Celebrate DNA Day
A list of upcoming and previous NHGRI events held in celebration of National DNA Day, including special seminars, online discussions and guest speakers.
Upcoming Events
2023
NHGRI National DNA Day 20th Anniversary Symposium
April 25, 2023
9:00 - 4:30 p.m. EST
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Upcoming Events
2023
NHGRI National DNA Day 20th Anniversary Symposium
April 25, 2023
9:00 - 4:30 p.m. EST
Past Events
2022
NHGRI-H3Africa DNA Day Webinars
Centering Science and Health Equity in Genomics
Nchangwi Syntia Munung, Ph.D.
Research Fellow, Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Cape Town, South Africa
Moderated by Paballo Chauke, M.Sc.
Training and Outreach Coordinator, H3ABIONET
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
2:00 p.m. West African Time
3:00 p.m. Central African Time
4:00 p.m. East African Time
NHGRI-H3Africa DNA Day Webinars
Genome Tunisia Collaborative Alliance: Building Population-Specific Reference Genomes for Precision Medicine Implementation in North Africa
Yosr Hamdi, Ph.D.
Biologist and Research Assistant
Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunisia
Moderated by Rolanda Julius, Ph.D.
Training Coordinator for the H3Africa Consortium
University of Cape Town, Johannesburg, South Africa
Friday, April 22, 2022
9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
2:00 p.m. West African Time
3:00 p.m. Central African Time
4:00 p.m. East African Time
Louise M. Slaughter National DNA Day Lecture
Investigating NY African Burial Ground population soil samples to better understand health disparities in living African Americans & the urgency for diversity in genomic databases: microbiome analysis
Carter Clinton, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Departments of Anthropology and Biology
Pennsylvania State University
April 25, 2022, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT
2021
H3Africa DNA Day Webinars
Do you know you have 10 billion different antibodies in your body?
Cathrine Scheepers, Ph.D.
Senior Medical Scientist, Centre for HIV and STIs at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases
Co-investigator, H3Africa Consortium
Johannesburg, South Africa
Thursday, March 25, 2021
8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
12:00 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time
2:00 p.m. Central African Time
Genomic Characterization and Surveillance of Microbial Threats in West Africa
Paul Oluniyi, Ph.D. Research Fellow
African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID)
Redeemer’s University
Ede, Nigeria
Thursday, April 8, 2021
11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
3:00 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time
4:00 p.m. West African Time
Louise M. Slaughter National DNA Day Lecture
Rebecca Johnson, Ph.D.
Member of the Order of Australia
Chief Scientist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
April 23, 2021, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT
Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Adoptee Panel
May 4, 2021, 06:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EDT
NHGRI hosted DNA Day 2021 Celebrating Our Shared Connectivity: Genetic Ancestry Testing, Identity and the Adoptee Perspective. This panel brought together adoptees with unique experiences and expertise related to this technological advancement. Learn more about the power of community, the limitations of the technology and the ethical complexities of genetic ancestry testing.
Panelists included:
- Kim Jacoby Morris, Ph.D.
Education Specialist, NHGRI
- Damon Davis, M.B.A.
Who am I Really?, Podcast Host
Who am I Really? An Adoptee Memoir, Author
- Heewon Lee, M.S., LGC
Genetic Counselor
Park Nicollet Frauenshuh Cancer Center
- Tim Holtan
Vietnamese Adoptee Community Activist
2020
NHGRI's Genomics and Health Disparities Interest Group DNA Day 2020 Virtual Presentation
NHGRI’s Genomics and Health Disparities Interest Group hosted a DNA Day 2020 presentation with special guest speaker Janina M. Jeff, Ph.D., population geneticist, bioinformatician, STEAM-activist, educator, motivational speaker and podcaster on Thursday, April 23, 2020 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST via webinar.

More about Dr. Janina Jeff:
Dr. Janina M. Jeff is the first African American to graduate with a Ph.D. in Human Genetics from Vanderbilt University. She is currently a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist at Illumina, where she develops pipelines for content annotation, selection, and design of population specific genome-wide content for Illumina’s genotyping array portfolio that enables healthy population screening. In 2018, Dr. Jeff was selected as one of three winners (out of 18,000) from Spotify’s Sound-Up Bootcamp for her podcast, “In Those Genes”, a podcast that uses genetics to decode the lost histories AND futures of African descended Americans through the lens of Black culture.
NHGRI-H3Africa DNA Day Speaker Exchange Webinar
On Thursday, April 16, 2020, from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Eastern, NHGRI hosted the NHGRI-H3Africa DNA Day Speaker Exchange Webinar, featuring the following topics and speakers:
- Understanding the Molecular Profile of Metabolic Health Obesity in African Americans: From Single Molecule Approach to -Omics
Ayo Doumatey, Ph.D.
NHGRI
- The Extent and Impact of Variation in ADME Genes in Sub-Saharan African Populations.
