評論
打印
Correcting a Major Tactical Error
修正主要的戰術錯誤
Even before the Human Genome Project was done, Rotimi suspected Africa was being left behind.
羅蒂米甚至在人類基因組計劃完成之前，就懷疑非洲被落下了。
In 2002, he was an epidemiologist at the National Human Genome Center at Howard University and led the African branch of a project to collect genomes from around the world to uncover the scope of human genetic variation.
2002年，羅蒂米時任霍華德大學國家人類基因組中心的流行病學家，并擔任“全球基因組收集”項目非洲分部負責人，“全球基因組收集”項目旨在揭示人類遺傳變異的范圍。
Already, African scientists had a limited role, which stung Rotimi.
而非洲科學家的參與有限，這一事實刺痛了羅蒂米。
In 2004, while directing the Genome Center, he became the founding president of the African Society of Human Genetics, an organization formed to address this concern.
2004年，羅蒂米在管理基因組研究中心期間，成為了非洲人類遺傳學協會創始人主席，此協會正是致力于研究非洲人類遺傳學的機構。
At the group's first meeting, held in Ethiopia in 2006, the lack of participation by Africa—both its DNA and its scientists—in genome research dominated the agenda.
2006年，該協會在埃塞俄比亞舉行了首次會議，非洲缺席——非洲DNA和非洲科學家同時缺席——而非洲卻是此次會議的主要議程。
A year later, geneticist Francis Collins, who led the Human Genome Project and now directs the National Institutes of Health(NIH), attended the second meeting, held in Cairo, where the concern began morphing into an idea for an Africa-based genome project.
一年后，人類基因組計劃領導人、現任美國國立衛生研究院院長、遺傳學家弗朗西斯·柯林斯參加了在開羅舉行的第二次會議，會上對非洲基因排除在外的擔憂開始演變成非洲基因組計劃的想法。
Rising rates of cancer on the continent added further urgency.
非洲大陸癌癥發病率的上升進一步加劇了這一問題的緊迫性。
The prevalence of breast, prostate and cervical cancers is increasing there, partly due to lower mortality rate for infectious diseases and partly due to a shift toward a Westernized lifestyle.
乳腺癌、前列腺癌和宮頸癌的發病率不斷上升，部分原因在于傳染病死亡率較低，還有部分原因在于生活方式西化的轉變。
Current estimates put Africa's annual cancer incidence at 1.27 million by 2030.
目前估計，到2030年，非洲每年的癌癥患者將達到127萬。
The problem is compounded by African patients being treated with drugs tested on non-African populations.
而因非洲患者所用的藥不是在非洲人群中測試的，患病人數還會再度增加。
Including African DNA in genetic research could ameliorate that issue.
而將非洲DNA納入基因研究可改善這一問題。
"How can I explain that a tool this robust," Rotimi asked himself, "is just going to pass by Africa in a way that will exacerbate already bad health conditions in this part of the world?"
羅蒂米自問，“我該如何解釋，這樣一個有力的工具就這樣越過非洲，從而加劇非洲已經很糟糕的健康情況？”
The 2009 report exposing the paucity of African DNA in genome studies began spreading the alarm Rotimi had been sounding for years.
2009年的報告揭露了基因組研究中缺乏非洲DNA，并開始宣傳羅蒂米多年來一直發出的警告。
The National Human Genome Research Institute, part of the NIH, began monitoring the over-representation of people of European ancestry in these investigations.
美國國立衛生研究院下屬的國家人類基因組研究所開始在這些調查中監控歐洲血統人的過度代表性。
"Far too much of the research we've done has been on people who are of most immediate European descent," says Eric Green, who directs the institute.
“我們做的很多研究都是基于最接近歐洲血統的人，”研究院院長埃里克·格林說。
He refers to this bias as "a major tactical error."
他將這種偏頗稱為“重大的戰術錯誤”。
That same year, Rotimi took the first steps toward a project that would not only correct that error but also transform a continent of scientists.
同年，羅蒂米為這個項目邁出了第一步，不僅要糾正這個錯誤，還要改造所有非洲科學家的老觀念。
In 2010, the NIH began funding Rotimi’s effort to organize a project focused on African genetics.
2010年，美國國立衛生研究院開始資助羅蒂米組織的非洲遺傳學項目。
If the West wouldn't include Africa in its work, he and his colleagues decided, they would do their own studies.
羅蒂米和其同事們決定，如果西方國家不把非洲納入其工作范圍，他們將自己進行研究。
But Rotimi quickly realized that an Africa-centric effort had to do more than collect sequences and catalog SNPs.
但羅蒂米很快意識到，以非洲為中心展開研究不僅是收集序列、分類SNP。
The rare appearance of funding for such research, coupled with the desperate need for better medical care, made practical application of the work a priority.
這類研究罕見地獲得了資助，再加上迫切需要更好的醫療服務，實際應用工作因而被放于首位。
And he was haunted by the specter of past research testing medicines and techniques on Africans but never helping them.
但羅蒂米憂心還會像過去一樣僅是在非洲人身上測試藥和技術，而并不幫助非洲人。
"We needed to be very careful," Rotimi says, "that the money addressed issues that are important to African people."
“我們需要格外謹慎，”羅蒂米說道，“研究此項目的基金對非洲人意義非凡。”
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