(Central Standard Time CST)
FREE but Virtual Seating Limited
Making Genomics Relevant to ALL
Virtual University of North Texas
Transdisciplinary Conference on Diversifying Genomic Research
We are pleased to announce that REGISTRATION FOR THE NOVEMBER 20-21, 2020 VIRTUAL UNT TRANSDISCIPLINARY CONFERENCE ON DIVERSIFYING GENOMIC RESEARCH IS NOW OPEN (No fee but Register NOW as virtual seating is limited.). This Inaugural Conference ushers in a series of 4 annual meetings on Transdisciplinary Ancestral Genomics Research Insights (TAGRI) proposed to help diversify the Reference Human Genome, demystify and address medical paradoxes in underrepresented populations. Leaders will gather in the fields of ancestral genomics & genetics, biology, engineering, chemistry, physics, medicine, epidemiology, evolutionary history, bioinformatics, nutrition, advocacy, policy and other relevant fields to impact and share the benefits of new genomic research across ecological niches, to underrepresented populations.
The November 2020 meeting will focus on those African-American health disparities that may be linked to the translocation of an ethnic population's ancestral gene variants from their original ecological environment to the uniquely different ecology of the United States. It will also introduce Professor Hilliard's Ancestral Genomics (AG) Theoretical Equation as a framework for beginning to unravel what are often referred to as "paradoxes" in the medical literature, solely because they lie outside the parameters of current European-based biological standards and values. The applicability of the AG Theoretical Equation and other new theoretical models will also be explored in robust discussions, offering innovative insights into six disease susceptibilities in non-immigrant African-Americans of slave descent: Hypertension, Kidney failure, Metastatic Prostate Cancer, Triple Negative Breast Cancer, Type II Diabetes and Obesity. Discussions will introduce empirical testing of the Hilliard AG Theoretical Equation and other models that may contribute closing the Health Disparities gap across ecological niche populations.
The upcoming forum will set the stage for educating our TAGRI community on industry standards and tools for ancestral genomic approaches. It will also bring together specialists from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, National Library of Medicine, the Cooperative Human Tissue Network, the Food and Nutrition Board, Precision Medicine and the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Workshops with suggested funding announcements will be set up to establish collaborations for future research directed at our goal of diminishing the one-size-fits-all approach to human genomics. These sessions will also address a range of issues. including the authentication of ancestral cell lines, improved methods in bioinformatics data-gathering, ancestral adaptations to diverse nutritional environments, and effective methods for recruiting underrepresented populations to participate in medical studies.
Future TAGRI Conferences will continue to derive and test innovative concepts and methodologies to elucidate the role of ancestral genomics and disease susceptibilities in global demographic populations as a way of stratifying the Reference Human Genome in order to achieve greater diversity. The goal is to provide improved, quality healthcare across genomic/ecological niche populations. Watch for the
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2021, Second Annual TAGRI Conference: Investigating Medical Paradoxes in Latino/Hispanic and Native Americans to be held in El Paso, Texas and hosted by Texas Tech University Health Science Center.
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2022, Third Annual TAGRI Conference: Investigating Cancer Medical Paradoxes in global populations, location to be determined.
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2023, Fourth Annual TAGRI Conference: focus on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), quality maintenance, disease prevention and healthcare intervention, location to be determined.
JOIN US IN WORKING TO MAKE GENOMICS MORE RELEVANT TO ALL
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INVESTIGATE new, inclusive approaches to Genomics Research approaches to diversify the current Reference Human Genome in ways that are globally inclusive of Underrepresented Populations.
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ACQUIRE leading-edge and gold-standard methodological tools in Virtual Workshops , led by experts from Federal Agencies, Industry, Universities, Policy and Advocacy Organizations, Hospitals and Clinics.
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EXPLORE Think Tank opportunities for transdisciplinary collaborations with medical researchers, geneticists, STEM researchers, community advocates, evolutionary historians, medical anthropologists, pharmacologist, data and informatics scientists, and other specialists.
