The KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme (KWTRP) has partnered with Roche’s African Genomics Program to investigate the genetic causes of high blood pressure in Kenya and The Gambia.
The partnership will use advanced genomic research to explore why hypertension and related heart, kidney and metabolic conditions can develop differently among African populations, potentially opening the way for more targeted approaches to prevention and treatment.
Researchers will conduct whole-genome sequencing on about 1,200 samples collected through KWTRP’s ongoing Improving Hypertension Control in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa (IHCoR) study.
By examining participants’ complete genetic profiles alongside clinical information, scientists hope to identify genetic variations and biomarkers associated with high blood pressure. The research could help explain why some people develop hypertension earlier, experience more severe disease or respond differently to treatment.
The initiative comes as hypertension becomes an increasingly serious health challenge across Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest burdens of high blood pressure globally, with hypertension linked to nearly 700,000 deaths in the region in 2019.
Despite the growing burden, African populations remain significantly underrepresented in global genetic research. People of recent African ancestry account for less than 3 per cent of global genetic datasets, leaving important gaps in scientists’ understanding of how diseases develop across the continent’s highly diverse populations.
The new partnership seeks to address that gap by generating evidence directly from African populations.
Dr Anthony Etyang, Head of Epidemiology and Demography at KWTRP and lead researcher on the study, said the project could help move African health research away from dependence on evidence generated elsewhere.
Beyond the sequencing project, the partnership includes a significant investment in research training and infrastructure.
Two PhD students and one postdoctoral researcher will receive support through the collaboration, while Roche data scientists will provide technical assistance to researchers involved in the project.
A secure data network linking research sites in Kenya and The Gambia will also be established. The system will allow scientists to analyse genomic information while ensuring that the data remains hosted in Africa and managed by KWTRP.
The datasets will remain available for collaborative research with scientists elsewhere, subject to appropriate data governance and access arrangements.
Whole-genome sequencing will allow researchers to examine the complete genetic code of participants, providing an opportunity to detect variations that may influence disease susceptibility, progression or response to treatment.
Scientists will also investigate biological pathways linked to cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic diseases, with the aim of identifying clues that could eventually support more accurate risk prediction and more personalised healthcare.
Lisa Rooney Slater, Head of Roche’s African Genomics Program, said understanding the factors driving heart, kidney and metabolic diseases in African populations is essential to developing better healthcare solutions globally.
The project could have significance beyond hypertension. As African countries confront a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, stronger genomic evidence could help researchers understand why diseases affect different populations in different ways.
It could also help address concerns that medical tools developed largely from non-African genetic datasets may not perform equally well across populations with different genetic backgrounds.
For Kenya and The Gambia, the partnership represents an opportunity to place African populations at the centre of research into diseases affecting millions of people across the continent.
Article by Jed Mwangi
Photo courtesy: AARP
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