Reflections on the Human Genome Diversity Project: a conversation with Marcus W. Feldman, Henry T. Greely, and Mary-Claire King

The Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) began in 1991 as an initiative to study genetic variation from human populations worldwide. In 2002, the HGDP reported the HGDP-CEPH Human Genome Diversity Cell Line Panel, a global panel of 1064 cell lines that is maintained at the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) and that has served as a major resource fundamental to the last 25 years of progress in human population genetics. HGDP-CEPH data have been central to research on topics such as human genetic diversity, human population structure, human migrations, the development of population-genetic statistics and software, and the potential value of inclusion of diverse sets of human populations in biomedical research. In this article, two researchers who participated in early analyses of genotypes from the HGDP-CEPH panel in the early 2000s speak with three researchers who played key roles in developing the Human Genome Diversity Project from its origin in 1991. The conversation reflects on the successes and challenges of the effort to launch the HGDP and on its scientific contributions.