Areas of Interest
This Inaugural Conference will create a dynamic space for the intersection of transdisciplinary fields and professions, with the overarching goal of diminishing the one-size-fits-all approach to human genomics. Included among the areas of interest are the following:
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Bioethics
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Bioinformatics: data and information sciences, cyber security
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Biomedical Translation, Biosensor design, Sequence-targeting Nano-agent Design
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Epidemiology
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Ethnic Health Disparities (EHD) and Hypothesis Modeling
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EHD and access to biospecimen and authenticated cell lines
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EHD in Pharmacology, Cardiovascular Disease, Oncology, Obesity, Renal disease
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EHD in Genomics, Medical Anthropology, Proteomics
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Evolutionary History and Ancestral Genomics Signatures
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Nutrition in an Ethnically Diverse Society - Precision Nutrition
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Population Genetics, Genetic Niches and EHD
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Science,& Technology Studies (STS)
Register Now & Sign-up for One of Our Research-in-Action
THINK TANKS
Register NOW & Sign-up for One of
Our Research-in-Action
THINK
TANKS
FREE but Virtual Seating Limited
These THINK TANKS will be platforms for sharing ideas, proposing grant-competitive solutions to shared research problems, networking with like-minded colleagues and forming transdisciplinary collaborations. The THINK TANKS Sessions will meet online the afternoon of November 21, 2020, under the team leadership of Denise Perry Simmons, Ph.D., UNT Engineering Senior Scientist, Visiting Biomedical Faculty Chemistry, and Faculty Scholar Jim McNatt Logistics Research Institute-Healthcare.
THINK TANK 1 - Building an Industry, Medicine, Science and Community-based Collaboration for Genetic Niche biospecimen, authenticated cell lines and an archival portfolio of their comprehensive marker profiles (retrospective and prospective), data/information sciences/cyber security.
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THINK TANK 2 Strategic Analysis of the Ancestral Genomic Theoretical Model Equation for Empirical Testing -- Proof of Concept
THINK TANK 3 Hypothesis Modeling in Improving Health Disparities Outcomes -- Epidemiological, Anthropological, Genomic and Proteomic, Precision Nutrition Approaches
THINK TANK 4 Biosensor and Nano-agent Design, Development and Testing to Target Ecological/Genetic Niche Identified Medical Paradoxes
THINK TANK 5 Precision Medicine: Investigating Translation of Single Case Experimental Design (SCED) in Preclinical and Clinical Research Models for Advancing Diversification of the Human Genome
THINK TANK 6 Changing a Culture of Concept and Language: Investigating Awareness, Education and Training Approaches and Methods in 6.1 race versus ancestry in Genome Medicine, 6.2 Pharmacogenomics versus Racialized Medicine.
The Conference workshops and panels will take place on Friday, November 20, and Saturday, November 21, 2020. NO REGISTRATION FEE but virtual seating is limited.
Friday, November 20, 2020
(All Sessions (Central Standard Time/GMT -6 hours)
10 AM (CST) Welcome: Mark McLellan,Ph.D., Vice-President for Research & Innovation, UNT.
10:10 AM (CST) Greeting from Department Host: Professor Jennifer Wallach, Chair, UNT Department of History, author of Getting What We Need Ourselves: How Food Has Shaped African American Life
10:20 AM (CST) Introduction: Constance B. Hilliard, Ph.D.,
“Therapeutic & Other Health Applications for the Ancestral Gene Variant Theoretical Model in African-Americans & Other Underrepresented Populations
10:30 AM (CST) KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Patrick J. Stover, Ph.D.
"Population Heterogeneity and Human Nutrition – Where do we go from here?"
11:45 AM (CST WORKSHOP SESSION I: Kim D. Pruitt, Ph.D.
