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. UA researcher Rick Kittles is a national leader on health disparities and the role of genes and environment in disease. Customers, who were often able to put Kittles's results together with bits of family oral history to fill in blanks in their family trees, had strong emotional responses to what they learned from African Ancestry's tests. The elders listened. Already, he had tried out his ancestry tests on a few subjects, among them his parents. "Other times I would make stuff up and say, 'I'm a Mandingo.' Sometimes DNA companies fail to account for ethnic migrations or gene flow between populations, or the fact that a clients ancestor may have been a genetic outlier. In 1990 he began his career as a teacher in several New York and Washington, D.C. area high schools. Some of the research followed traditional anthropological models: caskets were examined in search of links to traditional African practices, and the scientists learned what they could from dry bones about how these enslaved African Americans had spent their working life. While at Howard, one project in particular pushed Kittles into business. Geneticist Rick Kittles, a professor at Ohio State University, became one of the hottest young scientific researchers in the country in the early 2000s. "Milestones Leading to the NHGC," National Human Genome Center, www.genomecenter.howard.edu/milestones.htm (March 1, 2005). Kittles had a few fierce critics within the African-American community as well; charging African Americans a fee to learn about their African origins was "like charging Holocaust victims a fee to confirm their relatives were in fact gassed," University of Maryland anthropologist Fatima Jackson told the on-line magazine Salon. In 2003 Kittles and his business partner, Dr. Gina Paige, started their company African Ancestry. Rick Antonius Kittles (born in Sylvania, Georgia, United States) is an American biologist specializing in human genetics and a Senior Vice President for Research at the Morehouse School of Medicine. 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). I cant wait to go to Bioko Island to have the sun in that part of the region on my body and know that Im home.. Dr. Kittles received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from George Washington University in 1998. Sociologist 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. He mounted his own research trips to the continent too, concentrating on its western territory, from which so many millions of African slaves had been captured and shipped to America. For 85 percent of African Ancestrys clients, Kittles says, he finds an identical match to an ethnic group in his database, and he tells clients the present-day country or countries where that group resides. Kittles launched African Ancestry in February 2003 with Paige, a Washington, D.C., entrepreneur who, as president, oversees the companys marketing and finances. If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. However, the date of retrieval is often important. "I used to always wonder in school why everybody looks different," Kittles told Alice Thomas of the Columbus Dispatch. Most tests, they wrote, can trace only a few ancestors out of thousands and likely wont identify every place or group that matches a clients genetic profile. He has previously held positions at Howard University (19982004), Ohio State University (20042006), the University of Chicago (20062010), the University of Illinois Chicago (20102014), the University of Arizona (20142017), and the City of Hope National Medical Center (20172022).[1][2][3][4][5][6]. More than a year and a half earlier, Sampson had swabbed the inside of his cheek with a sterile foam pad, which he mailed off to African Ancestry, a Silver Spring, Marylandbased company that uses genetic testing to trace African Americans genealogical roots. 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. 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. Sampson isnt alone. in Sylvania, Georgia, in an area his family had inhabited for several generations, but he grew up in Central Islip, New York, on Long Island outside of New York City. Through DNA testing, he discovered he's a descendant of the Mende people of Sierra Leone. He also became codirector of the molecular-genetics unit at the universitys National Human Genome Center. 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. That variation is located within a gene that plays a role in DNA repair, and a malfunction in that process could contribute to cancer development. Ebony selected the nation's top 100 African-American "power players . Rick then became a researcher and funded a project for Howard University researchers, in which they exhume remains of African Americans from an 18th-century graveyard. 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. Associate Professor, The University of Chicago, Department of Medicine Kittles received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from George Washington University. Rick Antonius Kittles (born in Sylvania, Georgia, United States ) is an American biologist specializing in human genetics. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Founded in 1913, City of Hope is a leader in bone marrow transplantation and immunotherapy such as CAR T cell therapy. 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. Early years [ edit] He is also Associate Director of Health Equities of COH Comprehensive Cancer Center. Currently, he is Professor and Founding Director of the Division of Health Equities within the Department of Population Sciences at City of Hope. He has previously held positions at Howard University (19982004), Ohio State University (20042006), the University of Chicago (20062010), the University of Illinois Chicago (20102014), the University of Arizona (20142017), and the City of Hope National Medical Center (20172022). I mean, were talking about a very small part of your DNA, he says, less than 0.01 percent. The thinnest shred of genetic material0.1 percentaccounts for the entire spectrum of human variation; the other 99.9 percent of the genomes 3 billion nucleotides are identical from person to person. 