OurDNA is a flagship project of the Centre for Population Genomics. The Centre is set up to:

• Include under-represented communities in genomic research;
• Explore the function and health relevance of human genes; and
• Improve the diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases. 

The Centre is a not-for-profit joint initiative from two of Australia’s leading research institutes: the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne.

OurDNA is partnering with communities to include ancestry groups who are mostly missing from medical research. We work with multicultural organisations, community leaders and communities to build genetic resources that represent all communities.

The genetic resources that OurDNA is building will enable all Australians in future generations to benefit from advancements in medical research. Read more about what we’re doing here.

OurDNA is funded by: 

• The Centre for Population Genomics’ founding institutions: Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
• People who donate funds to our research
• Funding for this research has also been provided by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant 2015969 (CIA Daniel MacArthur; 2022-2027) from the Genomics Health Futures Mission and by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) investigator grant 2009982 (CIA Daniel MacArthur; 2022-2026). The contents of this published material are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Commonwealth of Australia or the NHMRC.
• The OurDNA program also receives support from Google’s Digital Future Initiative. Read more about this collaboration here.

OurDNA is currently funded until the end of 2027. It is our intention to continue our work until all Australian communities are represented and for the OurDNA database and sample bank to be available for as long as possible for researchers. 

At the moment, Australians from the following ancestry groups are under represented or entirely missing in genetic resources:

• East African (e.g., Ethiopian, Ghanaian, Kenyan, Mauritian, Somali, South Sudanese, and Sudanese)
• North African and Middle Eastern (e.g., Assyrian, Chaldean, Egyptian, Iranian, Iraqi, Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian and Turkish)
• Oceanian (e.g., Fijian, Mãori, Papua New Guinean, Samoan, and Tongan)
• South-East Asian (e.g., Cambodian, Filipino, Indonesian, Malay, Thai, and Vietnamese)

Australian doctors have also told us that it is hard to find information about these ancestry groups in the resources and databases they use to diagnose genetic and health conditions. 

OurDNA is working to engage with the communities underrepresented in genetic resources. Visit this page to check which communities we are actively working with.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) can be found in every part of the body, including blood and saliva. DNA contains a person’s genetic instructions, mostly in sections called genes.

A gene is a section of DNA that contains instructions for a person’s body to develop, grow and work. Differences in genes can help to explain how people look and how their bodies work.

Genetic information contains the instructions that are used by people’s bodies to develop, grow and work. Differences or variants in genetic information can affect health. People share some of their genetic information with their blood relatives, including parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, and children. 

All of a person's genes or genetic information is called a genome.

Genetic or genomic medicine uses the information in your DNA to diagnose or predict health conditions and guide their treatment or prevention.