National DNA Day is Tuesday, April 25 with several local events being held at the Iowa City Public Library, Room A.

Activities will begin at 10:00am with a presentation by Charles (“Chip”) Aquadro, Ph.D., from Cornell University. Dr. Aquadro is a Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and Director of the Cornell Center for Comparative and Population Genomics. His presentation is titled, “Student Genetic Ancestry Testing: An Experiment in Making Science Personal.”

In the afternoon from 1:30 – 4:00pm, a “Festival of Genetics” will engage the audience with genetics-related demonstrations and information including assistance with interpreting DNA test results from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, etc.

From 6:00 – 7:00pm, during the monthly meeting of the Iowa City DNA Interest Group, a panel of UI faculty and students will discuss “Personalizing genetics education through DNA test results.” This will be a follow-up discussion relating to Dr. Aquadro’s presentation.  

The goal of National DNA Day is celebrating genomics through awareness. Students of the Personal Genome Learning Center along with the Iowa City DNA Interest Group are hosting these events, which are all free and open to the public.

For questions or more information, please contact Bryant McAllister (bryant-mcallister@uiowa.edu; 319-335-2604), Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Iowa, or visit genetics4genealogy.info