What was involved?

After discussion about the needs of the Traveller community, with our public panel, we decided to launch Traveller Genes. The idea was to develop research that represented and supported the Traveller community.

We looked for volunteers who had at least two grandparents who are or were Travellers. This included Scottish Travellers, Irish Travellers, Romanichal or Romany, or Welsh Kale. Travellers were socially isolated from the settled populations until recently. Some genetic studies have been carried out, but Scottish Travellers in particular have not been involved in such studies.  We aim to identify the genetic origins and relationships of the Scottish Traveller community e.g. Highland Travellers, Lowland Travellers, Borders Romanichal Travellers.

Take a look at our video to learn more

What we asked volunteers to do

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After registration, volunteers were asked to complete the consent form by clicking the link in the email we sent. Before deciding if they'd like to take part, they could ask us further questions by calling us on 0131 651 8557 or emailing travellergenes@ed.ac.uk

If they agreed to take part, they were asked to complete a short online questionnaire. They could start the questionnaire immediately or return to it later. The questionnaire asked for details about ancestry and health and took about 15 minutes to complete.If volunteers didn't complete the questionnaire they were sent a reminder email after approximately 2 weeks and 4 weeks had passed.

After that, they were asked to provide a saliva (spit) sample. It was sent by post, to their home or a nominated contact address. They were asked to follow the instructions in the kit and provide a saliva sample, returned to the address provided. If we didn't get a sample, volunteers were emailed a reminder after 2 and 4 weeks.

What happens after that?

Their genetic material (DNA) will be taken from their saliva and studied by researchers. This may include Whole Genome Sequencing, where we’d read and study all 6 billion letters of their DNA. This means we can look at whether any changes in the DNA tell us more about the genetic history of the Travellers. It can also tell us if any genes are important in health or disease.

When consenting, we asked volunteers to agree to recontact, so they may be invited to take part in future studies. Details of these studies will be given at the time of recontact. They don’t have to take part in any future study.

The research we do will consider what the Traveller community wants us to achieve and we will always seek community advice and support.

Please note: This is not an ancestry test and we do not intend to return any genetic results.

To learn more about what volunteers were asked to do, read our information sheet below.