Genes, Behavior, and the Social Environment: Moving Beyond the Nature/Nurture Debate (2006)
Chapter: Front Matter
Genes, Behavior, and the Social Environment
Moving Beyond the Nature/Nurture Debate
Lyla M. Hernandez and Dan G. Blazer, Editors
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. N01-OD-4-2139, TO 154 between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, National Human Genome Research Institute, and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Genes, behavior, and the social environment : moving beyond the nature/nurture debate / Lyla M. Hernandez and Dan G. Blazer, editors ; Committee on Assessing Interactions, Among Social, Behavioral, and Genetic Factors in Health, Board on Health Sciences Policy.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-309-10196-4 (pbk.) — ISBN 0-309-66045-9 (PDFs)
1. Behavior genetics. 2. Medical genetics. 3. Nature and nurture. 4. Human genetics—Research. I. Hernandez, Lyla M. II. Blazer, Dan G. (Dan German), 1944- . III. Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Assessing Interactions, Among Social, Behavioral, and Genetic Factors in Health.
[DNLM: 1. Genetics, Behavioral. 2. Sociobiology. QU 450 G3266 2006]
QH457G458 2006
616'.042—dc22
2006023972
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COMMITTEE ON ASSESSING INTERACTIONS AMONG SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL, AND GENETIC FACTORS IN HEALTH
DAN G. BLAZER (Chair),
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
MELISSA A. AUSTIN,
University of Washington, Seattle
WENDY BALDWIN,
University of Kentucky, Lexington
ELLEN WRIGHT CLAYTON,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
FIRDAUS S. DHABHAR,
Stanford University, California
GUANG GUO,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
SHARON L.R. KARDIA,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
ICHIRO KAWACHI,
Harvard University, Boston
CARYN LERMAN,
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
MARTHA K. MCCLINTOCK,
University of Chicago
RUTH OTTMAN,
Columbia University, New York
DAVID RIMOIN,
University of California, Los Angeles
KEITH E. WHITFIELD,
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Staff
LYLA M. HERNANDEZ, Study Director
ANDREA M. SCHULTZ, Research Assistant
CHRISTINE HARTEL, Director,
Center for Studies of Behavior and Development
BOARD ON HEALTH SCIENCES POLICY*
FRED H. GAGE (Chair),
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California
GAIL H. CASSELL,
Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana
JAMES F. CHILDRESS,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
ELLEN WRIGHT CLAYTON,
Vanderbilt University Medical School, Nashville, Tennessee
DAVID R. COX,
Perlegen Sciences, Mountain View, California
LYNN R. GOLDMAN,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
BERNARD D. GOLDSTEIN,
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
MARTHA N. HILL,
Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland
ALAN LESHNER,
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.
DANIEL MASYS,
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
JONATHAN D. MORENO,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville
E. ALBERT REECE,
University of Arkansas, Little Rock
MYRL WEINBERG,
National Health Council, Washington, D.C.
MICHAEL J. WELCH,
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
OWEN N. WITTE,
University of California, Los Angeles
MARY WOOLLEY,
Research!America, Alexandria, Virginia
IOM Staff
ANDREW M. POPE, Director
AMY HAAS, Board Assistant
DAVID CODREA, Financial Associate
Independent Report Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Eric Boerwinkle, University of Texas, Houston
Wylie Burke, University of Washington
C. Robert Cloninger, Washington University
Troy Duster, New York University
Mindy T. Fullilove, Columbia University
Stephen B. Manuck, University of Pittsburgh
Robb E. Moses, Oregon Health & Science University
K. Srinath Reddy, Centre for Chronic Disease Control, India
Richard F. Thompson, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
David R. Williams, University of Michigan
Redford B. Williams, Duke University
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Jane E. Sisk, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Elena O. Nightingale, Institute of Medicine. Appointed by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Preface
Developing this report about facilitating integrated research on how the social environment and genetic function affect health outcomes has been tremendously rewarding, in large part because the effort was a collaboration among scientists from the social, behavioral, and biological sciences. Committee research and discussion illuminated associations among social factors and health, behaviors and health, and genetics and health. Committee collaboration resulted in a vision, described in this report, of how future research, transdisciplinary in nature, can contribute to the science of gene-social environment interactions and to explaining individual and population health and health disparities.
Yet, transdisciplinary research faces many challenges, not the least of which are those encountered when attempting to conduct collaborative research across disciplines. In a sense, the challenge of collaboration was illustrated in the work of this committee, whose scientists came from the fields of sociology, demography, psychology, psychiatry, research design, law, ethics, medicine, public health, epidemiology, biology, molecular virology, and genetics. Despite the fact that each committee member already had demonstrated a willingness to work with those from other disciplines on problems that crossed social, behavioral, and genetic lines, committee understanding and collaboration were not achieved effortlessly. Research conducted by different disciplines rests on different knowledge bases, often with different areas of focus—for example, the geneticist emphasizes individuals, while sociologists examine groups and societies. To form a group that could work collaboratively, it was necessary to devote meeting time to
developing a common understanding of each others’ definitions, terms, knowledge about what various disciplines have contributed to our understanding of disease risk, and an appreciation and value for the research designs and methods used by practitioners of the different disciplines. It was only after this had been accomplished that rapid progress could be made in developing an integrated approach to the task at hand—that of determining how researchers can begin to assess the impact on health of interactions among social, behavioral, and genetic factors.
In transdisciplinary research, investigators will be faced, on a broader scale, with the challenges that confronted this committee. Foremost among these challenges is the need to appreciate and value the contributions of other disciplines. Other challenges and approaches to addressing them are described in the body of the report, but the committee believes that the challenge of fostering true collaboration merited the emphasis that is provided in this preface. Successful transdisciplinary research that is conducted on gene-social environment interaction could provide a way for us to redefine how we think about health and disease. Such a redefinition, however, is not a short trip going forward with a specific goal in mind; rather, it is a journey that will require time and patience. This report and its recommendations are intended to launch us on that journey.
Dan G. Blazer, Chair
Committee on Assessing Interactions Among Social, Behavioral, and Genetic Factors in Health
Acknowledgments
Over the course of this study, many individuals were willing to share their expertise, time, and thoughts with the committee. Their contributions invigorated committee deliberations and enhanced the quality of this report.
The study sponsors at the National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, the National Human Genome Research Institute, and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences willingly provided information and responded to questions.
Invaluable information was provided by the authors of four commissioned papers: Steve W. Cole, Ph.D. (immunology), Myles S. Faith, Ph.D. and Tanja V.E. Kral, Ph.D. (obesity), Sharon Schwartz, Ph.D. (interactions), and Robert J. Thompson, Jr., Ph.D. (sickle cell disease).
The committee greatly appreciates the input of speakers whose presentations informed committee thinking, including Ronald Abeles, Arthur Beaudet, Sheldon Cohen, Eileen Crimmins, Anna Diez Roux, Ming D. Li, Colleen McBride, Margaret Locke, Brian Pike, and John Sheridan.
The committee was extremely fortunate in its staffing for this study. We wish to thank Lyla M. Hernandez, who did a remarkable job of directing the study. Thanks also go to Andrea Schultz who provided excellent research and administrative assistance to the committee. We are grateful to Christine Hartel for her insights and contributions in the writing of this report. We also wish to thank Andrew Pope for his guidance during the project, David Codrea for his handling of the financial accounting, Mark Chesnek for his cover design, and Sara Maddox for editing the draft document.