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THE YEAR AHEAD
2026 marks twenty years since PGED was founded. Over the years, our team has seen stunning developments in genetics and their rapid integration into daily life, making far-reaching education and dialogue more vital than ever. As we start the new year, our team is excited to broaden the reach of these conversations–within classrooms, communities, legislative halls, laboratories, and beyond.
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While we look ahead with great anticipation, we’re sad to share that Rob will be leaving PGED in February. The past year has been a challenging one for our institution, and our team, like many, has been impacted.
In his three years at PGED, Rob has worn many hats and led a number of successful projects. He’s brought our mission to such places as science fiction and fantasy conventions, STEM festivals, libraries, and community gatherings in Maryland. He developed a collaboration with HHMI’s BioInteractive team, and led efforts to co-create a curricular module interweaving scientific, personal, and social dimensions related to sickle cell. A major contributor to grant proposals, Rob has been a leader on an NSF-funded project to foster culture change in genetics through public engagement. And he’s been instrumental in bolstering our relationships with faith communities, working with Interfaith America, the Science & Spirituality Institute (Omaha, NE), the Museum of Science (Boston, MA), and St. Thomas Episcopal Church (Columbus, GA) to organize programs with a deep care for different perspectives and lived experiences.
Rob’s thoughtful approach, steady presence, and unwavering commitment to our mission have left a meaningful mark on both our team and the communities we serve. Many of the ideas and relationships Rob helped us form will continue to support our work long after his departure. We are incredibly grateful and wish him wonderful success in his next chapter.
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Engaging with Faith Communities
Faith community engagement is an important part of our work. This month, PGED is leading a series of genetics discussions with St.Thomas Episcopal Church in Columbus, GA. In previous sessions, we explored topics including genetics and health as well as history and eugenics.
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Here’s what’s next:
- 1/28 – Ancestry Testing & Identity with St. Thomas Episcopal Church (GA, ONLINE)
- 2/4 – Sex, Genetics, & Athletics with St. Thomas Episcopal Church (GA, ONLINE)
- 2/11 – Gene Editing and CRISPR with St. Thomas Episcopal Church (GA, ONLINE)
Visit our Events Calendar for more information about our upcoming events. Don’t see an event near you? Contact us to let us know what you’d like to see in your area.
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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.
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In this special Spotlight feature, Dorothy Semenow tells all about her past, present, and the exciting possibilities for her future projects.
Dorothy Semenow, the first woman to receive a PhD from Caltech, has had a remarkable journey. In the latest chapter of her career, Dorothy has pivoted from chemistry to CRISPR biology, infusing her passion for science, dedication to education, and playful spirit into the CRISPR Whisper Picture Series.
Rather than a traditional interview, Dorothy opted to share her perspectives in writing. Through carefully writing and editing over many weeks, she produced an inspiring story about her life’s journey. We are honored to share Dorothy’s story and the first 5 episodes of her Picture Series with you.
Read Dorothy’s Community Spotlight
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Earlier this month, PGED finalized the 2025 update for our Precision Medicine lesson. Formerly known as “Personalized Medicine”, the updated lesson includes changes based on feedback from teachers in high school biology and biotechnology classrooms.
Our team is incredibly grateful for all the feedback our teacher community shares with us to make our lessons increasingly usable and current!
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PERSONAL GENETICS IN THE NEWS
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Here are some of the articles we’ve been reading this month.
Article: Science shows very different psychiatric disorders might have the same cause (The Washington Post). “A sweeping new study of psychiatric and genetic records has the potential to change treatment for millions of psychiatric patients.”
Article: It’s time to translate vague unease around stem cell IVF into clear guardrails (STAT News). “Stem cell IVF could enable same-sex couples and single parents to have genetically related children. It’s time to think through ethics and regulation.”
Article: ‘Chinese Peptides’ Are the Latest Biohacking Trend in the Tech World (The New York Times). “The gray-market drugs flooding Silicon Valley reveal a community that believes it can move faster than the F.D.A.”
Article: Some of your cells are not genetically yours — what can they tell us about life and death? (Nature). “A tiny population of cells that are passed across the placenta between mother and baby challenge basic tenets of human immunology.”
Article: Medicaid has a new way to pay for costly sickle cell treatment: Only if it works (NPR). “[Cole] was one of the first Medicaid enrollees nationally to benefit from a new payment model in which the federal government negotiates the cost of a cell or gene therapy with pharmaceutical companies on behalf of state Medicaid programs — and then holds them accountable for the treatment’s success.”
Note: Views expressed in shared articles are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of our organization.
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Our team loves creating resources that make an impact in classrooms, community spaces, and beyond. Consider giving a gift to show some love for PGED resources in our Resource Hub.
All donations help keep our resources freely available online.
We are grateful for your generosity.
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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!
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, Colorado, and Connecticut – and we are willing to travel when possible. Contact us to find out about scheduling an event in your area!
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Copyright © 2026 PGED, Harvard Medical School. All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
pged@pged.med.harvard.edu
www.pged.org
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