Professor Anthony Brookes, who is leading the UKIERI-supported project to establish a shared internet database on human genetics Professor Anthony Brookes, geneticist at the University of Leicester, UK, was one of the first recipients of awards made to foster research collaboration between India and the UK under the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI). Three years in, the unique UKIERI structure, with its focus on longer term mobility, is delivering benefits to both sides in terms of getting the science work done and creating more of a sense of equal partnership. Professor Brookes won the award for a joint project with Professor Samir Brahmachari, Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in Delhi. Their shared aim is to create an Internet-based database that gives a global summary of research information which associates DNA genotypes (gene sequence variations) and widespread phenotypes (common diseases and their drug responses).

The significance of this project is expected to be immense. When all the world’s gene-disease data for disorders such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity are compiled and made freely available in one database system, geneticists across the world can begin to build an overall picture of the part genes truly play in making human beings what we are.

One example is infection by the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Exposure to this virus does not guarantee that infection will occur or that disease will develop. Such risks very much depend upon genetic factors, and some people appear to be almost immune.

Professor Brookes explains why the collaboration with India came about: ‘We need Internet-based data management, so that information related to all studies of the genome can be compiled. Most of the studies involve Caucasians, and the group working in India wanted to balance this by determining Indian genotypes. They have begun to map genetic variations across India and are now moving on to look at the variations in diseases in India. So what we decided to do was to build a database to store all this information and compile all the results that we and others were generating’. UKIERI support has enabled the project to facilitate exchanges between research staff. Professor Brookes says: ‘Normally collaborations work by dividing tasks between groups, each of which works under its own control. UKIERI collaborations are different. We share the tasks.

‘It’s very hard for this approach to work remotely, since everyone needs to know every little detail, otherwise the overall project just doesn’t gel. The nature of a UKIERI project – to work jointly – means that you end up with a depth of information and mutuality you wouldn’t normally achieve. You also learn about each other’s cultures, which is very enlightening and enjoyable.

‘Before the UKIERI funding, we worked for six months on one particular aspect of this project, and progress was slow. It was difficult to pin down what was going wrong. [Colleagues from India] have now been working with us in Leicester for just two months and we have achieved more in that time than in the previous six months. Strengths and ideas have been merged, training has improved and the cultural and scientific strengths of both groups have been maximised.’

Sharing challenges, the two groups work faster, in a professional ‘intimacy’ and ‘synergy’ that comes, Professor Brookes says, directly from the UKIERI support.

For more information about UKIERI please visit the website.

Professor Anthony Brookes, who is leading the UKIERI-supported project to establish a shared internet database on human genetics