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African Society of Human Genetics

Welcome to the African Society of Human Genetics (AfSHG) Home Page

The African Society of Human Genetics provides a forum for scientists interested in Human Genetics in Africa to meet, interact, network and collaborate.The Society's aim is to equip the African scientific community and policymakers with the information and practical knowledge they need to contribute to the field of genetics research and to attract global attention to the efforts of African scientists.  A major goal of the society is the organization of a series of annual workshops and meetings in various parts of Africa.

AfSHG is proud to be to be part of H3Africa: The Human Heredity and Health in Africa project. The project is a partnership between The National Institutes of Health, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Wellcome Trust. The initiative will support population-based genetic studies in Africa of common, non-communicable disorders such as heart disease and cancer, as well as communicable diseases such as malaria. The project was formally launched on Tuesday June 22, 2010 at a press conference in London, UK. Watch the full press briefing at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0H8KwmWaAY or read a transcript of the press conference at: http://www.genome.gov/Pages/Newsroom/Webcasts/Transcript-H3-AfricaPressConference.pdf.

The H3Africa funding opportunity announcements are as follows:

The Wellcome Trust:

Human Heredity and Health in Africa: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Funding/Biomedical-science/Funding-schemes/Strategic-awards-and-initiatives/wtvm052057.htm

The National Institutes of Health:

RFA-RM-11-008, U54 Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Collaborative Centers: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-11-008.html

RFA-RM-11-009, U01 Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) Research Grants: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-11-009.html

RFA-RM-11-010, U41 Human Health and Heredity in Africa (H3Africa) Bioinformatics Network: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-11-010.html

The last conference, The 2011 Joint Meeting of the African Society of Human Genetics (AfSHG) and Southern African Society of Human Genetics (SASHG) took place in Cape Town on March 6-9, 2011. The theme of the meeting was: Building Capacity for Genomic and Translational Research in Africa. The sub-themes were: The Microbiome and Health;  Translational Research: Pharmacological and Forensic Applications of Genetics;  Networks for Research, Training and Capacity Building;  Data/Benefit Sharing and Biorepositories;  North-South and South-South Collaborations in Genetics Research;  Genomics and Infectious Diseases. The conference website is at:  http://www.humangenetics2011.org. 

Support for meetings has been provided by the:

	National Institutes of Health
	John E. Forgarty International Center
	National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
	National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
	National Human Genome Research Institute
	National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
	Affymetrix
	Illumina, Inc
	Sequenom, Inc
	National Human Genome Center at Howard University
	Jackson State University, Missisipi, USA
	deCODE Genetics
	Applied Biosystems
	Oxford University Press
	Cambridge University Press

Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by 2 R13 HG003267-04 from the National Human Genome Research Institute. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Members, remember to follow new happenings on the News page.  

To read past messages to the mailing list, check out the listserv archives at:  http://afshg.org/pipermail/listserv_afshg.org/

Photos from past conferences can be found here.