News Release

Community conversation on genetics research, testing
set for Saturday (July 1) at Durham coffee shop

CHAPEL HILL - Members of the general public interested in knowing more about genetic research and testing are invited to a community conversation in Durham Saturday (July 1).

Sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and funded by a $100,000 grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute - a component of the National Institutes of Health - to the UNC School of Medicine, its department of social medicine and the Carolina Center for Genome Sciences, Saturday's program is part of a series aimed at engaging the public's interest in advances in genetics research.

The series is called "Finding the Genome: Community Genetics Forum 2006." Saturday's program, to be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Ideas! Coffee House in Durham, is titled "Am I My Genes? Race, Genes, and Ancestry in Today's World."

Series coordinator Dr. Nancy King, a professor of social medicine at UNC, said the program strives to engage communities and groups in the Triangle area in a discussion of scientific, ethical and social issues surrounding advancements in genetic research and testing.

"The July 1st community conversation will consider how we think about genetics, race and ethnicity and health, addressing questions such as 'What can genetic research accomplish?'" King said. "'Is a person's race a scientific classification or a social one? What can we learn about ourselves from ancestry testing?'"

The community conversation is free and open to the public. Scholars from UNC's department of social medicine, School of Public Health and the Carolina Center for Genome Sciences will help lead the discussion.

Ideas! Coffee House is located at 2105 E. N.C. Route 54, near the intersection with N.C. Route 55. The shop frequently plays host to discussions groups on a range of topics.

Other events in the community genetics forum are a film series co-sponsored by the Durham County Library, including "Minority Report," "MotherLand: A Genetic Journey" and "Gattaca," and more community conversations.

On Sept. 16, a community conference will be held at the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, beginning at 10 a.m. The conference, "The Human Genome and Being Human: A Community Conversation on Our DNA, Health, Values and Heritage," will feature nationally known speakers on genetics and society, and will be designed to address questions and issues raised by Triangle residents.

Featured speakers are Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Genome Research Institute and a UNC alumnus; Dr. Dena Davis, professor at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University; and Debra Harry, executive director of the Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism, a service-based organization in Nixon, Nev., that provides community education and outreach to tribal governments, institutions and individuals on a variety of issues related to genetic testing, research and biotechnology. Small group sessions and a town hall community meeting will round out the day's program.

In addition to the National Human Genome Research Institute grant, support for the Community Genetics Forum 2006 comes from the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy, Duke Medicine, and the Parr Center for Ethics in UNC's College of Arts and Sciences.
For more information on the series, visit http://genomics.unc.edu/cgf.

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Note: King can be reached at (919) 843-8270 or nmpking@med.unc.edu.

School of Medicine contact: Leslie H. Lang, (919) 843-9687 or llang@med.unc.edu