A team of Oxford and Mexican researchers want to diversify genomic databases. Can they end ‘parachute science,’ too?
MEXICO CITY — Back in 2019, while she worked for the biotech Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Claudia Gonzaga heard a rumor that thrilled her. The company would begin sequencing and analyzing the DNA of 150,000 people from Mexico City, thanks to a research collaboration with the University of Oxford.
As the only Mexican geneticist at Regeneron, Gonzaga saw this as a unique opportunity. She had previously tried to convince her colleagues to sequence the genomes of people from Mexico, where researchers have found a stunning amount of human genetic diversity, but to no avail. The new partnership meant she would be able to resume her plans. “I was so pleased,” she said.
