Diverse UCLA Biobank Uncovers New Genetic Links to Disease and Treatment

Landmark study leverages wide-ranging patient data to advance personalized medicine

Apr. 18, 2026 at 3:58am

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A highly structured abstract painting in soft earth tones, featuring sweeping geometric arcs, concentric circles, and precise botanical spirals, conceptually representing the complex genetic forces and insights uncovered by the UCLA ATLAS Biobank study.Groundbreaking genetic research leverages the diverse patient population of UCLA's ATLAS Biobank to uncover new insights into disease risk and treatment response.Los Angeles Today

A new study by UCLA Health published in Cell presents a major advancement in the future of personalized medicine by pinpointing new connections between people's genes, disease risk and medicine response using data from the diverse UCLA ATLAS Community Health Initiative Biobank. The analysis of genetic and electronic health records from nearly 94,000 participants revealed insights that may not emerge from less diverse datasets, including a striking finding that genetics can predict how well patients respond to GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.

Why it matters

Studies that include diverse populations can help researchers discover genetic associations that may not appear in more limited datasets and may improve the usefulness of genetic tools across different populations. The UCLA ATLAS Biobank reflects the wide range of ancestries living in Los Angeles, allowing researchers to compare genetic influences on health across populations while minimizing differences in clinical care that can complicate comparisons between health systems.

The details

The ATLAS Biobank contains the health records of 93,936 participants and represents a sweeping cross-section of real patients, enabling discoveries that are directly translatable to groups historically underrepresented in medical research. Researchers analyzed genetic data and electronic health records to reveal new insights, including differences in disease risk and health care use across ancestry groups, new genetic associations, and variation in how people respond to medications. One of the key findings was that treatment response to GLP-1 drugs for weight loss varied across ancestry groups and was associated with a person's genetic risk for type 2 diabetes.

  • The ATLAS Community Health Initiative was launched in 2016 by the UCLA Institute of Precision Health.
  • The new study was published in the journal Cell in 2026.

The players

UCLA ATLAS Community Health Initiative Biobank

A diverse dataset containing the health records of 93,936 participants, reflecting the wide range of ancestries living in Los Angeles.

Dr. Daniel Geschwind

Senior associate dean and associate vice chancellor of Precision Health at UCLA, who developed and oversees the ATLAS program.

Dr. Roni Haas

Assistant project scientist at UCLA Health and the lead author of the study.

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What they’re saying

“This isn't a small lab finding. ATLAS represents a sweeping cross-section of real patients, making its discoveries directly translatable to the groups of medicine has historically left behind.”

— Dr. Daniel Geschwind, Senior associate dean and associate vice chancellor of Precision Health at UCLA

“Although many other efforts to integrate electronic health records with genetic data have advanced genetic and biomedical discovery, they've often had a heavy concentration of homogeneous populations of European ancestry, limiting generalizability.”

— Dr. Roni Haas, Assistant project scientist at UCLA Health

What’s next

Researchers are conducting pilot studies that they hope will soon show the immediate, clinical impact of this work in personalized medicine.

The takeaway

This landmark study demonstrates how leveraging a diverse, clinically well-characterized biobank can uncover new genetic insights that may be missed in more homogeneous datasets, paving the way for more equitable and effective personalized treatments across populations.