Genomic GPS: using genetic distance from individuals to public data for genomic analysis without disclosing personal genomes
Genomic global positioning system (GPS) applies the multilateration technique commonly used in the GPS to genomic data. In the framework we present here, investigators calculate genetic distances from their samples to reference samples, which are from data held in the public domain, and share this information with others. This sharing enables certain types of genomic analysis, such as identifying sample overlaps and close relatives, decomposing ancestry, and mapping of geographical origin without disclosing personal genomes. Thus, our method can be seen as a balance between open data sharing and privacy protection. ; This research was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant (grant number 2019R1A2C2002608) and the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the NRF (grant number 2017M3A9B6061852) funded by the Korean government, Ministry of Science and ICT. E.E. was supported by National Science Foundation grants 0513612, 0731455, 0729049, 0916676, 1065276, 1302448, 1320589, 1331176, and 1815624, and National Institutes of Health grants K25-HL080079, U01- DA024417, P01-HL30568, P01-HL28481, R01-GM083198, R01-ES021801, R01- MH101782, and R01-ES022282. E.E. was supported in part by the NIH BD2K award, U54EB020403. We acknowledge the support of the NINDS Informatics Center for Neurogenetics and Neurogenomics (P30 NS062691).
