"Ensuring Privacy Protections for People Whose Genomic Information Is Stored among a Global Collection of Personal Data"
Erman Ayday, an assistant professor of computer and data sciences at Case Western Reserve University, has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) grant. The new five-year, $500,000 grant will help Ayday continue working on identifying, analyzing, and mitigating privacy risks for individuals who share their genomic information with institutions, which share the data with larger genomic databases. Personal genomic data refers to each individual's unique genome, genetic make-up, and information gleaned from DNA analysis of a blood test or saliva sample. Scientists worldwide use a network of individualized but anonymous genomic data to study cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and more. The issue, as pointed out by Ayday, is that private data does not always remain private. There are already some real-world examples of people accessing genomic database data in ways that allow them to learn the identity of a specific person and everything about them from a genomic standpoint. This could include their racial background, predisposition to certain diseases, and even their father's identity. Ayday and his colleagues work on identifying and patching vulnerabilities in genomic data sharing platforms. He intends to identify flaws in the sharing of genomic databases in various contexts and to create more complex algorithms to protect against people or organizations who share his ability to figure out one person's identity or sensitive genomic information. Ayday also plans to implement the developed algorithms in real-world settings in collaboration with the Cleveland Institute for Computational Biology. This article continues to discuss the NSF CAREER award won by Erman Ayday at Case Western Reserve University in support of his work on ensuring privacy protections for individuals who share their genomic information with institutions.