Lecture Series Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Human Genome Sequencing

The Festival of the Genome at USF St. Petersburg will feature a series of five public lectures by nationally and internationally renowned speakers to explore the impact of DNA and the genomics revolution on science and society from a variety of perspectives. 

Ten years ago, a scientific breakthrough of enormous significance occurred: two major scientific journals simultaneously provided the first detailed look at the human genome, a string of some 3 billion chemical building blocks, nucleotides, whose unique sequence forms the genetic blueprint for each individual. In the intervening 10 years, many other important genomes have been sequenced.

The Festival of the Genome lectures will explore where the sequencing has led us and the impact this scientific achievement has had on medicine, policy, law and on our own view of our species and its place in our world. 

All lectures begin at 7 p.m. and take place in the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library at USF St. Petersburg, 140 7^th Ave S. A reception prior to each lecture will begin at 6 p.m. For more information, visit usfsp.edu/GenomeFestival.

• October 20: The Human Genome: 10 Years and 247 Days Later. Dr. Gary Litman, Andrew and Ann Hines Professor and Vice Chairman of Pediatrics at USF Health, Distinguished University Professor

•  October 27: Dali and Science: A Paranoic Universe. Mr. Peter Tush, Curator of Education, Dali Museum

• November 3: SEQUENTIA (Art and Science Together). Mr. Xavier Cortada, Independent Artist, and Dr. Kalai Mathee, Founding Chair and Professor, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University

•  November 10: Finding the Human in the Genome Rev. Dr. Ronald Cole-Turner, H. Parker Sharp Professor of Theology and Ethics, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

•  November 17: The Genome and the Internet: Growing Up Together. Dr. Robert Cook-Deegan, Director, Center for Genome Ethics, Policy and Law, Duke University.