Genes & Society

Events

Genes & Society: Decolonizing Human Genetic Research Workshop Series

While the events over the last several years in the United States have placed an important focus on issues of race, diversity, and systemic inequalities; these issues are long-standing and embedded within institutions, academic disciplines, and the broader scientific community. In response to the most recent examples of these inequalities, NC State has stated that “Diversity is critical to NC State’s mission” and that “New perspectives deepen our understanding, strengthen our community and propel our innovation”.Building upon NC State’s mission statement and past successful race and science events, NC State’s Being an Ally in Academics (BAA) group has collaborated with Genetics and Genomics Academy, the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center, and TriCEM to organize a new two-day workshop series titled, “Genes and Society: Decolonizing Human Genetic Research”.The goal of this series is to explore the current and historical intersections of racism, systemic inequalities, and human genetic research with an emphasis on inviting diverse and historically underrepresented groups as seminar speakers.

Spring 2023

Dr. Latifa Jackson, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, College of Medicine, Howard University

The BAA is looking forward to hosting Dr. Latifa Jackson for the Spring 2023 Workshop Series. Dr. Jackson’s research is concerned with studying African and African-American genomes in order to understand race-related health disparities. She is a member of Howard’s William Montague Cobb Research Laboratory contributing to the 1,000 African-American Genomes Project. She uses bioinformatics, functional genomics, and evolutionary biology approaches to study genetic patterns that contribute to disease phenotypes within a biological anthropology framework. Read more about Dr. Jackson’s research.

Schedule of Events:

  • March 20th: GGA Seminar 1:30 – 2:30 PM
  • “The Fire Next Time: Implications of environmental stress on human health”
    • Stephens Room (3503 Thomas Hall)
    • This event will be held In-Person and Zoom
  • March 20th: Fireside Chat with Dr. Jackson 6:30 – 8:00 PM
    • Erdahl-Cloyd 2304, DH Hill Library
    • In-Person Q&A Session
  • March 21st: GES Colloquium 12 – 1 PM
  • “The Genomic Fire Next Time: Reflections on charting your scientific path”
    • 1911 Building, Room 129
    • This event will be held In-Person
The Being an Ally in Academics will host Latifa Jackson, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health at Howard University, during its spring 2023 workshop series. As part of a two-day engagement, Jackson will join us for a “fireside chat” to answer your questions about her research on race-related health disparities, her work with the 1,000 African-American Genomes Project, her career path, and more. Register below!
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Past Events and Contests

Fall 2022

Dr. Krystal Tsosie, Native BioData Consortium and Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Arizona State University

The BAA was pleased to host Dr. Kystal Tsosie (Diné) for the Fall 2022 Workshop Series. Dr. Tsosie is one of the co-founders of the Native BioData Consortium (NBDC), a nonprofit research institute led by Indigenous scientists and Tribal members in the United States with the goal of ensuring that advances in genetics and human health research benefits all Indigenous people. She has a Masters in Bioethics from Arizona State University, a Master’s of Public Health and PhD in Genomics and Health Disparities from Vanderbilt University.

Schedule of Events:

  • November 7th: GGA Seminar 5 – 6:30 PM
    • David Clark Labs Room 101
    • light refreshments served 5:00-5:30
    • Catering by Neomonde 6:30 – 8 PM
    • This event will be held In-Person and Livestreamed on Youtube
  • November 8th: GES Seminar 12 – 1 PM
    • This event will be held In-Person and on Zoom

Click here for the Event Poster and Google Drive Schedule