IRB, Consents, Cybersecurity, DATA: Digital, Sharing, Entry, Mining, Sites, Repurposing, Retrieving. REPOSITORIES:
Resource Access, Building and Joining (special emphasis on human data) “Resources, and the Challenges of Translating Theory into Empirical Studies & Clinical Research Protection of Human Subjects throughout the Data Life Cycle”
1:00 PM (CST) WORKSHOP SESSION II: Shannon J. McCall, M.D.
Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Protection Human Subjects, Required Certification, Protocols, Recruiting, Consent, Confidentiality, HIPAA, Patient Safety, Tissue /Cell Repositories Biobanks, Collaborations – whose IRB? “Protection of Human Subjects Challenges in Basic, Pre-clinical and Clinical Research: Responding to the Authentication Crisis”
2:15 PM (CST) HEALTH EQUITIES SESSION: Rick Kittles, Ph.D.
3:15 PM (CST) Neal Hanchard, Ph.D.
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Saturday, November 21,
9:30 A.M.- 11:30 A.M. (Central Time) Students ONLY Special Interest Workshop NSF & NIH: Kim E. Barrett, Ph.D. & Shauna Clark, Ph.D.
“Education, Training Opportunities for the Pipeline High School through Graduate School”
8:30. Opening Plenary Session: Xuexia Wang, Ph.D.
8:45. Subject Matter Session I: Matthew Anderson, Ph.D.
“Approaching Native American communities on their own terms in microbiome research”.
9:50 Subject Matter Session II: Alice B. Popejoy, Ph.D.
“Precision Medicine requires precise measures and methods: Examining current perceptions and use of 'race, 'ethnicity' and 'ancestry' among clinical genetics professionals and researchers”
10:45 Subject Matter Session III: Bertha A. Hidalgo, Ph.D., MPH
“Coronary Disease, Diabetes and Multi-factor in Ecological Niche Population-associated Variants in Hispanic/Latino Health”
11:45 Subject Matter Session IV: Alexander Sobolevsky, Ph.D.
“The structure and function of the calcium-selective channel TRPV6 and its possible role in disease"
12:45 PM (CST) Subject Matter Session VI: Patricia A. Francis-Lyons, Ph.D.
“Bioinformatics, Ancestral Databases and Delineations in Ancestral Populations: A look at Health/Bio-informatics and cancer disparities in under-represented populations”
4:15 PM (CST) Subject Matter Session VII: Rafiki Cai
“"How Do We Interest The Lay Person In The Matter of Genomics"
12:45 PM (CST) THINK TANK SESSIONS/Simultaneous: Denise Perry Simmons, Ph.D. - Introduction
Research Concepts: Empirical Investigations Causative Variants, Proof of Concept Ancestral Genomics Variant Model; Translation 6 SRIM target diseases bench to clinic; Funding Opportunities: Developing subject matter collaborative research
Think Tank #1
Think Tank #2
Think Tank #3
Think Tank #4
Think Tank #5
Think Tank #6
3:00 PM (CST) Think Tanks Plenary Session
4:00 PM (CST) Closing Session: Pudur Jagadeeswaran, Ph.D
Conference Schedule at-a-Glance
Our Speakers, Panel Moderators & Workshop Leaders
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Patrick Stover, Ph.D.
Texas A&M University
Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture & Life Sciences and Director for Texas A & M Agrilife Research
Matthew Anderson, Ph.D.
Ohio State University
Microbiologist & specialist in Native
American Indian health disparities
Kim E Barrett, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Graduate Education, Education and Human Resources Directorate, National Science Foundation
Rafiki Cai
CTO Friends of The Congo, former Chief Technologist to Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, as well as TRIO educator, and specialist in developing strategies for bringing digital power to the underrepresented populations, by making complex and emerging technologies both understandable and easy to grasp.
Bertha A. Hidalgo, Ph.D., MPH
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Epidemiologist and research specialist in Genomics of Cardiometabolic Diseases in
Mexican Americans
Denise Perry Simmons, Ph.D.
