Ancestry Invites You to Help Advance Research to Fight COVID-19

Ancestry is doing their part to support the global research community in the quest to defeat COVID-19 by launching a research project to explore potential genetic cues in the response to the virus. Ancestry is asking those who have taken an AncestryDNA test to participate in the research project.

Ancestry has launched a survey through their Personal Discoveries Project to enable a genome-wide association study to explore how different people respond to this novel coronavirus. Ancestry’s hope is that, through this knowledge, the pace of research into new preventative and therapeutic treatments for COVID-19 can be accelerated.

Ancestry is making research data from the study available at no cost to qualified researchers in organizations including NGOs, public health agencies, and academic and pharmaceutical research groups. This will empower researchers to use their ingenuity and expertise to discover clues for how our DNA may affect how we each respond to this novel virus.

All data will be from AncestryDNA customers in the United States who consented to participate in research, and such data will be de-identified so that no identifying personal information is shared.

The study will ask people who have taken an AncestryDNA test, and who want to participate, to complete a short survey. If eligible, your DNA will be compared against other participants to discover any genomic similarities that may be associated with reactions to the virus.

This information may then be shared with qualified researchers who are studying different treatment options for COVID-19, including possible vaccines or other preventative measures. Your privacy is top priority.

To participate, you must: be 18 years of age or older; be a resident of the United States; be an existing AncestryDNA customer; consent to participate in research (if you haven’t already); and be able to complete a short survey. Your participating in the study is entirely voluntary.

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