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CGS investigators are actively involved in undergraduate and graduate education as well as education outside of academia. CGS investigators teach ELSI-related classes at UNC and raise awareness of ELSI issues through presentations at area high schools, community forums, and universities in the U. S. and abroad.
Education and Outreach Activities
Jim Evans led the first National Judges’ Medical School Program at UNC in March 2006 and 2007. Seventy-three judges attended the training, which included discussion of the biology, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer; and a review of recent and emerging perspectives on the genetic basis of cancer.
Dan Nelson participated as core faculty in the educational programs (CIRB 101, IRB 250) offered by Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIMR), which have reached over 100,000 participants.
Community Genetics Forum
A major outreach and community engagement program, the 2006 Community Genetics Forum (CGF) was an NHGRI contract awarded to CGS investigators (Barbra Rothschild PI; co-PIs Nancy King, Giselle Corbie-Smith, and Rebecca Walker), supported by the Carolina Center for Genome Sciences, and other campus and community partners (including Duke’s CEER)—(http://www.genome.gov/19517845).
The CGF was designed to engage the community in dialogue about issues of group definition, identification, and interest; the science behind the Human Genome Project and advances in genetic research; and ELSI issues raised by genetic research. Communities with current and historical reasons to be interested in or concerned about their role and involvement in genetic research were encouraged to participate. The 2006 CGF included:
- “Community Conversations” with North Carolina African American, Hispanic and other communities
- A six-part “Finding the Genome” Film Series
- Genetic Policy Roundtable with university and state officials
- A day-long, academic symposium at UNC – “Finding the Genome: Group Interests in Genetic Research and Testing”
- A day-long community symposium – “The Human Genome and Being Human: A Community Conversation on our DNA, Health, Values and Heritage”
- Other community education and outreach efforts, including efforts towards increasing minority and others’ interest in pursuing careers in genome sciences or ELSI research
Through this Community Genetics Forum, CGS investigators developed a relationship with the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM), a high school for talented students from across North Carolina. We are continuing this relationship to offer education and mentorship opportunities for students, especially minority students, with CGS investigators. NCSSM also teaches biology via remote to high schools throughout the state. We have been invited to do a class on ELSI issues in genetics through this program, thus reaching a substantial high school population.
Partnering with UNC-Affiliated Programs
CGS investigators are working with SPIRE post-doctoral fellows (http://spire.unc.edu/) to develop ELSI lectures for the science courses they teach at North Carolina’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The CGS will conduct an ELSI seminar at the annual national meeting of SPIRE and other post-doc trainees from the eleven special Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) programs on June 9-10, 2008.
CGS has partnered with UNC’s Training Initiative in Biomedical and Biological Sciences (TIBBS) program (http://unctibbs.org/) to help sponsor National DNA Day (http://www.genome.gov/10506367). On April 25, 2008, TIBBS trainees (biomedical graduates and post-doc) will provide education activities to North Carolina’s high school students. These include ELSI-related activities and information on careers in ELSI research. CGS investigators are also developing with TIBBS and CGS trainees a science policy and ethics working group.
CGS is partnering with The Research Education Support (RES) Program at UNC (http://www.uncres.org/). One component of the RES is the Summer Pre-Graduate Research Experience (SPGRE) Program (http://www.uncres.org/spgre.html), a 10-week program designed for underrepresented minority and disadvantaged undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing a Ph.D. We are working with the SPRGE Program to identify students to work one-on-one with CGS investigators, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students.
CGS has partnered with the UNC Program on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program (http://echo.unc.edu/) to sponsor Developmental Awards for ELSI-related research by young investigators who are faculty at UNC or an HBCUs. ECHO works closely with North Carolina’s HBCUs to train new investigators in health disparities research.
In the near future, we will explore how to extend ELSI education and outreach activities to area campuses, including HBCUs (e.g., capacity building workshops, distance teaching on ELSI topics, job shadowing for interested students). As part of the CGS planning grant, Kim Cogdell at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) incorporated ELSI topics into a Bioethics Law course and developed an “Introduction to ELSI Seminar” in collaboration with the Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Law Institute at NCCU School of Law.
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