leading ethicists and
  scientists

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The Genographic Project Consortium
COLLABORATING WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
LLuis Quintana-Murci PI, Western Central Europe
Elena Balanovska PI, North Eurasia
Chris Tyler-Smith Associate Researcher
Theodore Schurr PI, North America
Li Jin PI, East/Southeast Asia
Doron Behar Associate Researcher
Ajay Royyuru Senior Manager, Computational
Biology Center, IBM Research
Ramasamy Pitchappan PI, India
David Comas PI, Western Central Europe
Jaume Bertranpetit PI, Western Central Europe
Fabricio Santos PI, South America
Pierre Zalloua PI, Middle East/North Africa
Lisa Matisoo-Smith PI, Oceania
Himla Soodyall PI, Sub-Saharan Africa
Robert John Mitchell PI, Australia/Pacific
Alan Cooper PI, Ancient DNA
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• What the Genographic Project Hopes to Accomplish
• Develop scholarly research about new revelations
  in genetic anthropology derived from Genographic
  data, co-authored by all principal investigators
  and project director Dr. Wells
• Establish a large public database of
  anthropological genetic information, which will
  be made available to the global research
  community and the general public for further
  study
• Provide tangible benefits for traditional peoples
  through educational, cultural and linguistic
  preservation efforts
• Highlight human unity and connectedness while
  celebrating cultural diversity and individuality

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• Public Participation and Awareness
• The public is being invited to volunteer
  anonymous DNA samples to contribute to this
  project and learn about their own ancestral
  migration
• Submit a cheek swab sample, log in to
  nationalgeographic.com/genographic, and see your
  genetic markers, haplogroup, and ancestral
  migratory path

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• Public Participation
• Offering the general public an opportunity to
  contribute to and participate in this landmark
  initiative by purchasing a Genographic Project
  Participation Kit
• Order kit via the Genographic Web site from the
  National Geographic Online Store. Submit own
  anonymous DNA samples using a simple cheek swab
• Participants will learn about their own deep
  ancestry and their ancestors journey through the
  ages in the context of broader stories while
  contributing to the project
• Confidential access to secure Genographic Web
  site to view results using unique access code
  provided in each kit

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• Genographic Finding
• Early Human Populations
• Nearly Split in Two
• 70,000 years ago, climate had reduced humans to
  near extinction
• Two populations were separated by geography for
  roughly 100,000 years

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• Genographic Finding
• Religious migrations left genetic footprint in
  modern Lebanon
• Crusader genes found in modern Lebanese
  Christians
• Muslim expansion of 7th and 8th centuries left
  similar genetic footprint among Lebanese Muslims

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The Genographic Project has captured the publics
attention
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• Genographic Legacy Fund
• Proceeds from the sale of Genographic Public
  Participation Kits will help fund legacy projects
  in the various regions
• Build on National Geographics focus on world
  cultures, conservation and education
• Build on IBMs commitment to enriching teaching
  and learning and raising student achievement on a
  global basis
• Grants made to over 30 cultural preservation
  projects managed directly by indigenous groups
  - on 5 continents

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• Public Participation and Awareness

• Over 280,000 people have purchased kits and
  volunteered a cheek swab to date
• Participants come from over 135 countries
• Learning about their own history and providing
  important scientific insights

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• Education Resources NGSEdnet

• Web resource includes
• Permission slips
• Sample lesson plans (middle school ? high school)
• Genographic Classroom Companion
• Handouts
• Forums to share great ideas
• Discounts on kits for educators
• www.ngsednet.org/genographic

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Ngsednet.org/genographic
Nationalgeographic.com/genographic
Tryscience.org
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• Check out the website
• www.nationalgeographic.com/genographic
• Genetics primers
• Purchase the kits and check your results online
• Videos, multimedia, blog
• Project news and links to publications

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Without a solid grounding in basic research, the
project will not have an impact on our
understanding of where we come from. To help us
on this front, IBM became involved, and their
computational biology team will be instrumental
in helping us to analyze the complex dataset that
that takes into account genetic data, linguistic
patterns, the archaeological record, and the
stories told by those who have given us the
samples. Dr. Spencer Wells, National
Genographic Explorer in Residence, and Scientific
Director of the Genographic Project