The UNM RWJF Center for Health Policy’s Institute for the Study of “Race” and Social Justice, presents, “Genetic Ancestry Testing: Troubling Concepts of Race and Identity,” a talk by Charmaine Royal, associate research professor at Duke University’s Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, on Friday, Nov. 6, from 2-4 p.m. in rm. 105 of the Hibben Center.
The rapid growth in the number of companies offering ancestry testing through DNA analysis has fueled and has been fueled by the interests of people and groups seeking additional in-sight into their genealogical histories and ancestral origins. Despite its popularity, this relatively new wave of direct-to-consumer genetic testing has generated concern about various ethical, legal, societal, and psycho-social implications.
Royal’s presentation uses conceptual and empirical information to examine the range of issues relevant to the impact of genetic ancestry testing on notions of race and identity. The implications for various stakeholders will also be discussed.
Royal holds a Ph.D. in human genetics from Howard University, as well as an M.S. in genetic counseling and B.S. in microbiology, also from Howard. Royal was a post-doctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health National Human Genome Research Institute. She has published widely, including two dozen articles in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Medical Ethics, Ethnicity and Disease, Nature, and the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Royal co-chairs the Task Force on Ancestry and Ancestry Testing of the American Society of Human Genetics and is a member of the NIH Director's Working Group on Participant and Data Protection for the Genetic Association Information Network.
Media Contact: Carolyn Gonzales, (505) 277-5920; e-mail: cgonzal@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at November 2, 2009 04:45 PM