University of North Texas (UNT) Senior Scientist Mechanical Engineering and Visiting Biomedical Faculty Chemistry; former UNT AVP Research Development, Director John Theurer Cancer Center Hackensack University Medical Center, NCI Cancer Research Fellow- interests span the spectrum of transdisciplinary to affect translational outcomes.
Alexander Sobolevsky, Ph.D.
Columbia University
Professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and specialist in ion channel signaling of ancestral and derived gene variants, using cryo-electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, electrophysiology and biophysical techniques.
University of North Texas (UNT) Conference Planning Committee
Dorothy Bland, Ph.D.
Communications Specialist and Journalism Professor
Chandra Carey, Ph.D.
Chair of Department of Rehabilitation & Health Services
Constance Hilliard, Ph.D. CHAIR
Evolutionary Historian and Ancestral Genomics Theorist
Kate Imy, Ph.D.
Historian and Managing editor of the British Journal for Military History
Pudur Jagadeeswaran, Ph.D.
Medical geneticist, specialist in laboratory use of zebra fish for thrombosis diagnosis and principal researcher in study of "Zebrafish as a model for studying hematological disorders in African-Americans"
Denise Perry Simmons, Ph.D., Scientific Program Director
Cancer Biologist & Translational Biomedical Researcher - TAGRI Scientific Research Program Director
Nancy Stockdale, Ph.D.
Historian of the Middle East & Gender Studies
Xuexia Wang, Ph.D.
Mathematical Geneticist and Cancer Research Statistican
Shauna Clark, Ph.D.
Director, NIH Academy, Office of Intramural Training & Education, National Institutes of Health
Georgia Dunston, Ph.D.
Howard University
Professor of human immunogenetics and founding director of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University.
Patricia Francis-Lyon, Ph.D.
University of San Francisco
Bioinformatics researcher and specialist in cancer disparities in underrepresented populations
Neil Hanchard, M.D., Ph.D.
Baylor College of Medicine
Associate Professor of Molecular & Human Genetics
Constance Hilliard, Ph.D.
University of North Texas, Professor of African Evolutionary History, Author of Ancestral Gene Variants (AGV) Model of Ethnic Disease Susceptibility and Professor of African Evolutionary History
Rick Kittles, Ph.D.
City of Hope National Medical Center
Geneticist and founding director of the Division of Health Equities at the City of Hope National Medical Center.
Jeffrey Long, Ph.D.
University of New Mexico
Evolutionary Anthropologist & Director, Genetics Computation Laboratory.
Shannon McCall, M.D.
Director of the Duke BioRepository & Precision Pathology Center (Duke BRPC), and Principal Investigator for the National Cancer Institute's Cooperative Human Tissue Network Southern Division
Kim Pruitt, Ph.D.
Chief, Information Engineering Branch, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
Alice Popejoy, Ph.D.
Stanford University School of Medicine
Department of Biomedical Data Science, Postdoctoral Scholar in Biomedical Data Science and Co-Chair, ClinGen Ancestry and Diversity Working Group,
The Conference workshops and panels will take place on Friday, November 20, and Saturday, November 21, 2020. NO REGISTRATION FEE but virtual seating is limited.
Friday, November 20, 2020
(All Sessions (Central Standard Time)
SETTING THE BAR, LAYING THE GROUNDWORK: HEALTH DISPARITIES & THE REFERENCE GENOME
9:00 AM Welcome: Mark McLellan,Ph.D., Vice-President for Research & Innovation, UNT.
9:10 AM Greeting from Department Host: Professor Jennifer Wallach, Chair, UNT Department of History, author of Getting What We Need Ourselves: How Food Has Shaped African American Life
9:20 AM Introduction: Constance B. Hilliard, Ph.D.,
“Therapeutic & Other Health Applications for the Ancestral Gene Variant Theoretical Model in African-Americans & Other Underrepresented Populations
10:00 AM KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Patrick J. Stover, Ph.D.
