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NHGRI celebrates National DNA Day with events that promote genomic literacy

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The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) will celebrate its fourteenth annual National DNA Day on Monday, April 25, 2016. National DNA Day commemorates the successful completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the discovery of DNA's double helix in 1953.

NHGRI, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), began celebrating this day annually on April 25, 2003, after the 108th Congress passed concurrent resolutions designating it as "National DNA Day."

To mark this historic day, NHGRI is hosting events in the week leading up to and on National DNA Day. Events include a reddit "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) Series and a Twitter Chat, which will give students, teachers and the general public an opportunity to ask questions about genetics and genomics. NHGRI also will host a talk about "Harry Potter" genetics, touching on genetics' role in pop culture, and will culminate with a Human Origins Topic (HOT) talk about Genes and Animal Coloration at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Visit the Celebrate with NHGRI page for details regarding these events and more.

WHO:

  • Julie Nadel, Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute/American Society of Human Genetics
  • Kiara Palmer, National Human Genome Research Institute
  • Rosann Wise, M.A., National Human Genome Research Institute
  • Carla Easter, Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute

WHEN:

  • Monday, April 18 - Friday, April 22, and Monday, April 25, 2016 - "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) Series
  • Monday, April 25, 2016, 11:00 a.m. - National DNA Day Twitter Chat
  • Monday, April 25, 2016, 3:00 p.m. - National DNA Day Lecture Series: Harry Potter and the Genetics of Wizarding
  • Friday, April 29, 2016, 4:00 p.m. - Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic

WHERE: All events will be available online at www.genome.gov/DNADay/Celebrate except the Human Origins Topic talk, which will be at:

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
1000 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20004

 

For more information on participating speakers for the reddit "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) Series, please contact:

Julie Nadel, Ph.D. & Nalini Padmanabhan, M.P.H.
American Society of Human Genetics
301-634-7346
press@ashg.org

Marnie Gelbart, Ph.D.
Personal Genetics Education Project
617-432-1797
mgelbart@pged.med.harvard.edu

NHGRI is one of the 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health, which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NHGRI conducts genomics research in its own labs in Maryland, as well as, supports genomics research at institutions across the country. Additional information about NHGRI can be found at www.genome.gov.

National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

  • NHGRI, part of the National In...

    NHGRI, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), began celebrating this day annually on April 25, 2003, after the 108th Congress passed concurrent resolutions designating it as "National DNA Day."

    To mark this historic day, NHGRI is hosting events in the week leading up to and on National DNA Day. Events include a reddit "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) Series and a Twitter Chat, which will give students, teachers and the general public an opportunity to ask questions about genetics and genomics. NHGRI also will host a talk about "Harry Potter" genetics, touching on genetics' role in pop culture, and will culminate with a Human Origins Topic (HOT) talk about Genes and Animal Coloration at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

    Visit the Celebrate with NHGRI page for details regarding these events and more.

    WHO:

    • Julie Nadel, Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute/American Society of Human Genetics
    • Kiara Palmer, National Human Genome Research Institute
    • Rosann Wise, M.A., National Human Genome Research Institute
    • Carla Easter, Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute

    WHEN:

    • Monday, April 18 - Friday, April 22, and Monday, April 25, 2016 - "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) Series
    • Monday, April 25, 2016, 11:00 a.m. - National DNA Day Twitter Chat
    • Monday, April 25, 2016, 3:00 p.m. - National DNA Day Lecture Series: Harry Potter and the Genetics of Wizarding
    • Friday, April 29, 2016, 4:00 p.m. - Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic

    WHERE: All events will be available online at www.genome.gov/DNADay/Celebrate except the Human Origins Topic talk, which will be at:

    Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
    1000 Constitution Ave., NW
    Washington, D.C. 20004

     

    For more information on participating speakers for the reddit "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) Series, please contact:

    Julie Nadel, Ph.D. & Nalini Padmanabhan, M.P.H.
    American Society of Human Genetics
    301-634-7346
    press@ashg.org

    Marnie Gelbart, Ph.D.
    Personal Genetics Education Project
    617-432-1797
    mgelbart@pged.med.harvard.edu

    NHGRI is one of the 27 institutes and centers at the National Institutes of Health, which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NHGRI conducts genomics research in its own labs in Maryland, as well as, supports genomics research at institutions across the country. Additional information about NHGRI can be found at www.genome.gov.

    National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

Last updated: September 3, 2016