The Michigan Genomics Initiative: A biobank linking genotypes and electronic clinical records in Michigan Medicine patients
Matthew Zawistowski,
Lars G. Fritsche,
Anita Pandit,
Brett Vanderwerff,
Snehal Patil,
Ellen M. Schmidt,
Peter VandeHaar,
Cristen J. Willer,
Chad M. Brummett,
Sachin Kheterpal,
Xiang Zhou,
Michael Boehnke,
Gonçalo R. Abecasis,
Sebastian Zöllner
Affiliations
Matthew Zawistowski
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA; Corresponding author
Lars G. Fritsche
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Anita Pandit
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Brett Vanderwerff
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Snehal Patil
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Ellen M. Schmidt
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Peter VandeHaar
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Cristen J. Willer
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Chad M. Brummett
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Sachin Kheterpal
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Xiang Zhou
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Michael Boehnke
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
Gonçalo R. Abecasis
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA; Regeneron Genetics Center, Tarrytown, NY 10591, USA
Sebastian Zöllner
Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Biobanks of linked clinical patient histories and biological samples are an efficient strategy to generate large cohorts for modern genetics research. Biobank recruitment varies by factors such as geographic catchment and sampling strategy, which affect biobank demographics and research utility. Here, we describe the Michigan Genomics Initiative (MGI), a single-health-system biobank currently consisting of >91,000 participants recruited primarily during surgical encounters at Michigan Medicine. The surgical enrollment results in a biobank enriched for many diseases and ideally suited for a disease genetics cohort. Compared with the much larger population-based UK Biobank, MGI has higher prevalence for nearly all diagnosis-code-based phenotypes and larger absolute case counts for many phenotypes. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) results replicate known findings, thereby validating the genetic and clinical data. Our results illustrate that opportunistic biobank sampling within single health systems provides a unique and complementary resource for exploring the genetics of complex diseases.
