Public Engagement

The Moore Group is involved in many activities to promote science to the greater community.

OLLI Course

http://olli.illinois.edu/index.html

As researchers continue to identify important genetic factors in many diseases and conditions, conversations about genetic testing have grown. Acquiring personal genetic data is affordable and offers information about one’s ancestry, traits, and disease risks – but also opens up new questions. There is a growing need for education on how to interpret the data and the benefits and risks of acquiring this information. This course will provide valuable information about the analytical chemistry of the method, the reliability of the analysis, and the use of various resources to interpret one’s own data. Students registered for this course will be given the option to confidentially research their own genome sequence using data acquired via an established "direct-to-consumer" genotyping service. An optional orientation meeting will be held in mid-December for those who have registered for the course. After discussing risks, benefits, and uncertainties associated with genetic data, participants will be given the option to obtain their personal genotype data, at no cost to the students. Of course, students will have the choice to participate in this confidential exercise – and the course itself will focus on the broader questions surrounding the information that is now available through such advanced technologies.

Course Materials:
The Genome – A Book of Information that We All Share
Human Genetic Variation
Trait-Associated SNPs Influence my Appearance and My Senses
How Does My Genome Compare to GRCh37, and What Does it Mean?
DNA Ancestry: Comparisons to Identify Our Shared Inheritance
Nutritional Genomics Suggests the Diet for My Genes
Of Disease – and of Health: Variants in Vulnerable Locations
Pharmacogenomics Describes My Response to Drugs