NeuroDev Kenya: characterizing the epidemiology and etiology of developmental disorders on the Kenyan Coast

Project Summary/Abstract The NeuroDev Kenya data set will provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in East Africa, and create a research resource of international value. It will be the first large-scale NDD collection in a rural African setting that is deeply phenotyped and genetically informative, and all data and materials will be made publicly available. In this application, we propose to conduct extensive analysis of NeuroDev Kenya’s genetic and phenotypic data, beginning in the award’s second year. The analyses will leverage the rich environment at KEMRI and will be intertwined with our proposed capacity building activities (Aim 3). Through our capacity building activities, we will provide structured training in genetics and genetic data analysis, determine whether to introduce a lymphoblastic cell line (LCL) protocol into NeuroDev Kenya, and determine how to ethically include adults with ID. We will share all data (e.g. phenotypes, genotypes), and materials (e.g. DNA from blood, possibly LCLs) through the NIH. We will also share outputs through international consortia and a new African NDD Research Network formalized through this award (Aim 4).