Upcoming Events

Summer Professional Development for Teachers

2012-05-09T20:37:18Z

pgEd will host a professional development workshop for teachers July 11-12, 2012. The workshop is free and teachers can earn 12 PDPs, and will be held at Harvard Medical School in the Longwood area in Boston.

This two-day training will be an introduction to personal genetics and its impact on society. A wave of personal genetic information is coming – how can we prepare students to make informed choices for themselves and for society as a whole?

Through workshop-style sessions, we will look at examples of the hopes, realities and controversies in personal genetics. We will start with an overview: Why is genetics getting more personal? What has been happening, scientifically and technologically, since the completion of the Human Genome Project? Starting with scientific questions and concepts, we will make connections to real world opportunities and conundrums your students and their families will face in the coming years.

Topics to be Covered: Advances in personal genetics, personalized medicine, low cost genetic testing, fears and realities of genetic discrimination, the intersection of athletics and genetics, crime and DNA, reproductive genetics, genetic information and how to use it, and critical thinking as it applies to assessing genetic risk factors.

Content Area: Biology, Genetics, Health, Social Studies, Human Reproduction, and Ethics; grades 9 – 12, though middle school teachers are welcome.

For more information or to register, email Lauren Tomaselli at ltomaselli@pged.med.harvard.edu or call (617) 432-1797.

Some comments from teachers about a recent workshop we did at the New Hampshire Science Teachers’ Association Spring Conference:

“Best workshop of the day, excellent intro to topic, knowledgeable presenters, informative, most intellectually stimulating of day,” “Great, fabulous, doing activities right away,” “Awesome.”

"GETed"- Information for pgEd's guests on April 24th and 25th

2012-04-17T18:06:16Z

pgEd is very much looking forward to the education meeting we are hosting on Tuesday, April 24th at Harvard Medical School. The GET Conference taking place the following day will surely prove to be an exciting and illuminating day as well. The pgEd session (informally known as GETed) is starting at 4pm on the 24th, but if you are arriving early, please let us know. We will be welcoming guests throughout the day.

For your reference, we have attached a PDF with the various pieces of information we have sent invitees over the last few weeks. Details on location, timing, and the agenda are all included.

If you have any questions, please get in touch. Marnie Gelbart at can be reached at 617-432-1797 or mgelbart@pged.med.harvard.edu. Dana Waring can be reached (call or text) at 617-285-0638.

National education: GET 2012 session with Dana Waring and Chris Korey

2012-04-16T14:27:01Z

Personal genomics education: Take action in your community

Open to GET conference attendees, taking place on April 25th.

Please join Dana Waring, Education Director of the Personal Genetics Education Project (pgEd), and Chris Korey, Professor of Biology from the College of Charleston (also PGP participant #huA4F281) for a conversation about how you can contribute to personal genomics education.

What have you learned from being part of the PGP that could inform national education efforts? What are the highlights and surprises of your experience thus far, and what insights do you now have that could help accelerate public understanding of the advantages as well as complexities of knowing one's genome?

In addition to exchanging ideas on the most pressing issues concerning the scientific and social implications of personal genetics, participants will leave with a set of tools to conduct formal and informal sessions that can educate the public in an unbiased manner. Our premise is that PGPers have a unique and powerful voice with which to engage the general public about the hopes, realities, and ethical nuances of personal genomics.

Date and time: Wednesday, April 25th. 1:15-2:00pm (during the lunch break at the GET conference). New Research Building, room 258. A box lunch will be available to all confererence attendees, so grab something to eat and come join us.

FMI: dwaring@genetics.med.harvard.edu

Thanks to Weymouth HS

2012-04-12T15:33:11Z

Thanks to Ms. Northup for hosting Lauren and Marnie at Weymouth High School in Weymouth, MA on Monday 4/9. We had a great time introducing students to the field of personal genetics and hope this will be the start of lots of good discussions.

pgEd speaking at Worcester Polytechnic Institute

2012-04-12T15:26:41Z

The Department of Biology and Biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA has invited Ting to be the featured speaker at Project Presentation Day on April 19th. Ting is enthusiastic to talk to graduating seniors about genomic technologies, ethical implications, and education.

pgEd invited to the Architectures for Life workshop at Harvard

2012-04-12T14:50:03Z

Ting will be leading a "teach-in" about personal genetics education at the workshop on genomic technologies, personalized medicine, and the ethical and social impacts on April 18th in Cambridge, MA. The workshop, organized by the Program on Science, Technology & Society at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, will follow a lecture by Anne Wojcicki (23andMe) and panel discussion on April 17th.

Thanks to the Harvard Medical School media fellows on Personalized Medicine

2012-04-11T20:06:24Z

On April 6th, Ting met with three Harvard Medical School media fellows exploring the theme "Beyond Personalized Medicine: Inherited disease in the age of the $1000 genome." Thanks to Eryn Brown (Los Angeles Times), Stefanie Ilgenfritz (The Wall Street Journal) and John Lauerman (Bloomberg News) for engaging discussions on public awareness and personal genetics education.

Thank you Harvard's Office of Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnerships

2012-04-11T16:40:28Z

Lauren and Dana, along with Ting and Marnie, had another great session with students from several Boston-area high schools, as well as from New Hampshire and Connecticut on April 5th at Harvard Medical School. We tackled some complex issues - the ethical questions surrounding reproductive genetic technologies - with a wonderful, engaged and very bright group of students. Thank you to the Office of Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership for inviting us to speak with their students!

pgEd heading to Somerville High School

2012-03-22T19:27:28Z

Lauren and Marnie are looking forward to spending the day at Somerville High School in Somerville, MA on March 26th to talk to Ms. Woods' freshman biology classes about personal genetics and reproduction.

pgEd back at Claremont Academy

2012-03-16T20:58:00Z

Lauren and Marnie are excited to return to Claremont Academy in Worcester, MA on March 19th to visit Ms. Foley's class. We had great discussions with these students last month, talking about issues related to reproduction, and are looking forward to talking about genetic testing and athletics next week.