A new study reveals surprising things about people in Peru’s urban areas

Baltimore, April 2, 2026: Latin Americans are represented in less than a quarter of a percent of genetic studies worldwide. When included, they are often lumped together as one group, although there are many different types of people in Latin America. This lack of data has hampered genetics in Latin American populations and has stopped progress in the clinical use of precision medicine.

To better understand the great ancestry of certain people in Latin America-Peruvian-researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), together with colleagues from the Peruvian Institute of National Health (Instituto Nacional de Salud), conducted the largest research to date to analyze the genetics of people from urban areas throughout Peru. They published their study on The biology of communication.

“We were surprised to find that despite historical events—such as the slave trade or Spanish colonization—in the past centuries, urban Peruvians are more like indigenous peoples from nearby regions, including the Andes and the Amazon, rather than a single melting pot,” said lead author Victor Borda, PhD, Research Scholar at the Center for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland Health Center. of UM who is also a native of Peru.

The researchers collected blood from more than 400 volunteers in 13 locations across Peru and performed genome-wide studies, analyzing more than two million genes in each participant.

The study also showed that women are the most likely to transfer Indian descendants, while men contribute more to European descendants. This reflects the unequal mixing between men and women during the colonial period, when European men often partnered with Indian women, often under forced conditions. Since the X chromosome is transmitted twice as often in females, it retains a strong marker of Indian maternal ancestry.

“This model is consistent with the social conditions of colonization and power and can be distinguished genetically by differences in the X chromosome and autosomal lineage,” said Timothy O’Connor, PhD, IGS scientist, Assistant Professor of Medicine at UMSOM, and corresponding author of the paper. “Our research shows that history can be written in genetics and is not erased simply by moving to the city.”

Most important, however, is the potential impact of education on health and disease in Latin Americans, the researchers say.

Dr. “The more we understand the details of genetics, the easier it will be to use the right medicine—to get the right medicine, to the right person at the right time,” O’Connor said. “That’s where research, like this large study, is always important, especially among people who are often lumped together, like Latin Americans or Asians, when we know there’s a lot of genetic variation.”

About the Genome Science Center

The Institute for Genome Sciences’ (IGS) has been part of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) since 2007. IGS scientists work in various areas, using genetic methods and biological systems to better understand health issues to create a healthy Maryland and the world. Our research covers many areas including cancer and precision medicine; viral, fungal and bacterial diseases; sexual and reproductive health; basics of aging; and neuroscience areas including brain development, addiction, and mental health, IGS also remains at the forefront of genomic technology and bioinformatics analysis through its flagship facility, Maryland Genomics, which provides researchers worldwide with high-quality, collaborative, and affordable sequencing and analysis.

About UM-IHC

The University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC), located in North Bethesda, Maryland, is a health computing and collaboration center in Montgomery County, Maryland. UM-IHC combines the computational expertise, clinical expertise, biomedical innovation, health information and academic resources of the University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland, Baltimore; and the University of Maryland Medical System to innovate health care delivery and support Montgomery County’s life sciences community. It is a signature initiative of the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State, which provides financial support along with Montgomery County.

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

The University of Maryland School of Medicine, founded in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States, continues today as one of the fastest growing, top biomedical research enterprises in the world. The school has about 500 billion in research funding, 46 departments, institutes and centers, more than 2,200 students and more than 3,000 faculty members, including notable members of the National Academy of Medicine. As the largest public medical school in the DC/MD/VA region, the faculty’s physicians work to help patients manage chronic diseases such as obesity, cancer, heart disease and addiction, while working on cutting-edge research to solve critical health problems. In 2024, the School was ranked #12 among public medical schools and #27 among all medical schools for R&D expenditures by the National Science Foundation. With a total operating budget of $1.3 billion, the School partners with the University of Maryland Medical Center to serve nearly 2 million patients annually. The school has a global reach through research and treatment centers in 33 countries. Maryland, the School of Medicine leads new initiatives in AI and health computing and collaborates with the University of Maryland BioPark to develop new medical technologies and bioengineering businesses. For more information, visit medschool.umaryland.edu.