"Milestones Leading to the NHGC," National Human Genome Center, www.genomecenter.howard.edu/milestones.htm (March 1, 2005). Dr. Rick Kittles Joins MSM as Senior Vice President for Research In 2003, Dr. Kittles and along with Co-founder Dr. Gina Paige pioneered a new marketplace for Black people looking to know where theyre from in Africa. Customers could choose to have either the paternal line (though the Y chromosome, the genetic marker responsible for the development of male characteristics) or the maternal line (through mitochondrial DNA) investigated; a discount was available for the pair. Kittles received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from George Washington University. To many of them, what Kittles offers isnt merely scientific information, its a missing fragment of identity. His work on tracing the genetic ancestry of African Americans has brought to focus many issues, new and old, which relate to race, ancestry, identity, and group membership. He also serves as an associate professor in the Department of Medicine and the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Illinois, Chicago.[8]. In 1990 he began his career as a teacher in several New York and Washington, D.C. area high schools. Terms of Use, Jo S(usenbach) Kittinger (1955-) Biography - Writings, Sidelights - Personal, Addresses, Career, Member, Work in Progress, Rick Kittles - Concocted African Ancestry, Rick Kittles - Directed Prostate Cancer Study, Rick Kittles - Callers Jammed Howard Switchboard, Rick Kittles - Attracted Celebrity Customers. Since he first pondered the databases commercial prospects, hes been part of an intensifying public debate over geneticsrole in genealogy. This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 17:10. Ebony selected the nation's top 100 African-American "power players . Ghana and Ivory Coast? The Global African Community. His company, African Ancestry, Inc., used his expertise in genetic testing to put African Americans, from celebrities to ordinary genealogy buffs, in touch with their roots in a way that Americans of European descent took for granted but that a displaced and enslaved people had mostly only dreamed of. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. When he was hired by Ohio State in 2004, the Columbus Dispatch reported that he would bring to the university more than $1 million in research grants in addition to his teaching expertise. Early years [ edit] The path that led to the founding of African Ancestry was complicated and not without controversy, but Kittles found that his research often fed into the deep interest in African-American genealogy that had been awakened by the publication of Alex Haley's book Roots in the 1970s. "About Us," African Ancestry, Inc., www.africanancestry.com (March 1, 2005). Read all about Rick Kittles with TV Guide's exclusive biography including their list of awards, celeb facts and more at TV Guide. African Ancestry Inc.: Telling black folks where they're from Rick Kittles, PhD, received a BS in biology from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1989 and a PhD in biological sciences from George Washington University in 1998. Beginning in 1998, as he was completing his Ph.D. at George Washington University, Kittles was hired as an assistant professor of microbiology at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and also named director of the African American Hereditary Prostate Cancer (AAHPC) Study Network at the university's National Human Genome Center. Reverend Al Sampson arrived in Lunsar, Sierra Leone, on a sunny December day in 2005. Until this past November, when Gates introduced his own company, AfricanDNA, Kittless was the only genetic-testing lab set up specifically to find AmericansAfrican roots, and he became a focal point for scholarsdiscomfort not only with the technologys accuracy, but also its implications. These races were not conceived as being related with each other, but Wikipedia, African American Lives is a PBS television miniseries hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. focusing on African American genealogical research. He was looking for prominent African Americans to be guinea pigs, and unbeknownst to him, I had been interested more than interested, obsessed with my own family tree since I was 9 years old. Following public outcry over the federal governments haphazard excavationand some dismay that the graves had been disturbed at allthe remains were turned over to Howard researchers for more systematic examination. Dr. Kittles has published more than 240 research articles in addition to winning numerous awards and accolades. Kittles discusses why using race in biomedical studies is problematic using examples from U.S. groups which transcend "racial" boundaries and bear the burden of health disparities. Says Sampson: That resonated., At first sight, Lunsars cinderblock shacks and dirt roads reminded Sampson of the rural Southern towns hed seen as a civil-rights organizer during the 1960sthe kind of place where townspeople gather around a single television in the main store. For his original DNA research and analysis restoring the African ethnic and national identities of descendants of enslaved Africans living in the Diaspora, Dr. Kittles deserves honors and recognition. Kittles also co-directed the molecular genetics unit of Howard University's National Human Genome Center. Born 1976(?) But youre not necessarily related to any of them; its just a common name. Other last names are more rare. Case Study: Rick Kittles - Golden Helix Horace Cayton spent his lifetime attempting to reconcile his two halves. