Technological innovations are rapidly deepening our understanding of the human genome for both scientists and the public alike, emphasizing the need to explore the societal implications of the genomic revolution. This year’s series will explore the complex, changing relationship on what science can tell us about our ancestry, how this science can be performed more equitably, and how these genomic insights translate into the public’s understanding of race, medicine, and history.
We’re pleased to announce the final speaker in our Genomics & Society Seminar Series: NY Times Journalist Amy Harmon this Thursday May 4th at 4:15pm in the Historical Library at the Medical School.
Amy Harmon is a National Correspondent for the New York Times, covering science, nature and social inequality. She has won two Pulitzer Prizes, one for her 2008 series, “The DNA Age,” the other as part of a team in 2001 for the series “How Race is Lived in America.” Harmon has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Academies of Science award for print journalism, and the Casey Medal for meritorious reporting on children and families, among other honors. She is the author of “Asperger Love,’’ an e-book based on her Times story about a young couple on the autism spectrum. Her stories have been included in anthologies including “Best American Science and Nature Writing.” Harmon lives in New York City where she has been known to post photographs of S. carolinensis, a.k.a. eastern gray squirrel, to reassure herself that she shares reality with other users of the social network iNaturalist. She has two current projects: one is gathering the many viewpoints on race-conscious college admissions among those it has affected. The other investigates efforts by scientists and amateurs to map the biosphere as a million species face a risk of extinction. She welcomes contributions on these topics and all other ideas for stories that ought to be told.