Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health and Miami-based Nicklaus Children's Hospital are working together to sequence the genes of roughly 1,000 Latino and Hispanic pediatric patients and their families.
The goal is to build a database of common genomes in underrepresented populations. This genomic database will help physicians and researchers characterize genetic patterns among certain populations, including a patient's predisposition to a disease or their response to a medication. With these insights, physicians and researchers are better able to personalize treatments.
This project's launch is funded by Sanford Health and healthcare philanthropist Denny Sanford, who have jointly given $7 million to Nicklaus Children's Personalized Medicine Initiative in Miami.