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Open research questions in Race, Genetics, and Society

186 gap statements mined from Race, Genetics, and Society papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,463 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • The need for representative training data and transparent methodology in demographic modelling and artificial intelligence and machine-learning approaches. The importance of interpreting genetic evidence within its historical context, particularly when it intersects with questions of ancestry, community identity, persecution, and cultural affiliation.

    Editorial for the Special Issue “Emerging Topics in Population Genetics and Molecular Anthropology: Integrating Genomes, Populations, and the Human Past” · 2026 · DOI

  • Empirical information on the evolution of reporting race and ethnicity information in gastroenterology research is lacking.

    Low Prevalence of Reporting of Participant Race and Ethnicity in Gastroenterology Research Publications · 2024 · DOI

  • The complexity of the topic and the limited time available. The difficulty of building trust and facilitating genuine interactions in online dialogues. The need to adapt the engagement and dialogue processes to the cultural sensitivities and humility of the participants.

    A Culturally Grounded Method for Dialogue Between Indigenous Peoples and Researchers on Emerging Technologies: Lessons from the Gene Drive Context · 2026 · DOI

  • The complexity of the topic and the limited time available were challenges in the dialogue process. Meaningful engagement and capacity development require time and sustainable engagement through several iterations.

    A Culturally Grounded Method for Dialogue Between Indigenous Peoples and Researchers on Emerging Technologies: Lessons from the Gene Drive Context · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in current research on the need for a renewed reflection on the sacredness of diversity. The paper argues that the analysis of the Aylmer twins' story can contribute to this reflection.

    One Origin, Many Shades: Genetic Diversity, Human Unity, and the Extraordinary Case of the Aylmer Twins · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of focus on social and environmental determinants of health in precision medicine research.

    Precision Medicine and the “Methodological Genomification” of Racial Health Disparities · 2026 · DOI

  • We examine how existing African regional governance bodies have operationalized these principles, and what HGGE governance can learn from their successes and limitations.

    Navigating the human gene editing scene and proposing a new governance framework in Africa: from knowledge to policy to action · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need to better conceptualize the causal realities and disease origins within local populations.

    From Global to Local: Rethinking Population Descriptors in Biomedicine · 2026 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need to explore how healthism is entangled with medicalisation in cohort data collection.

    The Complex Dynamics of Healthism in Birth Cohort Studies: Comparative Perspectives From the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Brazil and Portugal · 2026 · DOI

  • Existing research lacks a relational approach to understanding the construction of migrant morality.

    Meanings of migrant illegality: Folk Durkheimian beliefs and relational morality of legal categories · 2026 · DOI

  • The lived experiences of those identifying as an underrepresented minority remain underexplored in the context of research and professional survey practices. The perception of identifiability has been shown to reduce willingness to participate or limit full disclosure.

    North American Genetic Counselors' Perceptions of Identifiability From Demographic Questions on Surveys · 2026 · DOI

  • The authors highlight the need to examine the ancestral diversity in the scientific workforce and the collaboration patterns among researchers. The study also identifies a gap in the representation of minority researchers in genomics research.

    NIH grant expansion, ancestral diversity, and scientific collaborations in genomics research · 2026 · DOI

  • The recommendation to use ancestry-informative markers (AIMs) in lieu of racial or ethnic identities to bring greater scientific rigor to the use of race in medicine or precision medicine warrants scrutiny.

    A Scientific Approach to the Use of Racial and Ethnic Identities in Medicine and Kidney Health · 2025 · DOI

  • These findings are inconsistent across observational studies, and no randomized trials have enrolled only female patients—and none are currently registered on ClinicalTrials.

    Exclusive research is bad science: the epidemiologic argument for diversity, equity, and inclusion in research · 2025 · DOI

  • There has been little attention to how epigenetics is communicated through audio-visual media. Audio-visual media have largely been elided within analyses of the social life of epigenetics. The paper identifies a gap in scholarly understanding of how epigenetics is communicated through audio-visual media.

    Narrating novelty and reaffirming responsibilisation: epigenetics on YouTube · 2025 · DOI

  • Prior race-based GFR measurements were flawed because of their reliance on underpowered analyses with limited data that are further biased by anecdotal assumptions around race-related diet and muscle mass despite no objective data.

    Race-neutral measures as an equitable path forward · 2024 · DOI

  • The perspectives of genomic citizen scientists on ownership of research outputs are not well understood, yet they are useful for identifying alignment of participant expectations and project practices and can help guide efforts to develop innovative tools and strategies for managing ownership claims.

    “Idealists and capitalists”: ownership attitudes and preferences in genomic citizen science · 2022 · DOI

  • Previous studies had not investigated the link between VAMP7 and human sexual development disorders.

    WORLD OF REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY: Messing with Masculinization · 2014 · DOI

  • The initial lack of acceptance of the discovery of DNA as the genetic material. The need for further research to confirm the findings and explore their implications.

    Oswald Avery, DNA, and the transformation of biology · 2014 · DOI

  • While international research has explored the Nature of Science (NOS) in textbooks, few studies have systematically analyzed its historical evolution within a specific subject area.

    The nature of science in genetics education: a historical analysis of Japanese high school biology textbooks, 1963–2023 · 2026 · DOI

  • Increasing the representation of understudied populations and archaeological periods, - Improving extraction, sequencing and computational analysis for aDNA research, - Developing more sophisticated demographic modelling and artificial intelligence and machine-learning…

    Editorial for the Special Issue “Emerging Topics in Population Genetics and Molecular Anthropology: Integrating Genomes, Populations, and the Human Past” · 2026 · DOI

  • To study the social and environmental determinants of health in precision medicine research. To develop more affordable and accessible precision medicines.

    Precision Medicine and the “Methodological Genomification” of Racial Health Disparities · 2026 · DOI

  • In the UK, the Science Council defines a Professional Body as ‘an organisation with individual members, practicing a profession or occupation in which the organisation maintains an oversight of the knowledge, skills, conduct and practice of that profession or occupation.’

    Professional bodies: how best to promote and support individuals working in human genetics and genomics · 2026 · DOI

  • Researchers should reflect on the need and/or relevancy of specific demographic questions in the context of the study topic, - Provide clarity to how data will be…

    North American Genetic Counselors' Perceptions of Identifiability From Demographic Questions on Surveys · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies on the role of DNA in genetics and heredity. Exploration of the implications of the discovery for fields such as biotechnology and genetic engineering.

    Oswald Avery, DNA, and the transformation of biology · 2014 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Race, Genetics, and Society

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The lack of focus on social and environmental determinants of health in precision medicine research (“Precision Medicine and the “Methodological Genomification” of Racial Health…”, 2026); (2) There is a need to better conceptualize the causal realities and disease origins within local populations (“From Global to Local: Rethinking Population Descriptors in Biomedicine”, 2026); (3) The lived experiences of those identifying as an underrepresented minority remain underexplored in the context of research and professional survey practices (“North American Genetic Counselors' Perceptions of Identifiability From…”, 2026); (4) Empirical information on the evolution of reporting race and ethnicity information in gastroenterology research is lacking (“Low Prevalence of Reporting of Participant Race and Ethnicity in…”, 2024); (5) The initial lack of acceptance of the discovery of DNA as the genetic material (“Oswald Avery, DNA, and the transformation of biology”, 2014). 186 gap statements have been mined from Race, Genetics, and Society papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,463 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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