The Beat HLTH: Championing Genetic Diversity with Joyce Tung, 23andMe
About Joyce Tung:
Joyce Tung, Ph.D., is the Vice President of Research at 23andMe, where she has been since 2007. She leads the research team responsible for consumer health and ancestry research, academic and industry collaborations, computational analyses for therapeutics, and the development of new research methods and tools. Prior to her work at 23andMe, Joyce was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, where she focused on the genetics of mouse and human pigmentation. She earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California, San Francisco, where she was also a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow. Joyce's leadership at 23andMe has been instrumental in advancing genetic research and innovation in both consumer health and scientific development.
Things You’ll Learn:
- Current genetic research heavily favors people of European ancestry, hindering the application of findings to other populations.
- Large-scale genetic studies, driven by consumer participation, are revealing previously unknown health associations.
- Empowering consumers with their genetic information shifts the power dynamic in healthcare towards individual control.
- Genetic research findings are not universally applicable, making diverse participation critical for accuracy and benefit.
- Consumer participation in research provides individuals with a way to fight back against diseases and contribute to future advancements.
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