As part of its Mehregan 2010 Grant Cycle, PARSA CF awarded the quarter of a million dollar grant to the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University for the Iranian Genome Project—an initiative to better understand the genes of people of Iranian descent.
Broad-scale research on genetics and genomics have long been studied; but the genetics specific to the Iranian population has not. The Stanford Genome Project says this population-specific information is important to help understand the health benefits and risk factors of pharmaceuticals. It also helps researchers better understand and explain the history of a population. Although the human species is virtually identical, small deviations might prove important to understanding differences between people of varying descents.
When the project is completed, the research will be made available in the form of scientific publications as well as public databases, which will give pharmaceutical companies and researchers the ability to do follow-up scientific investigations and develop drugs that are compatible to the Iranian population.
As part of the Iranian Genome Project, Stanford researchers are collecting DNA samples from more than 50 Iranians. The diverse DNA sample is being collected to build a foundation that represents the diversity of Iranian genetics.
PARSA CF says it is funding this project in the hopes that it will create a basis for the anthropological study of the Iranian population in addition to understanding the scientific foundation for the health and well-being of Iranian generations to come.
