November 2025 Newsletter

Our work is only possible because of you, our community. We are grateful for everything you do to advance our mission and expand our impact. And we need help weathering the current shifts in the funding landscape. If you are in a position to consider end-of-year donations, we ask you to consider supporting PGED and promoting awareness and dialogue about emerging genetic technologies across communities.

The day was filled with lively conversation. Like us, many participants left with new energy, new ideas, and new connections!

This month, PGED has been engaging with students – from middle schoolers to undergraduates – across 4 states. Gill had a great time fielding thoughtful questions from students in the HOSA chapter at St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) on the ethics of genetic technologies as well as genetics and AI. Rob shared opportunities for dialogue across genetics and faith with honors science students at Shippenburg University (Pennsylvania), plus he enjoyed talking about gene editing and the environment with a steady stream of students from Robert Frost Middle School (Maryland) during a BioTech expo. And, for the fifth year, Marnie visited Dr. Jonathan Garlick’s course at Tufts University (Massachusetts). She played “Share Your Stance” with Civic Biology students, who were excited about removing barriers to entry in conversations about genetics. 

Rob also brought conversations about emerging genetic technologies to Maryland communities. As part of the month-long MDSTEM Festival, he hosted two library events in Prince George’s County: the Fairmount Heights Library and the Largo-Kettering Library. In addition, he led an online program for the Rockville Science Center’s Science Tuesday. 

This month, PGED also shared our approach, experiences, and resources within the scientific community. Rob led a virtual workshop for STEM professionals across career stages at Sigma Xi’s International Forum on Research Excellence, and ran a booth at Maryland and DC Society of Genetic Counselors Annual Education Conference, where our friend and colleague, Dr. Shoumita Dasgupta, delivered a powerful keynote. More recently, Marnie teamed up with Shoumita and Dr. Jeanne Chowning to present a webinar, Meeting the moment: Impactful science communication and education on genetics, hosted by the American Society of Human Genetics. 

• 12/02 – Let’s Talk Genetics: A Workshop for Educators and Science Communicators (ONLINE)
• 12/13 – The Science of Us: An Introduction to Biological Anthropology (Baltimore, MD) (with the American Association of Biological Anthropologists)

Diane Smith is the founder and principal consultant of “Across the Board Education,” which helps individuals and their parents access special education services.

PGED connected with Diane as a creative and curious educator looking to provide genetics lessons for her students in the science classroom. Her collaboration with Gill resulted in a 6-part personal genetics learning series, utilizing PGED lessons and activities. Diane’s passion for teaching reminds us how critical it is to meet students where they are, and that we can learn a great deal from their questions and lived experiences. Diane has quickly become a spirited advocate for PGED’s work, and our team is so grateful for her support and partnership.

Read Diane’s Community Spotlight

PGED resources occasionally include ‘community agreements’. The purpose of these agreements is to foster a “brave space”–one that is intentionally shaped by, and inclusive of, all identities and social groups. Agreements often include guidelines for what it means to be respectful, expectations for communication, and/or how to structure a collaborative environment.

We created the Community Agreements Guide to support facilitators of all kinds–educators, group leaders, and anyone looking to spark conversation with members of their community–in leading conversations that make everyone feel welcome.

Here are some of the articles we’ve been reading this month.

Article: Tom Brady Says He Cloned His Dog. Cue the Critics. (New York Times) “Mr. Brady became the latest celebrity to try to preserve a pet’s genetics, a move that animal rights groups have criticized.”

Article: ‘Biotech Barbie’ says the time has come to consider CRISPR babies. Do scientists agree? (Nature News) “A company’s plan to edit the genomes of human embryos worries some researchers — but it might reflect the changing attitudes towards the controversial approach.”

Article: This Genetically Engineered Fungus Could Help Fix Your Mosquito Problem (New York Times) “In experiments, researchers showed that the disease-spreading insects couldn’t resist the sweet smell of a fungus that infected and killed them.”

Article: Arrests in Louvre Heist Show Power of DNA Databases in Solving Crimes (New York Times) “France’s trove of DNA profiles has helped solve high-profile crimes and was used to find some of the Louvre suspects, and it is growing. The police can also access other countries’ databases.”

Article: CRISPR vs Cholesterol: Can Gene Editing Prevent Heart Disease? (Nature) “Promising results from a small clinical trial highlight a growing interest in designing gene-editing treatments for common illnesses.”

Article: Celebrating a New, Faster Path to Gene-editing Medicines on Demand (STAT News) “A new FDA proposal would bring breakthrough treatment to countless families that need it.”

Article: How to Fix Genetic ‘Nonsense’: Versatile Gene-editing Tool Could Tackle a Host of Diseases (Nature) “Synthetic RNA molecules can program cells ot ignore DNA mutations that interfere with protein production.” More coverage on this topic (The Broad Institute)

Note: Views expressed in shared articles are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of our organization.

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