"Population Heterogeneity and Human Nutrition – Where do we go from here?"
10:45 AM WORKSHOP SESSION I: Kim D. Pruitt, Ph.D.
IRB, Consents, Cybersecurity, DATA: Digital, Sharing, Entry, Mining, Sites, Repurposing, Retrieving. REPOSITORIES: Resource Access, Building and Joining (special emphasis on human data) “Resources, and the Challenges of Translating Theory into Empirical Studies & Clinical Research Protection of Human Subjects throughout the Data Life Cycle”
11:45 LUNCH BREAK
12:15 PM WORKSHOP SESSION II: Shannon J. McCall, M.D.
Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), Protection Human Subjects, Required Certification, P Protocols, Recruiting, Consent, Confidentiality, HIPAA, Patient Safety, Tissue /Cell Repositories Biobanks, Collaborations – whose IRB? “Protection of Human Subjects Challenges in Basic, Pre-clinical and Clinical Research: Responding to the Authentication Crisis”
1:15 PM Subject Matter Session I: Rick Kittles, Ph.D.
Genetic Ancestry, Stratified Populations, and Health Disparities
2:00 PM Subject Matter Session II
2.45 PM Subject Matter Session III: Neal Hanchard, M.D., Ph.D.
Why discoveries made on the African Genome have the potential to benefit all of humankind
Research capacity. Enabling the genomic revolution in Africa..
3:30 PM Subject Matter Session IV: Georgia Dunston, Ph.D.
4:30 PM Subject Matter Session V: Sam Oh, Ph.D.
Can Precision Medicine Benefit Minorities If They Are Not Studied With Precision
Diversity in Clinical and Biomedical Research: A Promise Fulfilled
Saturday, November 21,
ADVANCING TRANSDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES IN HEALTH DISPARITIES: RESPONDING TO THE TOUGH QUESTIONS
9:30 A.M.- 11:30 A.M. (Central Time)
Students ONLY Special Interest Workshop NSF & NIH: Kim E. Barrett, Ph.D. & Shauna Clark, Ph.D.
“Education, Training Opportunities for the Pipeline High School through Graduate School”
8:00. Opening Plenary Session: Xuexia Wang, Ph.D.
8:05 Subject Matter Session I: Matthew Anderson, Ph.D.
“Approaching Native American communities on their own terms in microbiome research”.
8:50 Subject Matter Session II: Patricia Francis-Lyon, Ph.D. & Alexander Sobolevsky, Ph.D.
“The structure and function of the calcium-selective channel TRPV6 and its possible role in disease"
9:40 Subject Matter Session III: Bertha A. Hidalgo, Ph.D., MPH
“Coronary Disease, Diabetes and Multi-factor in Ecological Niche Population-associated Variants in Hispanic/Latino Health”
10:30 Subject Matter Session IV: Alice B. Popejoy, Ph.D.
Precision Medicine requires precise measures and methods: Examining current perceptions and use of 'race, 'ethnicity' and 'ancestry' among clinical genetics professionals researchers
12:00 PM LUNCH BREAK
1:2:30 PM Subject Matter Session V-A: Jeffrey Long, Ph.D.
Race as Nested Subsets of the African Genome
1:15 PM Subject Matter Session
2:00 PM Subject Matter Session V-B: Rafiki Cai
How Do We Help the African-American Community Find Benefit in Participating in Genomic and Medical Trials?
2:45 PM THINK TANKS/Overview & Goals [Simultaneous]: Denise Perry Simmons, Ph.D.
Research Concepts: Empirical Investigations Causative Variants, Proof of Concept Ancestral Genomics Variant Model; Translation 6 SRIM target diseases bench to clinic; Funding Opportunities: Developing subject matter collaborative research
3:00 PM THINK TANK Sessions (#1 thru #6)
4:15 PM THINK TANKS Summarizing Plenary Session
4:30 PM Closing Session: Pudur Jagadeeswaran, Ph.D
Sponsors
