Public prospectus · Puerto Rico
The most valuable and least-studied genetics population in the United States.
And the map that already exists.
The opportunity
Puerto Rico comes from a mix of three roots (Taíno, Spanish and African) and from groups that stayed isolated for generations. That founder effect concentrated genetic mutations that are extremely rare elsewhere, to the point that the island is the U.S. jurisdiction with the most rare diseases. For science, that means one thing: a natural laboratory where variants are more common, "cleaner" to study, and already mapped by town.
At least 6 diseases with their own founder variant are already documented in the scientific literature: Hermansky-Pudlak type 1 and type 3, TBCK ("Boricua") syndrome, RSPH4A ciliary dyskinesia, SGCG limb-girdle dystrophy and BRCA2 hereditary cancer. The consolidated map, by town, is at registromedicopr.com/atlas.
The paradox: the most valuable, the least funded
The island that is a genetic treasure receives the lowest research investment in the country. Puerto Rico and Iowa have the same population (3.2 million); in 2024 the NIH invested $249 million in Iowa and $90 million in Puerto Rico. Per capita, PR receives $28: less than Mississippi, the poorest U.S. state. And locally, only 2 clinical geneticists diagnose across the whole island, nearly all in the metro; the mountains, where founder mutations concentrate, have zero. That is not just an injustice: it is a high-leverage opportunity left on the table.
Sourced detail: the diagnostic gap at registromedicopr.com/raras · the funding gap at puertoricosinfiltros.com/investigacion.
The map already exists (and is maintained by hand)
What a research or funding team normally spends a year building is already built and verified here, one by one:
- The founder-disease Atlas — 6 conditions by town, with prevalence and primary scientific source.
- The specialist registry — 6,247 providers verified against the federal NPPES registry, by specialty and municipality.
- The 78-municipality health map — where there is capacity and where there is not, at town granularity.
- Real demand signals — what people search for and do not find, from the local *7711 line.
Who this is for
Researchers
A founder-effect population with "clean" variants to study, mapped by town, with the cohort and local capacity already identified. What usually takes a year to build is already built.
Health funders & philanthropy
The equity gap with receipts: the #1 jurisdiction in rare diseases receives the lowest research funding per capita in the country. A high-leverage, verifiable investment case.
Patient advocacy
The public record their cause did not have: each condition with its town, its prevalence and who diagnoses it. We amplify, we do not compete.
Biotech / genomics
Isolated founder populations are gold for target discovery and trials. Here is the map of where they are, verified.
Press
The full story with a source on every fact: the science, the diagnostic gap, the government promise and the money that does not arrive. Copy and cite.
The door
This data is public and free. We maintain it by hand, from Cabo Rojo. We are not selling a report or asking for anything. If you are bringing research, funding, or coverage to Puerto Rico, this is your starting map. If you want to talk, the door is open.
angel@angelanderson.comCitable data
Each fact with its source. When you copy, it carries the link.
📤 Pásalo a quien le toca
To a researcher, a health funder, a journalist, a pharma team. It can bring real resources to PR.
Sources: primary scientific literature (JAAD, Nature Genetics, MDPI Diagnostics, PMC/NIH) · federal NPPES registry · NIH RePORTER (FY2024) · El Vocero (Jul 10 2026). CC BY 4.0 license: use the data free, just cite the source. Maintained by Angel Anderson from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.