Professor Duana Fullwiley to participate in congressional briefing on the social implications of genetic technologies
Professor Duana Fullwiley is invited to participate in a congressional briefing on the potential misuses of a genetic ancestry-based DNA forensics tool--and the implications for racial justice. Titled “Personal genetics and law enforcement: Improving public safety, ensuring justice, and balancing civil rights”, the briefing is the third in a series about personal genetics, as the advances in technology and research that inspired President Obama’s announcement of the Precision Medicine Initiative are bringing exciting opportunities and new challenges for health, law, business, and beyond. For more details about the briefing, see Congressional Briefing.
Fullwiley's most recent article, 'The “Contemporary Synthesis”: When Politically Inclusive Genomic Science Relies on Biological Notions of Race', outlines the emergence of a contemporary synthesis regarding racial thinking in genetic science. As an emergent dynamic, the contemporary synthesis holds the possibility of reinvigorating racism, while it simultaneously possesses the potential to promote antiracist science education, disease awareness, and social justice efforts. Professor Fullwiley was also recently quoted in "Building a Face, and a Case, on DNA", an article published in the NY Times Science section on the use of DNA for the creation of 'digital mugshots'.