The Genetics Podcast EP 207: Decoding Parkinson’s genetics on a global scale with Andy Singleton and Sonya Dumanis of GP2 and ASAP
Summary:
This week on The Genetics Podcast, Patrick is joined by Andy Singleton, Program Lead of the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2), and Sonya Dumanis, COO of the Coalition for Aligning Science. They discuss the creation of GP2, how the initiative is closing representation gaps in genetics, and building global infrastructure and capacity for research.
Show Notes:
0:00 Intro to The Genetics Podcast
00:59 Welcome to Sonya and Andy
01:50 Aims and overview of the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2)
03:15 The Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) initiative and how it led to the creation of GP2
04:37 Gaps in Parkinson’s genetics that inspired the creation of GP2
07:21 Closing the global representation gap in Parkinson’s genetics
08:37 ASAP’s model for long-term resources and adaptive funding
11:18 How GP2 overcame pandemic disruptions and data-sharing challenges to grow global capacity
15:01 Using harmonized data to compare Parkinson’s with other neurological diseases
17:02 Expanding GP2’s scope while keeping Parkinson’s at the core
18:42 Using genetics to guide targeted Parkinson’s therapeutics
21:37 Early biomarkers beyond genetics including proteomics and alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay (SAA) to guide therapy timing
23:01 Adapting GP2 to incorporate new discoveries and build capacity for functional and longitudinal studies
26:54 Insights from GBA variants into gene expression and Parkinson’s risk biology
28:24 How GP2’s open access data can be used to power clinical trials and advance drug development
31:37 Lessons from GP2 on building sustainable global collaboration and capacity that can be applied across disease areas
36:10 Navigating global differences in genetic testing access, regulation, and return of results across the GP2 network
38:29 Building coalitions between philanthropy, nonprofits, and industry to sustain large-scale initiatives
41:09 The story behind the GP2 tattoos and the team spirit that fuels the program
42:23 Closing remarks
Find out more
GP2 (https://gp2.org/)
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