TBGEN Africa will undertake research to better understand relevant social and ethical issues related to genomic research in African communities. TBGEN Africa will test and develop best-practice standards in ethical conduct of genomic research in resource-limited settings as well as in research partnership ethics between “North” and “South” as well as between “South” and “South”. 

ELSI research will take a multidisciplinary approach to focus on: protecting the interests of the research participants, communities and researchers; appropriate identification and resolution of ethical, legal and social issues raised by this study; identifying and assessing national and international ethics guidelines and policies relevant to the conduct of genomic research and the establishment of biorepositories in the four African countries, including guidelines for DNA sample and data sharing; and identifying mechanisms for the oversight and ethics review of protocols for genomic research.