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Then he adds, I know that if I wasnt who I was in that little village of Lunsar, they wouldnt have given me no name.. specific ethnic groups of origin with an unrivaled level of detail, Kittles took on the role of scientific director. PIONEERING RESEARCHER: Dr. Rick Kittles is Co-founder and Scientific Director of African Ancestry, Inc. Rick Kittles - Directed Prostate Cancer Study - JRank African Ancestrys African DNA database remains the largest and most comprehensive ever collected, making its lineage matching the most reliable in the marketplace. (Photo: Bob Demers/UANews) Ever since he can remember, Rick Kittles always wanted to know where he came from. Many consumers do not realize, the authors wrote, that the tests are probabilistic and can reach incorrect conclusions., Others criticize the expense. Were showing that nobodys pure. Besides the 35 percent of African Americans who discover European genes in their pastand the disparate tribes whose DNA may also be mixed inAfrican Ancestry sometimes confirms white clientsbeliefs about African forebears. Journal of Black Studies 1995 26: 1, 36-61 Download Citation. MEDIA RESOURCE: Paige has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Breakfast Club, Hot 97-FM, Time Magazine, USA Today, 60 Minutes, NewsOne Now with Roland Martin, HuffPost Live with Marc Lamont Hill, The Joe Madison Show, Sister Circle Live, Essence Magazine, The New York Times, The Tom Joyner Morning Show, FOX Business News, Reuters, New York Times, Canal Media Company, Black Enterprise, Ebony, NPR, Metro Source Urban Radio, American Urban Radio Networks, The Grio.com and TheRoot.com among many others. The elders listened. Ph.D. dissertation. The idea gained support from a group of Boston ministers who helped organize the program. [1] He started collaborating with researchers at clinics and hospitals across Africa, who sent him genetic data volunteered by indigenous patients. "I would say, 'Africa'" when other students asked him about his own roots, Kittles was quoted as saying in the Seattle Times. [14] Kittles has also been a part of many cutting edge developments including the progress of genetic markers and how an individuals ancestry can be used to help identify risk of disease and health outcomes. He has previously held positions at Howard University , Ohio State University , the . From approximately 1997 until 1999, as a researcher with the New York African Burial Ground Project (NYABGP), a federally funded project in New York City, win which Howard University researchers, led by anthropologist Michael Blakey, exhumed the remains of 408 African Americans from an 18th-century graveyard; Kittles gathered DNA samples from the remains and compared them with samples from a DNA database to determine from where in Africa the individuals buried in the graveyard had come. Dr. Rick Kittles for Nobel Peace Prize - iPetitions surrounding race, genetic ancestry, and health disparities. Associate Professor, The University of Chicago, Department of Medicine Kittles received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from George Washington University. Dr. Kittles received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from George Washington University in 1998. [1] He is of African-American ancestry, and achieved renown in the 1990s for his pioneering work in tracing the ancestry of African Americans via DNA testing. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The University of Chicago Magazine Kittles (.. It is through his years of research on genetic variation and his passion for the movements of African people throughout the world that AfricanAncestry.com was conceived. In 1998 he was hired at Howard Unviersity as an assistant professor of microbiology and named director of the AAHPC (African American Heredity Prostate Cancer) Study Network. https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/kittles-rick, "Kittles, Rick Already, he had tried out his ancestry tests on a few subjects, among them his parents. Beginning in 1998, as he was completing his Ph.D. at George Washington University, Kittles was hired as an assistant professor of microbiology at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and also named director of the African American Hereditary Prostate Cancer (AAHPC) Study Network at the university's National Human Genome Center. Kittles offered his customers a glimpse into their specific African ancestries, pinpointing an actual African ethnic group to which one or two of the customer's ancestors had belonged. I wanted to make sure the people involved would be attuned to those issues. One of the first decisions he made was to destroy clientsgenetic material after it was analyzed. Snags Hit in Ancestry Project That Builds on Blacks' DNA - SFGATE Rick Kittles, Ph.D., is Professor and founding director of the Division of Health Equities within the Department of Population Sciences at the City of Hope (COH). Color?, Sampson now finds himself thinking less about race and more about ancestry. As a pilot project, they began to gather genetic material from Boston-area school children. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Encyclopedia.com. Clientsresults depend, Kittles says, on the ubiquity of their genetic profiles. [11]Kittles is known for his work on prostate cancer but he devotes part of his time to study and research other diseases such as colon and breast cancer, sickle cell anemia, red blood cell immune response, and pulmonary hypertension.