This project focuses on ethical and legal issues for genetics research in an American Indian community. First, conditions for such research involving the Apache Tribe of Oklahoma will be negotiated with the tribal government. Negotiations will address the following issues: privacy, group stigmatization, publication of findings, property rights, and the disposition of samples. The response of individual tribal members to genetics research will be studied. Second, research will address susceptibility to diabetes and resistance to cancer. A mutation first found in Pima Indians may affect the function of adrenaline, contributing risk for diabetes. In addition, a genetic variant in the male hormone system may offer protection from prostate cancer. The role of these factors in the health of this population will be tested, following guidelines negotiated with the tribe. Prevention of diseases such as diabetes and cancer needs improvement. Relevant discoveries can arise from studying why health patterns vary in different populations. To achieve this goal of the Human Diversity Genome Project, it is crucial to satisfy ethical concerns about research from different cultural perspectives. This pilot study will explore how genetics researchers and indigenous communities can collaborate.
