The African Kinship Reunion - TAKiR

10/12/2025

🧬 Behind the Scenes at TAKiR

Ever wonder what happens after you send in your DNA kit? Today we're working on the technology that transforms your raw genetic data into meaningful ancestry insights!

We're integrating our DNA processing system directly into our website's admin dashboard. This means our team will be able to monitor and manage the entire process from one place – from the moment your sample arrives at the lab to when your results are ready.

Why this matters:
Instead of running things manually behind the scenes, we're building a streamlined system that lets us process your data faster and more reliably. Think of it like upgrading from a paper filing system to a digital one – same great work, but smoother and more efficient.

What's next:
• Automating the quality control checks
• Building the ancestry analysis integration
• Streamlining the DNA file upload process for those who already have results from other companies

We're expecting to start releasing results next week! The initial results will be available first, with enhanced visualizations and detailed breakdowns rolling out in the days that follow.

This is the kind of work that happens behind the scenes to make sure your results are accurate and meaningful.

We're building something special here – technology designed specifically for exploring African genealogy.

Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your journey! 💚

08/12/2025

"...what is the probability that two randomly chosen African-Americans descended from enslaved Africans forcibly transported to North America share at least one such transported ancestor in common?...the probability is approximately 19-31% that two randomly chosen African-Americans born around 1960-1965 possess at least one shared African ancestor [who was trafficked to North America]."

Meaning that in a group of five older African Americans, it is more likely than not that at least one pair shares an ancestor in that genealogical timeframe.

All African Americans descended from enslaved Africans draw from a finite, bottlenecked, overlapping genealogical pool of transported African ancestors.

As genealogical trees expand backward, overlap becomes extremely likely even at modest sample sizes.

Agranat-Tamir, L., Agwamba, K. D., Mooney, J. A., & Rosenberg, N. A. (2025). Shared ancestors and the birthday problem. The American Statistician, (just-accepted), 1-18.

06/11/2025

I'm generating the individual raw genotype files for 343 participants. Of those, 247 are from the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program, and 96 are from the Ghana Genetic Genealogy project.
After some basic quality control filtering, these files will have 1.6 million SNPs from across the genome (Chromosomes 1 - 22, X, Y, and MT)

06/11/2025

The first step in our return of results is to give you your lightly processed raw genotype file that you can use on any platform that accepts this format. Is there any information that you would like to see added?

30/10/2025

We have begun working with our university facilities team to renovate our lab on the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign campus so that we can eventually do all the DNA extraction and genotyping in-house. We expect renovation construction to begin summer 2026. In the meantime, we send the saliva samples to Illumina Laboratory Services for DNA extraction and genotyping, and we then process the genotype. Curious about how your DNA gets genotyped by Illumina Laboratory Services?

Let's walk through the protocol for the Illumina Ininium assay lab step-by-step.This workflow applies to the Illumina Infinium™ assay lab for HD, HTS, and L...

12/10/2025

Preliminary results:
US samples (196 samples from the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program):
- Top 5 pairs: ~3,400 cM each (parent-offspring, identical twins)
- 13 close relative pairs (≥100 cM)
- Mean segment length: 11.91 cM

Ghana samples (76 samples):
- Top pair: 2,487.77 cM (very close relatives)
- 26 close relative pairs (≥100 cM)
- Mean segment length: 13.09 cM

Cross-Batch Analysis (US ↔ Ghana):
- No close relatives
- Maximum: 17.95 cM
- Mean segment length: 4.17 cM
- 925 unique pairs detected, in which one person is from the US and the other person is from Ghana

Cross-Batch
Per-pair statistics:
- Median: 3.621 cM - tells us the typical relationship strength
- Q3: 4.705 cM - tells us 75% of pairs share less than this
- Max: 17.953 cM - tells us the closest relationship found
- Mean: 4.37 cM - average relationship strength

Distribution:
- 79.1% share < 5 cM (very distant)
- 0.5% share ≥ 15 cM (closer relatives)

(Note: Maximum possible cross-batch pairs = 196 (US samples) × 76 (Ghana samples) = 14,896 possible pairs. Actual pairs detected = 925 pairs. Percentage detected = 925 / 14,896 = 6.2%.)