Jorge da Rocha, Ph.D. Candidate
Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of the Witwatersrand

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Past Events
2022
NHGRI-H3Africa DNA Day Webinars
Centering Science and Health Equity in Genomics
Nchangwi Syntia Munung, Ph.D.
Research Fellow, Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Cape Town, South AfricaModerated by Paballo Chauke, M.Sc.
Training and Outreach Coordinator, H3ABIONETWednesday, April 13, 2022
9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
2:00 p.m. West African Time
3:00 p.m. Central African Time
4:00 p.m. East African Time
NHGRI-H3Africa DNA Day Webinars
Genome Tunisia Collaborative Alliance: Building Population-Specific Reference Genomes for Precision Medicine Implementation in North Africa
Yosr Hamdi, Ph.D.
Biologist and Research Assistant
Institut Pasteur de Tunis, TunisiaModerated by Rolanda Julius, Ph.D.
Training Coordinator for the H3Africa Consortium
University of Cape Town, Johannesburg, South AfricaFriday, April 22, 2022
9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
2:00 p.m. West African Time
3:00 p.m. Central African Time
4:00 p.m. East African Time
Louise M. Slaughter National DNA Day Lecture
Investigating NY African Burial Ground population soil samples to better understand health disparities in living African Americans & the urgency for diversity in genomic databases: microbiome analysisCarter Clinton, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
Departments of Anthropology and Biology
Pennsylvania State University
April 25, 2022, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDT
2021
H3Africa DNA Day Webinars
Do you know you have 10 billion different antibodies in your body?
Cathrine Scheepers, Ph.D.
Senior Medical Scientist, Centre for HIV and STIs at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases
Co-investigator, H3Africa Consortium
Johannesburg, South AfricaThursday, March 25, 2021
8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
12:00 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time
2:00 p.m. Central African Time
Genomic Characterization and Surveillance of Microbial Threats in West Africa
Paul Oluniyi, Ph.D. Research Fellow
African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID)
Redeemer’s University
Ede, NigeriaThursday, April 8, 2021
11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
3:00 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time
4:00 p.m. West African Time
Louise M. Slaughter National DNA Day Lecture
Rebecca Johnson, Ph.D.
Member of the Order of Australia
Chief Scientist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
April 23, 2021, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EDTDirect-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Adoptee Panel
May 4, 2021, 06:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. EDT
NHGRI hosted DNA Day 2021 Celebrating Our Shared Connectivity: Genetic Ancestry Testing, Identity and the Adoptee Perspective. This panel brought together adoptees with unique experiences and expertise related to this technological advancement. Learn more about the power of community, the limitations of the technology and the ethical complexities of genetic ancestry testing.
Panelists included:
- Kim Jacoby Morris, Ph.D.
Education Specialist, NHGRI
- Damon Davis, M.B.A.
Who am I Really?, Podcast Host
Who am I Really? An Adoptee Memoir, Author
- Heewon Lee, M.S., LGC
Genetic Counselor
Park Nicollet Frauenshuh Cancer Center
- Tim Holtan
Vietnamese Adoptee Community Activist
2020
NHGRI's Genomics and Health Disparities Interest Group DNA Day 2020 Virtual Presentation
NHGRI’s Genomics and Health Disparities Interest Group hosted a DNA Day 2020 presentation with special guest speaker Janina M. Jeff, Ph.D., population geneticist, bioinformatician, STEAM-activist, educator, motivational speaker and podcaster on Thursday, April 23, 2020 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST via webinar.
More about Dr. Janina Jeff:
Dr. Janina M. Jeff is the first African American to graduate with a Ph.D. in Human Genetics from Vanderbilt University. She is currently a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist at Illumina, where she develops pipelines for content annotation, selection, and design of population specific genome-wide content for Illumina’s genotyping array portfolio that enables healthy population screening. In 2018, Dr. Jeff was selected as one of three winners (out of 18,000) from Spotify’s Sound-Up Bootcamp for her podcast, “In Those Genes”, a podcast that uses genetics to decode the lost histories AND futures of African descended Americans through the lens of Black culture.
NHGRI-H3Africa DNA Day Speaker Exchange Webinar
On Thursday, April 16, 2020, from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Eastern, NHGRI hosted the NHGRI-H3Africa DNA Day Speaker Exchange Webinar, featuring the following topics and speakers:
- Understanding the Molecular Profile of Metabolic Health Obesity in African Americans: From Single Molecule Approach to -Omics
Ayo Doumatey, Ph.D.
NHGRI
- The Extent and Impact of Variation in ADME Genes in Sub-Saharan African Populations.
Jorge da Rocha, Ph.D. Candidate
Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of the Witwatersrand
- Kim Jacoby Morris, Ph.D.
Request an Accommodation
This event will be presented with real-time captioning. American Sign Language interpreting services are available upon request. Individuals who need interpreting services and/or other reasonable accommodations to participate in this event should contact Britny Kish at britny.kish@nih.gov or the NIH Interpreting Office directly at nih@ainterpreting.com. Requests should be made at least five business days in advance in order to ensure interpreter availability.
Last updated: February 12, 2023