The Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP) has revolutionized our understanding of genetics in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), using state-of-the-art next generation sequencing methods for gene discovery. In the past 10 years, studies that have emerged from the collaborative network have identified more than 40 new AD genes and regions of interest, implicating novel pathogenic pathways and potential therapeutic targets. Carlos Cruchaga, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, talks on how a new project aims to build on these findings using functional genomics. The ADSP Functional Genomics Consortium (FunGen-AD) aims to use cutting-edge techniques to understand the functional consequences of AD variants and identify evidence-based targets for disease prevention and treatment. It is hoped that these approaches will uncover the mechanisms underlying genetic variants and how variants affect disease in diverse populations. The consortium is currently working to process multi-omics data from transcriptomics, epigenetics, proteomics, and metabolomics. This interview took place at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) 2022 in San Diego, CA.
