Utah Population Database: Big Data to Understand Health & Disease
Utah Population Database (UPDB) is a national resource proven to speed discovery of genetic causes of disease, and targeted tests and treatments. Housed at Huntsman Cancer Institute, UPDB is the largest database of its kind in the world, linking millions of people in multi-generational pedigrees to medical, public health, and environmental exposure records. With an additional 90 million records recently supplied by the Genealogical Society of Utah, the UPDB is expanding to include individuals living outside Utah.
Multi-generational pedigrees are the foundation of UPDB, helping scientists at the Center for Genomic Medicine and from around the world zero in on genetic causes of disease. The large-scale population data housed within the UPDB also reveals environmental contributors to health and enables the recruitment of selected cohorts for effective research studies. UPDB supports approximately 400 research projects.
To learn more, read about the latest research at the Center for Genomic Medicine and see a list of academic publications that reference UPDB.
Stories of Discovery
Genes for Alzheimer's Resistance
Linking families in the Utah Population Database is helping researchers identify genes that protect individuals from Alzheimer’s disease.
Pinpointing Precision Prognoses
Researchers are linking families to the Utah Population Database to identify new genes to target in the study of breast cancer.
Publications
The Utah Population Database has several publications on populations and pedigrees. See UPDB's publications.