Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics (ALIGN): Pathways to Benefit for Indigenous Australians in Genomic Medicine

About the Research Project

“The Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics (ALIGN) comprise people from across Australia and representing expertise from community, health, research, government, and industry. ALIGN seeks to build leadership and involvement in genomic science, research, precision healthcare, data sciences, ethics, and Indigenous knowledge systems.” (ALIGN, 2024)

A five-year, Commonwealth funded project, ALIGN is led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people; experts working together for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Each state has its own group leading the work, and a responsibility for a special interest area. This group is supported by an Indigenous Governance Committee, comprising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across the state. Queensland’s focus area is pharmacogenomics; how differences in our genes, affect our sensitivity to medicines. Pharmacogenomics offers the opportunity for people to find the right medications sooner, with less side effects and better health outcomes.

Impact

National network will enable equitable, culturally safe and responsive access to the benefits of genomic medicine by building national capacity and leadership in Indigenous genomics, establishing reference genome(s) that will serve as the foundations of genomic medicine for Indigenous Australians, develop best-practice approaches to data systems and sovereignty, and policy, and co-develop an Indigenous Genomics Research Agenda.

Partners:

• Queensland University of Technology
• Griffith University
• Queensland Health
• Queensland Institute of Medical Research 
• The Australian National University

Lead Research Institute

• The Australian National University - Lead Investigator: Professor Alex Brown