IBSS-L: Epigenomic Effects of Colonization on Indigenous Populations

这一跨学科研究项目将分析欧洲殖民造成的社会环境变化如何造成心理压力，以及土著人民在同化西化生活方式时基因组和基因表达可能发生的变化。这些生物变化(也称为表观基因组学)可能与其他社区相似，这些社区的人们也经历过创伤。该项目还将调查回归祖传社会传统是否会改变土著人民在适应西化环境时的生物变化。该项目将加强对欧洲殖民等全球历史事件如何产生今天仍可能看到的持久生物效应的理解。项目成果将深入了解社会压力对土著人民生物学的影响，并将阐明减少这一群体健康差距的潜在干预点。该项目还将支持对土著学生和社区成员进行基因组理论和分析方面的培训的计划，以及美国原住民在基因组学暑期实习计划，该计划将在阿拉斯加的基奈半岛学院举办专门的研讨会，提供分子生物学、生物信息学和其他基因组学相关领域的实践经验。这些活动将有助于支持计划目标，以增加美洲原住民在涉及科学的职业生涯中担任领导者的人数。该项目将审查心理学和相关领域发展的关于心理障碍表现出的创伤的生物学基础的理论在人类学背景下如何适用于因欧洲殖民和西化生活而经历社会压力的美洲原住民。研究人员将在这项研究中使用多种方法。将使用比较基因组学方法评估作为本研究的一部分收集的有关土著人民的数据与关于经历过创伤的其他人的类似数据之间的趋同点和分歧点。将与来自与土著群体相同地理位置的非土著控制组进行比较。将进行有关社会生活方式和压力的文化信息调查，并使用相关统计模型进行分析，并将分离和分析生活在欧洲接触时期的祖先土著人民骨骼遗骸中的DNA和基因组。该项目通过NSF跨学科行为和社会科学研究(IBSS)竞赛得到支持。

This interdisciplinary research project will analyze how changes in the social environment as a result of European colonization have contributed to psychological stress and to possible changes in the genomes and the expression of genes of indigenous peoples when assimilating to Westernized lifestyles. These biological changes (also known as epigenomics) may be similar to other communities whose people have also experienced trauma. The project also will investigate whether a return to ancestrally-informed social traditions modifies the biological changes of indigenous peoples when adjusting to a Westernized environment. The project will enhance understanding of how global historic events, such as European colonization, produce persistent biological effects that may still be seen today. Project results will provide insight into the impact of social stress on biology among indigenous peoples and will clarify potential points of intervention to reduce health disparities in this population. This project also will support a program for the training of indigenous students and community members in genomics theory and analyses, in conjunction with the Summer Internship for Native Americans in Genomics program, which will conduct a specialized workshop at Kenai Peninsula College in Alaska to provide hands-on experience in molecular biology, bioinformatics, and other genomics related fields. These activities will help bolster program goals to increase the number of Native Americans serving as leaders in careers involving the sciences.The project will examine how well theories developed in psychology and related fields regarding the biological underpinnings of trauma manifested in psychological disorders applies in an anthropological context to Native Americans who have experienced social stress as a result of European colonization and assimilation to a Westernized life. The investigators will use multiple approaches in the study. Comparative genomic approaches will be used to assess points of convergence and divergence between the data regarding indigenous peoples gathered as part of this study and similar data about others who have experienced trauma. A comparison will be made with a non-indigenous control group from the same geographic location as the indigenous groups. Culturally informed surveys dealing with social lifestyles and stress will be conducted and analyzed using relevant statistical models, and DNA and genomes from skeletal remains of ancestral indigenous peoples who lived during the time of European contact will be isolated and analyzed. This project is supported through the NSF Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (IBSS) competition.