Summary
December 2, 2025 | 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET
How does your health relate to your genes? What can (and what can’t) commercial ancestry testing tell you? How does law enforcement use DNA in criminal investigations? Join Personal Genetics Education and Dialogue (PGED) for an interactive workshop about genetics advances and their applications, including how to foster conversations about these topics in classrooms and community spaces.
Participants will learn about how genetics can intersect with personal and societal interests, including the use of genetic information in health, ancestry testing, and law enforcement. They will participate throughout the workshop, including in an online game, and will be encouraged to ask questions and share their perspectives with other attendees. Although this interactive workshop is geared towards educators and scientists interested in public engagement, anyone interested in genetics is welcome to attend.
Please note that the workshop is limited to live attendance and will not be recorded.
Sponsor
Personal Genetics Education and Dialogue (PGED) is a public engagement with science program based in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. For over eighteen years, they have raised awareness and inspired curiosity, reflection, and dialogue about genetics. They create resources and offer programs that explore the relevance and impact of genetics in people’s lives. By highlighting the “personal” in genetics, they strive to help people build knowledge and confidence to speak up, ask questions, and make informed decisions based on their needs and values.
Speaker
Rob O’Malley, PhD
Strategic Engagement Lead, Personal Genetics Education & Dialogue (PGED), Harvard Medical School
Rob is a biological anthropologist who shifted from a career studying wild chimpanzees to one focused on public engagement with science. Rob has expertise in evidence-based public engagement approaches, with a particular interest in how history, culture, and worldview (including faith and spirituality) inform peoples’ perspectives on genetics and related sciences. He helps to develop and facilitate workshops, co-creates and edits formal and informal education resources, and identifies and pursues grants and other funding opportunities to support PGED’s work. Rob is also the education committee co-chair for the American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA).
Pricing
All: Free
Registration
Registration has closed.