The DNA consent form talks about Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS); what is GWAS?
A genome-wide associate study (GWAS) is an examination of all or most of the genes (the genome) of different individuals to see how much the genes vary from individual to individual. Different variations are then associated with different traits. Scientists across the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are using this technique to study all kinds of outcomes, such as blood pressure or weight, or the presence or absence of a disease or condition. In the Spit for Science project, researchers at VCU are interested in how variation in DNA influences the use of alcohol and other substances, and emotional health. For example, this will allow us to understand which genetic variants influence how frequently people drink, or why some people are more likely to get depressed than others when they experience a stressful life event. In human GWAS studies, thousands of individuals, or often tens of thousands of individuals, are usually studied. The reason that we need so many participants in these s
