Up 4 A Challenge

Breast cancer remains a major public health burden. Researchers have performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify key genes and biological pathways potentially affecting disease risk. More than 100 common genetic variants have been associated with breast cancer; however, these variants explain only a small proportion of the estimated genetic contribution to the risk of breast cancer.

In order to stimulate innovation in the field of genetic epidemiology, the Epidemiology and Genomic Research Program (EGRP) sponsored a prize competition to inspire novel cross-disciplinary approaches to more fully decipher the genomic basis of breast cancer. “Up For A Challenge (U4C) – Stimulating Innovation in Breast Cancer Genetic Epidemiology” was launched in 2015.

The goal of this Challenge was to use innovative approaches to identify novel pathways—including new genes or combinations of genes, genetic variants, or sets of genomic features—involved in breast cancer susceptibility in order to generate new biological hypotheses. Several data sets were made available for use in the Challenge, some of which were shared for the first time. In addition, Challenge participants could use any other publicly available data sets for the purposes of developing and applying methods for identification of novel pathways.

The U4C advanced innovation in the field of genetic epidemiology by providing further insight into the genetic contribution to breast cancer, increased the amount and diversity of minds tackling a tough scientific problem, and made breast cancer genetic epidemiologic data more widely available.

Visit the U4C site