Professor Bryant McAllister, founder of the DNA Interest Group, will share his strategy on:
– How to inspire students to learn more about DNA
– How to lead a successful Genetics Club
– How to motivate students to share genetics outside of the classroom and share their passion for genetics with the local community
Every month, the DNA Interest Group gathers at the Iowa City Public Library to help educate the Iowa City community about genetics. Members of the interest group come from a wide range of ages and backgrounds, intermixing university students with people from the local community. The group sponsors an annual event to celebrate National DNA Day with a Festival of Genetics that engages the general public with DNA-inspired activities.
Join us for an engaging conversation and participate in the live Q&A session.
The 23andMe Education webinar is intended for U.S. participants only.
Bryant McAllister is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology and the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Education at the University of Iowa.
He teaches a first-year seminar, Who are you? Revelations from The Personal Genome. This introductory seminar course evaluates the science underlying the predictions of ancestry, relatives, and traits from analysis of human genetic variation and builds the knowledge to navigate the results obtained from the analysis of the student’s own DNA sample.
Professor McAllister’s research program primarily focuses on investigating principles governing the organization of genes within chromosomes. Aside from academic research, he actively uses the tools available in the direct-to-consumer genetic testing marketplace to investigate the intersection between biological and historical inferences of family history—a pursuit commonly known as genetic genealogy. For him, personalized genetics represents an excellent educational platform for teaching and learning fundamental genetic and evolutionary principles. He is the director of the Personal Genome Learning Center, a volunteer student group that supports outreach events focused on understanding personal genome results and applications.