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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.

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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

 

DNA Day Webinar

 

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.

DNA Day Health Disparities

 

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
     
DNA Day H3Africa

 

  • 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

     

    DNA Day Webinar

     

    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.

    DNA Day Health Disparities

     

    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
       
    DNA Day H3Africa

     

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