The team found a mathematical formula to determine which SNPs -- small molecules of DNA that differ from individual to individual in the human population -- can be publicly accessed without compromising information about the participation of any individual in the study. Using software designed with this formula, NIH and other institutes can distribute important research data and make it available to scientists without compromising anyone's privacy.
"We've been able to determine how much of the DNA information one can reveal, without compromising a person's privacy," says Halperin. "This means the substantial effort invested in collecting this data will not have been in vain. Making this data publicly available again could speed up research and allow people to make new discoveries, more quickly."
Genome association studies compare data from many individuals to identify specific positions in the genome that may be associated with an increased risk of disease, such as cancer. For instance, Dr. Halperin was recently involved in a study that found a link between a specific genetic mutation and risk of a type of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. By allowing access to genetic information from such studies to the scientific community, other scientists can leverage these studies to find more connections between genetics and diseases.
The authors of the study plan to provide access to their software to NIH, and hope that scientists will use it, thereby providing public access to their now secure collected data.
A complete list of authors:
Guillaume Obozinski from Willow, a joint research team between INRIA Rocquencourt, École Normale Supérieure de Paris and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. (Formerly at UC Berkeley)
Eran Halperin of ICSI and Tel Aviv University