Genetics Society of America
International Seminar Series
The Brazilian Genetics Society (SBG), Genetics Society of America (GSA), Latin American Association of Genetics (ALAG), and International Genetics Federation (IGF) are collaborating to host a series of international seminars (in English, via Zoom) highlighting scientists in North, Central, and South America. These one-hour virtual events will showcase the high-quality research being conducted across this region, cover diverse areas in genetics, and foster interactions between research groups. The seminars will be held six times a year and feature speakers from various countries in North, Central, and South America. Each seminar will have dedicated time for audience Q&A with the speaker.
The seminars are free, but registration is required.
Upcoming seminars:
Olufunmilayo I. Olopade: Precision medicine for breast and ovarian cancer control in diverse populations
December 18, 2023 from 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST
Speaker
Olufunmilayo I. Olopade
Olufunmilayo I. Olopade is Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics and founding director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics and Global Health at the University of Chicago Medicine. Olopade’s research focuses on gaining a better understanding of the root causes and genomic basis of cancer in diverse populations. She has published extensively on genetic and non-genetic risk factors for breast cancer and is recognized worldwide for her work in inherited cancer syndromes and clinical expertise in early detection and prevention of breast cancer in high-risk women. Olopade is a distinguished scholar and mentor—she has been elected to the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society, among others, and served for six years as a member of the National Cancer Advisory Board and Chair of the Sub-committee on Global Cancer Research under the Obama Administration.
Olapade’s many accolades include the American-Italian Cancer Foundation Scientific Excellence In Medicine Award, the 2023 Jill Rose Award, the 2023 William L. McGuire Memorial Lecture Award, the Franklin Roosevelt Freedom From Want Medal, The Order of Lincoln, Officer of the Order of the Niger, and a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005 for translating findings on the molecular genetics of breast cancer in African and African American women into innovative clinical practices in the United States and abroad.
Olapade is an advocate for social justice, serving as director of several Civic and Corporate Boards in Chicago.
Moderator
Patricia Ashton-Prolla
Ashton-Prolla received her degree in Medicine (1992) and PhD in Biological Sciences (Biochemistry) from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS, 1999), in Porto Alegre, Brazil. She was a resident in Medical Genetics at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA 1993-1995) in Brazil, Fellow in Clinical Genetics (1995-1997) and in clinical molecular genetics (1997-1999) in the Department of Genetics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine New York. Currently, she is Chief Research Officer at HCPA, associate professor in genetics at UFRGS and professor of the post-graduate courses of Medicine and Genetics and Molecular Biology from UFRGS, active member of the Brazilian Societies of Clinical Oncology and Medical Genetics and Genomics and member of the consulting committee of the Latin American section of the American Association for Cancer Research. She has published over 180 research articles and mentored 67 post-doctoral fellows and MSc/PhD students. She works predominantly in the field of cancer genetics, with emphasis in genetic counseling and molecular diagnosis and precision medicine.
Previous Seminars
Elisabeth P.B. Fontes: Begomovirus-Plant Interactions: a signaling hub coordinating plant immunity and growth
September 25, 2023
If you would like to view this seminar, send a request to engagement@genetics-gsa.org.
Brenda Andrews: Mapping Genetic Networks using Yeast Functional Genomics
August 14, 2023
If you would like to view this seminar, send a request to engagement@genetics-gsa.org.
Adalberto Luis Val: Fish of the Amazon and climate change
May 22 2023
Kym Boycott: A Diagnosis for All Rare Genetic Diseases: The Horizon and Next Frontiers
March 7, 2023
Alberto R. Kornblihtt: Chromatin control of alternative splicing: towards a combined treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy
December 5, 2022
Hopi Hoekstra: The genetic basis of evolutionary change: how (wild) mice adapt to novel habitats
November 7, 2022