World-renowned vitiligo researcher Dr. John Harris has recently announced that he is leading on new research seeking to discover the influence of genetics on vitiligo.

Dr Harris is based in the US, and has participated in various Vitiligo Society events, updating our members on research developments from across the globe. He is now inviting people based in the US and Canada you are living with vitiligo (an their family members) to participate in an exciting and important NIH-funded research study led by him and his collaborators. The goal is to understand what causes vitiligo and predict who might be at risk of developing it in the future. They hope that what they may learn may someday leader to the development of a cure.

If you are based in the US or Canada then please consider learning more about the study and signing up, just visit https://vigor.umassmed.edu/vigor/. You can also visit the website to read more about the study, regardless of where you are based.

The study is aimed at understanding vitiligo through families: They’re working to figure out how both genes and environment play a role in starting vitiligo. It’s large and ambitious, as they hope to recruit about 1000 participants who will be involved over a 5 year period. It’s also fully remote – so participants don’t need to leave their home to get involved.

So, if you have vitiligo and live in the United States or Canada, you and your family members may be eligible for this study. Once you sign up, they will ask that you invite your parents, siblings, children, and cousins, whether they have vitiligo or not. The more of your family members that participate, the more they can learn about vitiligo.

You can also find out more about Dr Harris’ work by visiting his blog: https://www.umassmed.edu/vitiligo/blog/