Detailed information about the course
Title | Genomics and Society |
Dates | 24 November, 1st and 8 December 2022 |
Lang | Workshop language is English |
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Description | In early 2020, more than 30 million people had taken a DNA test, either related to ancestry or to health. In many of these cases, individuals did not consult experts about how to accurately interpret the results of these tests and about what kind of inferences are legitimate. On the one hand, ancestry testing is often perceived as a recreational activity and therefore discussing one's result with a genealogist seems unnecessary. In addition, there are no genetic ancestry counselors (Marks, 2018). On the other hand, even if genetic testing companies themselves state that genetic tests related to health do not stand as diagnoses, not only people do not consult experts such as genetic counselors or other health professionals, but also many of these experts do not seem to be adequately trained in order to explain to people the potential and limitations of these tests (Kampourakis, 2017; Papaioannou and Kampourakis, 2019). In this course intended for PhD students, the public perception of DNA testing will be discussed, both for ancestry and for health, and the expectations that test-takers often have. Students will be asked to reflect upon the science behind genetic testing, its actual potential and limitations. This will provide the basis for students' development of the necessary skills to effectively communicate the potential and the limitations of genomic technologies to lay people. In particular, participants will be able to explain what kind of information genetic tests can actually provide, which is nothing more than an estimate of a range of probabilities to develop a disease (Kampourakis, 2021). Furthermore, participants are going to look at ancestry testing, the current technologies of assigning individuals to particular populations, and the problems with making inferences about ancestral populations and individual ancestry from these results (Krimsky, 2021; Kampourakis, 2023). In both cases effective communication requires that scientists are aware of what lay people know about these topics and what they think about them. This course will provide them with this information as well as the skill to effectively communicate the potential of genomics to lay people. At the end of this course the students should be able to: Materials: - Course page on moodle.unige.ch References |
Program | 24 November 2022, 10AM-5PM 1 December 2022, 10AM-5PM 8 December 2022, 10AM-1PM
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Location |
UNIL, Amphipôle 359 |
Map | |
Information | When? 24 Nov 2022, 1 Dec 2022, 8 Dec 2022 Time: 10h00-13h00 and 14h00-17h00 Where? University of Lausanne, Amphipôle 359 Questions? contact: staromics(at)cuso(dot)ch Note: The course is organized in collaboration with CUSO Ecology & Evolution. |
Expenses | Registration CUSO DPEE and CUSO StarOmics members: Free External participants (non-CUSO PhD students, post-docs, etc...): please contact ecologie-evolution(at)cuso(dot)ch Cancellation policy |
Registration | Deadline for registration: Nov 10 Priority is given to PhD students of the Doctoral Programmes CUSO DPEE, MPS, StarOmics Number of places for CUSO StarOmics: 9 Cancellation |
Places | 15 |
Deadline for registration | |
Joint activity |