Becoming part of something bigger.
Our genetic research gives everyday people the opportunity to make a difference by participating in a new kind of research —online, from anywhere.
Once participants answer online survey questions, researchers link their genetic data to study topics from ancestry, to traits, to disease. These contributions help drive scientific discoveries.
The choice to opt into or out of research is always up to the participant.
The future of medicine. Powered by you.
There are certain diseases that matter to you personally. We now have a way for you to participate in clinical trials and help assess new treatments for these diseases that might impact you or a loved one.
We collaborate with pharmaceutical companies to bring you opportunities to participate in clinical trials that evaluate treatments for diseases you care about. You get to decide whether you’d like to participate, and are welcome to opt out whenever you want.
We do not share any of your data with our collaborators without your explicit permission.
Accelerating research. Making an impact.
On average, a customer who chooses to opt into research contributes to over 230 studies on topics that range from Parkinson's disease to lupus to asthma and more.
With the help of our 23andMe community we believe we can accelerate research and make an impact with our genetic data.
"I get inspiration from knowing that my participation could help prevent or cure diseases for future generations. I believe it's important to be part of the solution, and for me that means taking part in research."Kirsten Kraft
23andMe customer
How it works.
When you participate in our research, you can answer survey questions online, day or night. From your phone or laptop, for five minutes or fifty, your contribution is up to you.
By answering online survey questions and allowing researchers to combine your genetic data with millions of other data points, you can help drive scientific and medical discoveries. See our list of publications here.
When you participate in research, you can answer survey questions online, day or night. From your phone or laptop, for five minutes or fifty, your contribution is up to you.
By answering online survey questions and allowing researchers to combine your genetic data with millions of other data points, you can help drive scientific and medical discoveries.
As a customer, you will be asked if you would like to opt into research. More than eighty percent of our customers choose to participate. You can opt into or out of research at any time.
Our research activities are reviewed by an independent ethics committee, also known as an Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Bringing experts together.
We have received four grants from the U.S. National Institutes of Health to fund our research and have identified hundreds of new genetic associations. We regularly publish our research in leading, peer-reviewed scientific journals.
We collaborate with some of the best and brightest talent in the world of genetics research.
Here are some of our collaborators:
- Academic
- University of Chicago
- MRC Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge University
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
- Stanford University
- Industry
- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Biogen
- Genentech
- Pfizer
- P&G Beauty
- Non-Profits
- Lupus Research Institute
- The Michael J. Fox Foundation
- National Parkinson Foundation
- Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center
Still have questions about research?
Here are just a few of the things people frequently ask about 23andMe.If you don't see your question here, get in touch with us.
When you participate in our research program, your data is de-identified. That means your registration information is stripped from your genetic data so you cannot reasonably be identified. We do not include any of your registration information (like your name, email, etc.) in our research database. We store personal information that researchers do need for analysis (like date of birth) in a separate database from the genetic data, and they are only linked by a randomly assigned research ID.
Most of our research is performed using aggregate-level data. That means researchers link your de-identified data with millions of other data points and look at the data set as a whole. We may also ask you for your explicit consent to share your individual-level information with approved third-party researchers.
All research activities conducted by 23andMe Research are reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) and participation is completely voluntary. The IRB is an independent ethics panel that ensures all research is conducted in accordance with government and ethical guidelines.
For more information, see our research consent.
If you are a 23andMe customer and have registered your kit, you will have the option to consent to our research. You can opt into and out of our research at any time by updating your consent status in your account settings. If you opt out, we will stop using your information for research going forward (we cannot affect studies that have already been completed) and will discontinue use of your data within 30 days.
We believe DNA can provide insight into why some people are more likely to get a disease than others. We want to understand, through genetics, why people respond differently to disease treatment options and drugs.
We develop research communities in collaboration with other organizations (academic, pharmaceutical and non-profit). These research communities are large cohorts of people who share a common disease or condition, such as Parkinson's disease or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). With this large set of data, we are able to analyze similarities and differences and study the potential impact of environment and lifestyle on disease development. Today, two of our largest study cohorts are Parkinson's disease and depression and bipolar.
In addition to working with partners that focus on drug development, 23andMe also conducts its own research to try to identify new therapies for both common and rare diseases. To further this effort, 23andMe created a therapeutics group in 2015 that focuses on the discovery of novel treatments through human genetics.
See our publications page.
Stay in the know.
Keep up-to-date with new discoveries and exclusive promotions on our DNA testing kits and services.