The Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP) was established 10 years ago and initially sequenced predominantly non-Hispanic White individuals of European ancestry. Now, a major goal of the ADSP is to characterize the genetic architecture of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) across diverse ancestral populations, with the hope that new discoveries, prevention strategies, and therapeutic interventions will benefit all populations. The ADSP’s current phase, the Follow-Up Study (FUS) (2018–2023), is sequencing ancestrally diverse cohorts, particularly non-Hispanic Black individuals with African ancestry, Hispanic/Latino individuals, and Asian individuals. Additionally, the next phase of the ADSP will be the “ADSP-FUS 2.0: The Diverse Population Initiative”. This study phase aims to enroll enough participants to enable valuable rare variant analysis in these ancestral populations. Brian Kunkle, PhD, MPH, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, comments on the importance of these efforts, highlighting several key initiatives in development such as the Asian cohort for Alzheimer’s disease (ACAD) and the Research in African American Alzheimer Disease Initiative (REAAADI). This interview took place at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2022 in San Diego, CA.
