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Special Catalyst Seminar - Does DNA matter for social equality?

27 January 2022, 2:30 pm–4:00 pm

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Join for this special Children and Young People's Mental Health Catalyst Seminar on Thursday 27 January, 2.30-4pm

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

Maya Sapir

Special Catalyst Seminar - Does DNA matter for social equality?

Speakers:

  • Professor Kathryn Paige Harden – Talk title: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality
  • Professor Sir Michael Marmot – Talk title: The Importance of the Social Determinants of Health, a Response to Dr Harden

Professor Kathryn Paige Harden abstract: For several years now, scientists have shown that DNA makes us different in ways that matter: for our personalities, our health, and our educational and economic success. Presenting the research that led to her book The Genetic Lottery, Kathryn Paige Harden introduces readers to the latest genetic science, dismantling dangerous ideas about racial superiority and challenging us to grapple with what equality really means in a world where people are born different. Weaving together personal stories with scientific evidence, Harden shows why our refusal to recognize the power of DNA perpetuates the myth of meritocracy, and argues that we must acknowledge the role of genetic luck if we are ever to create a fair society.

Biography: Kathryn Paige Harden is a tenured professor in the Department of Psychology at UT Austin, where she leads the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab and co-directs the Texas Twin Project. She is the author of The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality which provides a provocative and timely case for how the science of genetics can help create a more just and equal society. You can read a New Yorker profile of her here, and follow her on Twitter at @kph3k.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot abstract: DNA is fundamental to what makes us human. Genetic differences are also important in explaining individual differences in human characteristics. The less variation there is in the environment, characterised broadly to include the social, the more important will be genetic differences. When it comes to health, variations over time and inequalities between groups are far more likely to be related to the social determinants of health than to genetic variations. Understanding of individual differences will be fundamental to personalised medicine. Understanding social determinants of health is fundamental to public health. 

The UCL Catalyst seminar series is intended to spark fresh thinking and debate, featuring cutting-edge UCL research relevant for children and young people’s mental health and facilitating new connections between scientists working in different disciplines.