05/10/2025

Do you remember that we have the 7,581 DNA profiles from the OpenSNPs project? We are now merging those with the 1000 Genomes data. Why? To help build more robust trees for you.

One of our goals is to show you your DNA sharing with the 1000 Genomes to give you a general relatedness information that you have come to expect. But we also want to use your DNA to help build your genetic family tree for you. To achieve this, we need to expand the database with more DNA profiles. So even though you won't be able to contact the individuals from OpenSNP data that end up in your results, you can know that these are real profiles there to increase our chances of being able to build trees and to build them quicker than our funding for international testing enables.

02/10/2025

Meanwhile, we are now testing out our genomic analysis code pipeline to use 23andMe's IBD detection algorithm called phasedIBD.

"phasedibd is a Python package developed by the 23andMe Ancestry Research team to compute phase aware identity-by-descent (IBD) using the templated positional Burrows-Wheeler transform (TPBWT)."

(both versions of the paper in the comments)

26/09/2025

11/09/2025

Save the date:

Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program
Community DNA Collection & Information Session
Saturday, December 06
1:00pm - 3:00pm
Add to Calendar

The Urbana Free Library
The Lewis Auditorium
Learn about the new Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program and receive a free DNA kit!

The Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program invites you to an afternoon of learning and participation at the Urbana Free Library. This community-based project uses DNA testing and genealogical research to help Illinois residents discover and reconnect with their African heritage. Come hear an overview of the program, ask questions, and, if you wish, provide your DNA sample on site with the assistance of trained team members. DNA kits are free for eligible Illinois participants.

The Library is committed to making programs accessible for all. If you need an accommodation to attend a program, please let the Library know at least two weeks in advance. To request an accommodation, contact the Programming and Outreach Manager via email at programming@urbanafree.org or via phone at 217-367-4057.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |

EVENT TYPE: | Local History & Genealogy | Adult |

Learn about the new Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program and receive a free DNA kit!

01/09/2025

✨ Exciting update from the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program! ✨

We are preparing to mail out 95 DNA kits to participants who recently ordered them. These kits are heading to families across Illinois—from Chicago, Champaign, Evanston, Homewood, Skokie, Oak Park, Naperville, Hazel Crest, Rockford, Collinsville, Fairview Heights, Peoria, Urbana, and more.

Every kit brings us one step closer to reconnecting families and uncovering powerful stories of heritage and history. We are thrilled to see so many communities joining this journey with us.

📬 If you live in Illinois and haven’t yet requested your free DNA kit, you can still sign up while supplies last at www.takir.org

Together, we are building bridges across time, family, and history. 💚

Our Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program provides free DNA analysis to help African American families in Illinois trace their ancestry and connect with their roots.

25/08/2025

🎉Big Milestone for the Illinois Family Roots Pilot Program! 🎉

Today, the first batch of collected DNA kits was officially sent to Illumina for DNA extraction and genotyping. That means the first 247 participants in our program are moving into the next stage of the journey—where their DNA will be transformed into usable data for genetic genealogy analysis.

From there, the TAKiR team will take the genotyping text data and further process it through several important steps: quality control (QC), identifying shared DNA (IBD), and inferring extended genetic family trees. These stages allow us to reconstruct connections across families and communities, revealing stories that have been hidden for generations.

This is an exciting step forward in helping Illinois residents of African descent reconnect with their ancestral roots and extended family networks. Thank you to everyone who has participated so far—you are making history with us.

💡 Want to be part of this historic program?
If you are 18 or older and live in Illinois, you can still join! Learn more and request your free DNA kit at www.takir.org.

Stay tuned for updates as we continue through the process and begin returning results to participants.