LAUSR

Precision medicine is an emerging field with immense potential for better understanding of diseases and improved treatment outcomes (1). Its focus: patterns of human genetic variation in populations and individuals—and how such patterns influence disease pathology and treatment. The field rejects the “one size fits all” approach to understanding disease, aspiring to develop tailored therapies that optimize treatment efficacy. It’s a promising but fledgling field that faces numerous challenges, both scientific and practical. But one challenge has not been fully appreciated: the lack of genetic diversity in research and clinical studies (2, 3). To date, most of the genetic studies that researchers draw on in the context of precision medicine have been conducted on individuals represented by When including more diverse populations and ancestries in genetic and clinical studies, we need to avoid conflating race with biological identity. Image credit: Shutterstock/tai11.