The birthplace of modern humans, Africa, has the highest genetic diversity in the world, yet it remains vastly understudied. With biomedical research increasingly focused on human variation, studying the large population size and number of mutations in African genomes could unravel the complexity of phenotypic traits underlying the biology of our species and hold huge potential for scientific and medical advances. An initial chapter 'conceptualizes Africa', providing relevant terminology. The first section covers genetic history and population structure. The next section looks at the genetic basis of common infectious diseases, such as leishmaniasis, malaria and tuberculosis, with a final part considering common non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart disease and cancer. Gene environment interaction under globalization and the burden of diseases of lifestyle are included. For researchers and graduate students in biological anthropology, genetic anthropology, human and population genetics, and public health.

‘The Genetics of African Populations in Health and Disease makes great strides to remedy this knowledge gap … this excellent volume is likely to be of interest to a broad range of geneticists and medical professionals.’

Joseph Lachance Source: The Quarterly Review of Biology

‘The scope of the contributions varies widely, from studies of single diseases (e.g., breast cancer, visceral leishmaniasis) to broad surveys (e.g., orphan diseases of North Africa, evolution of disease resistance). The first and final essays review the state and development of genetics research and medicine in Africa. Common themes include public health infrastructure, transition from agrarian to urban lifestyles, pharmacogenomics, genetic diversity, and the dearth of research on African populations.’

R. M. Denome Source: Choice