Who we are

The way doctors practice medicine is changing. Your DNA can help them better understand, diagnose, and predict health conditions. It’s a fast growing area and will soon be a regular part of your healthcare. 

Right now, millions of Australians may miss out on these advances in healthcare. That’s because many Australian communities are underrepresented in the resources doctors and researchers rely on to identify and diagnose health conditions.

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

These resources will help make healthcare better for all Australians — for you, your family and your community.

Join now and make a difference

 

The Centre for Population Genomics

 

OurDNA is a flagship project of the Centre for Population Genomics.
The Centre for Population Genomics is a collaboration between the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne.

What resources are we building?

A searchable, public database of genetic information

The OurDNA Browser is a searchable, public database of summary data on genetic variation. It will help doctors and researchers better understand and diagnose health conditions.

A secure bank of genetic and health information for future medical research

OurDNA Data will safely keep the biological and health information of people who take part in OurDNA for future research.

A secure bank of blood samples that have been donated for future medical research

OurDNA Samples will help make it easier to do health and medical research that benefits Australian communities in the future.

Learn more about the resources

 

Meet the team

The OurDNA team is passionate about inclusivity and equity in health and medical research.

View the whole team

Our community partners

Working with communities is the heart of OurDNA’s mission. With our community partners’ help, we hope to engage thousands of Australians from diverse communities to be part of OurDNA and shape the future of healthcare.

Do you have questions?

If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, contact us.

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.

E cakacaka vata tiko kei na veitikotiko na OurDNA me rawa nira okati eso na yatukawa e sega ni laurai ena buturara ni vakadidike na veika me baleti ira. Keimami cakacaka vata kei ira na vei tabana ni soqosoqo, ira na veiliutaki kei ira na itikotiko era matataka.

Na veika e vauca na vakadidike ni genetic ni OurDNA ena yaga vei ira e Ositerelia era na muri mai vakauasivi ena vakadidike vakavuniwai. Mo wilika eke e levu tale na ka keitou cakava tiko.

Na OurDNA e vakailavotaka:

  • O koya sara ga na rua na vanua e cicivaka na Centre for Population Genomics’: Garvan Institute of Medical Research kei Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
  • Ira era cau mai ena sasaga qo
  • E vakarautaka tale ga na Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) na veivuke vakailavo se grant 2015969 (CIA Daniel MacArthur; 2022-2027) mai na Genomics Health Futures Mission kei na National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) investigator grant 2009982 (CIA Daniel MacArthur; 2022-2026). Na lewe ni veika e tabaki qo e nona sara ga o koya e vola qai sega ni vakamacalataka tiko ga na rai ni Matanitu o Ositerelia se Commonwealth se na NHMRC.
  • Na porokaramu ni OurDNA e tokona tale ga na sasaga ni Google’s Digital Future Initiative. Mo wilika e levu tale na ka e vauca na tikina qo eke.

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. 

Yes, the OurDNA project has been approved by the certified Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the Royal Children’s Hospital. The reference for our ethics approval is: HREC/91986/RCHM-2023

If you have any questions about the OurDNA ethics approval process, or wish to speak to someone independent of the research team, you may contact the Director of Research Operations at The Royal Children’s Hospital. You can phone the Director on (03) 9345 5044 or email them at rch.ethics@rch.org.au

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, Jordanian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, and Turkish)
  • Oceanian (e.g., Fijian, 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.

While we are not working directly in Indigenous communities, we are an active member of the ALIGN and CONNECT consortia, national Indigenous-led efforts that are working to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in genomic medicine and research.

We provide technical advice for the development of genomic data infrastructure for nationally consistent, culturally appropriate, ethical storage, management, and sharing of genomic data to benefit Indigenous Australians.

OurDNA works with many community organisations to figure out how to best reach, talk with, and invite people from their community to take part in OurDNA. A full list of the community organisations we partner with is available on this page.

OurDNA and the Centre for Population Genomics are also working with a number of research and industry partners to help deliver benefits from the OurDNA program.

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