DNA Day celebrates genetics’ role in society
By Derrick Oliver
April 23, 2009 11:16 p.m.
Approximately 100 high school students are being invited today for DNA Day in celebration of the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003.
DNA Day, presented by UCLA’s Center for Society and Genetics, is an event that welcomes students from King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science to discuss genetics and its application to society.
The event is funded by the UCLA Center for Community Partnerships, which focuses on linking UCLA staff, students and community groups to discuss community issues such as the arts, youth and economic progress, said Erica Stanley, the main coordinator of DNA Day and research manager at the UCLA Center for Society and Genetics.
During the event, the students will be divided into three groups for a series of three breakout sessions. Each 15-minute session will address one of three main subjects, said Stanley.
The topics will include cloning, stem cells and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, which prevents health plans and employers from discriminating against someone based on genetic information.
The high school students will have the opportunity to ask questions and voice their concerns to a panel of UCLA undergraduates from the health science-themed floor in Dykstra Hall.
The residents on this floor will share their experiences and insight on their majors and life on campus, Stanley said.
The day will end with a session in which speakers will provide general information about admission into UCLA.
“The earlier they become more aware of these issues, the more likely they may explore career choices (dealing indirectly or directly with genetics) and have a voice and an impact on the broad discussion of genetics,” Stanley said.
This event is an extension of the two-year pilot program that began in 2008 between the UCLA Center for Society and the Genetics King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science called Team Teaching in Secondary Education at the Interface of Society and Genetics.
It works with students and teachers at King Drew to better expose students to social genetics.
One of the program’s goal is to make the students aware of their genetic rights, especially with health care and medicine, because genetic discrimination is one of the many abuses that groups such as health insurance companies are practicing, said Jennifer Truong, one of the three UCLA undergraduates currently working with King Drew students.
As a part of this program, one graduate and three undergraduate students travel to King Drew in South Central Los Angeles and present a wide range of genetic issues such as patent law, DNA forensics and designer babies.
“What we do at King Drew is get the students excited about DNA and give them more provocative questions about biotechnology, push for genetics in science and inform them that they can change society,” said Truong.
DNA Day follows a similar curriculum as the pilot project, which is based on the book “DNA: Promise and Peril” co-authored by Linda McCabe and Dr. Edward McCabe, physician-in-chief at UCLA’s Mattel Children’s Hospital.
The book includes information concerning new discoveries in genetics and addresses these discoveries’ legal and ethical impact on society, Stanley said. McCabe said he feels that genetics should be understood by everyone in order to protect their human rights.
“We felt that understanding the intersection of society and genetics is critical for any informed citizen,” he said.
