Asian Bipolar Genetics Network (A-BIG-NET) is a study to advance our understanding of the genetic basis of bipolar disorder in Asian populations, leading to improved healthcare outcomes and reduced disparities in mental health treatment. A-BIG-NET will recruit and sequence 17,500 bipolar cases and 14,000 matched controls from South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and India, alongside with an additional 10,000 cases and 2,000 controls collected in Pakistan. Efforts to align phenotypes across A-BIG-NET were launched at the end of 2022 with staff from all sites participating in training sessions to collect and harmonize data.
Our project recognizes the profound ethical responsibility involved in utilizing people's DNA. We prioritize stringent privacy measures and informed consent to ensure the utmost respect for individual autonomy and data protection.
The research protocol is overseen by Harvard IRB and local IRBs including Korea University, National Taiwan University, Institute of Mental Health in Singapore, National Institute of Mental Health and NeuroSciences (India), Hanoi Medical University. We are using enrollment log, checklists, delegation log to document the recruitment processes, ensuring participants are fully informed and their rights are well protected. In addition, regular monitoring visits (both remote and on-site) to review the participants documents and check-in meetings.
In this study, researchers will ask permission from all the adult participants before they can join the research. The researchers will talk to each person privately, away from others. During this talk, the researchers will check if the participants understand what the research is about. They will do this by seeing if the participants can explain the important information in their own words and ask reasonable questions about the study.
If someone doesn't show that they understand the purpose of the research, how it will be done, the risks and benefits, emergency contacts, and payment details, they won't be allowed to take part. Before they decide, all participants will be told verbally what the study is for, how it will be done, the possible risks and benefits, and that they don't have to join if they don't want to. They can talk to their family, friends, and doctors about it before making a decision.
After reading all the important information, participants will be asked to explain what they understood about the research, its procedures, possible risks or discomforts, potential benefits, and their right to leave the study whenever they want. If someone shows that they can't understand the information or if the researchers believe that they can't understand it, that person won't be allowed to take part.
If a participant shows that they understand everything and agree to join, they will be asked to sign a consent form to officially give their permission.
Interested in participating? Click here to learn more!
A-BIG-NET will create a genetic resource for Bipolar Disorder Type 1 (BP-I) from 27,500 cases and 16,000 controls. We will use advanced technology to get rich data from low-pass whole genome (1xWGS) and deep exome sequencing (55xWES). By focusing on BP-I disorder in Asian populations, we aim to expand the scope of psychiatric disorders, such as Schizophrenia (SCZ), and help accelerate discoveries in genetic associations of this disorder. With the resources that our team has already put together (15,000 cases and 14,000 controls), we will make an important step to advance global mental health discovery and equity.
Bipolar disorder (BP) is a severe multifactorial neuropsychiatric disorder with a life-time prevalence of 1-2%. This means that for every 100 people, 1-2 will experience this disorder in their life-time. A recent large-scale genetic study identified 30 genetic loci associated with BP, providing initial insights into BP pathogenesis. However, we still have much to uncover about the genetic basis of Bipolar disorder due to the samples being from European ancestry (EUR), leaving other BP variants uncovered. Studying BP genetics in other areas, such as Asia, is important to the world, as many underrepresented groups in the United States, such as Native Americans and Hispanics, descend in part from early Asian populations. Researching these BP variants will further reduce healthcare disparities.
Project A-BIG-NET is a collaborative grant between Broad Institute, National Taiwan University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Johns Hopkins University, with investigators from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, India and Pakistan, many with prior collaborative experience, co-publication, and strong track records of large-scale psychiatric genetic research in Asian populations, funded through the Ancestral Population Network mechanism at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Our team also contains several of the field’s leaders in genetic field studies and analyses.
Collection sites
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Interested in learning more about the process or want to participate?
Click here for more!Assistant Professor | Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital
Institute Member | Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Phone: +1 (617) 714-7094 (Broad)
Project Manager
zguo@broadinstitute.org
Phone: +1 617.714.8118
National Institute of Mental Health
Broad Institute
Stanley Center
BD2
Virginia Commonwealth University
National Taiwan University
John Hopkins University
