Experts shed light on the past, present, and future of the eugenics movement and how it persists in society today 

Eugenics is a stain on the founding of the field of genetics, one that modern geneticists must still reckon with. The Allied Genetics Conference 2024 featured a thought-provoking panel discussion on this subject, moderated by past GSA Presidents Denise Montell and Tracy Johnson. Panelists Katrina Claw, Nathaniel Comfort, Steven Farber, Daniel HoSang, and Jazlyn Mooney shared their expertise on the history of eugenics and the ways its ideas persist in both science and society even today. Their keen insights shed light on the interdisciplinary nature of science, highlighting that anthropology, philosophy, and the humanities are all key in the study of science. 

This event marks the start of important conversations for GSA and the larger genetics and genomics community about the field’s history. GSA understands that scientific research takes place in the context of society, and we strive to build an environment in which all researchers from all backgrounds feel welcome and can thrive. For that, we must look critically at the space in which we conduct research, including reflecting on and learning from the past. Even today, bad actors twist the findings of genetics research to support racist ideology, giving this conversation and reflection notable immediacy. 

While acknowledging that this topic can be uncomfortable, GSA will not oversimplify these discussions; our goal is to face this history directly, even as it may require re-contextualizing luminaries in the field. Only through honest reckoning can we move forward toward an anti-racist scientific enterprise.

GSA fully rejects eugenics ideology, and we commit to understanding how it has lived within and outside our institutions and society at large so we can do better as a field and a scientific community. We will continue to address this topic at GSA, creating space for our community to share their thoughts and experiences and to learn together.

Watch the recording of the panel on our YouTube channel.