Towards a New Biology Nexus: Race, Society and Story in the Science of Life

Genetics and its many subfields have made strides in their attempt to define the flow of information that underlies how living things operate. This has created a landscape full of intrigue, complexity, and controversy, as we deal squarely with who we are as a species, and most importantly, what underlies the differences in phenotypes and fates. In this seminar, I introduce the idea of a “Biology nexus,” a new understanding of biology that can rigorously and responsibly incorporate multiple understandings about life—including the molecular, technological, social, and contextual—into a more complete picture of who we are and why we are different. In doing so, we create a more rigorous dogma that embodies, rather than regresses, the statistical noise and capriciousness that underlies modern genetics.

Learning Materials

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Speaker Details

C. Brandon Ogbunu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University. He is a computational biologist whose research investigates complex problems in epidemiology, population genetics, and evolution. His work utilizes a range of methods, from experimental evolution, to biochemistry, applied mathematics, and evolutionary computation.

In addition, he runs a parallel research program at the intersection of science, society, and culture. In this capacity, he writes, gives public lectures, and curates media of various kinds. He is currently an Ideas contributor at Wired, and has written for a range of publications including Scientific American, The Undefeated, Undark, and the Boston Review all on topics at the intersection of science and society.

He has also performed for Story Collider, and was featured on an episode of WNYC’s Radiolab (where he is currently a contributing editor). He was also featured in the Emmy Award winning PBS web series Finding Your Roots: The Seedlings.

Series:
Race and Technology: A Research Lecture Series
Date:
Speakers:
Dr. C. Brandon Ogbunu
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University

Series: Race and Technology: A Research Lecture Series