New Morehouse School of Medicine institute becoming national hub for African genetic information

March 7th, 2024

Morehouse School of Medicine recently launched the Institute of Translational Genomic Medicine. Dr. Melissa Davis, who serves as its director and a Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator, discusses the institute's goals. (Courtesy of Morehouse School of Medicine)

Morehouse School of Medicine recently launched the Institute of Translational Genomic Medicine. The institute, which is the first of its kind at historically, Black colleges and universities, will serve as a national hub for genetic information on people of African descent.

This creation of the institute comes from data from the National Institute of Health, which shows that less than 2% of genetic information being studied originates from people of African ancestry, creating a huge gap in genome research.

Dr. Melissa Davis, who serves as the director of the Institute of Translational Genomic Medicine, says the key to closing research gaps is diversity and inclusion.

On Thursday’s edition of “Closer Look, ” Davis talked with show host Rose Scott about her top priorities for the institute and discussed a new $25 million grant she received to address cancer disparities in populations of African ancestry.