Genomic Medicine for Health Equity in Latin America - Challenges and Opportunities

Genomic medicine is rapidly reshaping the landscape of healthcare promising earlier diagnoses, targeted treatments, and a shift from reactive to preventive care. But for much of the world, particularly in Latin America, the path to these benefits remains uneven. Despite the region’s immense genomic diversity and growing scientific capacity, many Latin American populations remain underrepresented in the data that drive global innovation and underserved by the infrastructures that translate discovery into care.

This Research Topic sets out to examine what it truly means to implement genomic medicine for health equity in Latin America. We invite work that goes beyond aspirational language to engage directly with the real-world barriers, innovative responses, and structural conditions shaping this field. Our aim is to create a platform where genomic science, clinical practice, AI and data science, policy, and community engagement come together anchored in the belief that equity must be at the core of public health advancements.

We welcome contributions that reflect the full complexity of this challenge in Latin America, including:

- Efforts to develop inclusive biobanks, population genomics programs, and equitable sequencing initiatives

- New methodologies or metrics for assessing representation, bias, and impact in genomic datasets

- Use of AI and machine learning tools in ways that respect data sovereignty and cultural context

- Models of ethical engagement with Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and rural communities across Latin America

- Infrastructure, workforce, and funding strategies that embed equity into clinical genomics

- Legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks that enable responsible innovation without perpetuating exclusion

- Comparative perspectives that position Latin American genomic leadership within the broader global landscape

We seek papers that suggest critical reflection, operational creativity, and grounded experience. We are particularly interested in voices from across the region, including early-career researchers, Indigenous scholars, and cross-sector collaborators.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: indigenous, latin america, equity, AI, biobanks, population genomics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.