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Dear PGED Community,
Now more than ever, we recognize the many challenges educators are facing. For the last 18 years, PGED has provided resources and workshops to support educators, and we want to keep up with the times to serve you better.
We hope you will join us for a virtual community coffee chat to share about the challenges you’re facing, opportunities you’ve identified, and what you’d like to see from us in the coming months. We wish to use this time to come together, share what’s on our minds, and listen to one another. This will be an informal, unrecorded conversation.
Our first coffee chats will be on March 4th (4-5pm ET), March 5th (6-7pm ET), and March 6 (3-4pm ET).
Sign up for a coffee chat or to stay tuned about future sessions.
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LEARN ABOUT PGED’S NEW CARD GAME (ONLINE)
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Gill will be presenting our Share Your Stance on Personal Genetics (SYS) tabletop conversation game as part of a virtual panel on February 26th at noon ET, organized by Science Communication & Outreach for Public Engagement (SCOPE). Gill is excited to share about SYS with the SCOPE community!
Register for this and future SCOPE panels.
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JOIN A CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR SHOUMITA DASGUPTA (MA)
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Marnie is excited to join genetics educator and author Shoumita Dasgupta for a conversation at the launch event for her book, “Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins: Lessons On Belonging from Our DNA”. Wellesley Books is hosting this author event on February 27th (7-8pm ET) at their store in Wellesley, MA. Tickets are $5 and attendees may apply this cost towards the purchase of the book.
Register for the program.
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TALKING GENETICS IN CLASSROOMS AND LIBRARIES (CT)
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Gill is excited to talk about personal genetics with high school students at Options Employment in Hartford on February 27th. In March and April, she will be presenting programs in six libraries across Connecticut. She is kicking off this series on March 5th (6-7pm ET) with an event at Edith Wheeler Memorial Library in Monroe on ancestry & identity.
Register for the library program in Monroe, CT if you’re in the area!
Visit PGED’s events calendar to learn about other programs in this series.
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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS – AAAS ANNUAL MEETING IN BOSTON, MA
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Rob and Marnie were proud to represent PGED at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston this month! Rob organized a session on “Science Engagement With Faith Perspectives in Informal Science Learning,” and Marnie presented in a workshop on “Science Communication and Education at the Intersection of Genetics and Justice”. It was a pleasure to present these sessions in collaboration with Dr. Jeanne Chowning (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center), Dr. Shoumita Dasgupta (Boston University), Dr. Sharon Grant (Hood Theological Seminary), Dani LeBlanc (Museum of Science, Boston), Dr. Richard Randolph (Science & Spirituality Institute), and Tom Rockwell (Exploratorium). Thanks to everyone who participated in the discussions!
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PGED’s Community Spotlight series showcases some of the remarkable people we’ve connected with through our mission to expand education and dialogue about genetics, health, and society. You can find all of our current and future Spotlights on our website!
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Fabienne Mondesir is a science teacher at the Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA), an alternative high school in Boston, Massachusetts. Fabienne has been an active contributor to PGED’s community for years—first, as a participant in our early teacher workshops, then as a beloved PGED team member, and now as a science teacher at the BDEA.
Read Fabienne’s Community Spotlight
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Techniques to modify DNA are bringing new possibilities and dilemmas to the forefront of medicine, ethics, religion, and society. One technique in particular, CRISPR, has generated excitement due to its efficiency and ease of use.
PGED’s Genome Editing & CRISPR lesson introduces students to the basic scientific concepts of genome editing, its potential for improving human health, and some of the ethical discussions surrounding its development and applications.
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PERSONAL GENETICS IN THE NEWS
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Article: A man was destined for early Alzheimer’s — these genes might explain his escape (Nature News). “Scientists identify nine genetic variants that could have helped a man to avoid dementia for at least two decades longer than expected.”
Article: Rare genetic disorder treated in womb for the first time (Nature News). “The child, who is now almost three years old, shows no signs of the often fatal motor neuron disease.”
Article: NIH research grant cuts could deal a biting blow to crucial support staff (Science News). “There are a lot of people, both administrative and lab people, who work together to make research possible…and if we can’t have a good support team … then research isn’t going to be able to happen.”
Article: How centuries of isolation shaped Greenlanders’ unique genetics (Nature News). “Centuries of isolation have given Greenlanders a genetic profile that includes Arctic-specific variants.”
Article: New Research Identifies a Key Player in How Your Brain Ages: The X Chromosome (Simons Foundation). “Whether you inherit your X chromosomes from your mother or from both parents could impact brain aging and cognition, pointing to potential strategies for preserving healthy brain function.”
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Are You a Fan of Our Free Resources? PGED expands the dialogue on personal genetics by creating free lesson plans, videos, conversation guides, and more.
Please consider making a gift to PGED to help us keep our resources free.
We are grateful for any contribution you wish to make.
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Please note that 15% of donations pays for overhead which allows us to do the work that we do from our home in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School.
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WANT TO PLAN AN EVENT TOGETHER? LET’S DO IT!
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PGED is always looking for opportunities to engage with new audiences. Would you like to host a group to talk about the implications of personal genetics? What about a professional development workshop for teachers in your district?
We have staff in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, and Washington, DC – and we are willing to travel when possible. Contact us to find out about scheduling an event in your area!
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Our mailing address is:
pged@pged.med.harvard.edu
www.pged.org
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