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. As he was completing his doctoral degree at George Washington University in 1998, Kittles was hired as an assistant professor of microbiology at Washington's Howard University and was named director of the African American Hereditary Prostate Cancer (AAHPC) Study Network at the university's National Human Genome Center. Dr. Kittles is an international leader on race and genetics, health disparities, and cancer genetics. Can you list the top facts and stats about Rick Kittles? He is also Associate Director of Health Equities of COH Comprehensive Cancer Center. They know their ancestors were from Africa, but they cant get past South Carolina or Mississippi. For Sampson, this is especially true: adopted and raised by his maternal uncle, he met his mother only three times and knew nothing about his fathers family. Call a family reunion and have everybody put in $10., Kittles takes the criticism seriously, but in stride. Kittles attended the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York as an undergraduate, earning a biology degree there in 1989. Giving occasional public lectures about melanin, Kittles speculated that high levels of the chemical in the inner ear might account for what some considered a heightened sensitivity to music and rhythm among humans of African descent. But our history didnt start with slavery; we came through slavery. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Biography submission guide. In fact, African Ancestry has always been a sideline; Kittless scholarly work investigates geneticsrole in diseases like prostate cancer and diabetes, which disproportionately strike African Americans. Rick Kittles. Kittles took on the role of scientific director. Thats mainly because of the behavior of slaveholders during slavery, Kittles says. Kittles also co-directed the molecular genetics unit of Howard University's National Human Genome Center. Kittles (.. Some feared his work could be used to resanctify disgraced racial theories, or that DNAs essentializing power might engulf other aspects of African American identity. 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. Like many African Americans, we knew nothing about where in Africa our ancestors were from, he says. Contact: Nichole Taylor,Taylor Communications Group Its recorded in our genome.. So when Rick Kittles, a young and ambitious geneticist at Howard University, proposed using DNA testing to pinpoint the exact region or tribe of their forebears, hundreds of African Americans . If you look at the data, what were doing is actually deconstructing race, Kittles says. Objective. ." accuracy and confidence. Study guides. CO-FOUNDER & SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, AFRICAN ANCESTRY, INC. INDUSTRY PIONEER, LEADING GENETICIST, ENTREPRENEUR, SPEAKE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: SENEGAL, NIGERIA TRIBES: MANDINKA AND HAUSA PIONEERING RESEARCHER: Dr. Rick Kittles is Co-founder and Scientific Director of African Ancestry, Inc. "I used to always wonder in school why everybody looks different," Kittles told Alice Thomas of the Columbus Dispatch. If you want to measure environment, say that. As a sociological concept, race remains a powerful force, but as a scientific proposition, it is a muddle. Kittles says DNA offers a way to reclaim identity. The Massachusetts-born preacher, who had grown up in Boston and spent the bulk of his career behind the pulpit of Fernwood United Methodist Church on Chicagos South Side, would be coming home to a place he had never been. Recognize how and why race is a social and political construct and its current function in society. Be the first to contribute! He took on a partner, Washington businesswoman Gina Paige, to handle the financial side of African Ancestry, taking the title of Scientific Director for himself. He served in these positions until 2004. PIONEER: In 2003, Dr. Gina Paige co-founded African Ancestry, Inc. (AfricanAncestry.com) and in doing so, pioneered a new way of tracing African lineages using genetics, and a new marketplace for people of African descent looking to more accurately and reliably trace their roots. He has published on genetic variation and prostate cancer genetics of African Americans. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Share to Facebook. [CDATA[ Kittless tests offer information about only one ancestor per generation. Some people come to African Ancestry, Paige says, hoping to confirm oral histories about American Indians in the family, but the tests rarely bear them out. Rick Kittles, Ph.D. Scientific Director, African Ancestry, Inc. Filmmaker Spike Lee, former United Nations ambassador Andrew Young, and actors LeVar Burton and Vanessa Williams were three of African Ancestry's celebrity clients, while over 2,000 others paid about $300 or $350 for the company's DNA tests in its first year in business. Though he hoped to launch African Ancestry, Inc. by 2001, Kittles faced months of delays as he patiently worked to answer the objections of critics and deal with the complexities of running a business while working in the academic world. Previous to Ricky's current city of Pasadena, CA, Ricky Kittles lived in Tucson AZ. 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. As an Assistant Professor at Howard University in 1997, Dr. Kittles helped establish a national cooperative network to study the genetics of hereditary prostate cancer in African Americans. Career: Various New York and Washington, DC, area high schools, teacher, early 1990s; Howard University, Washington, DC, assistant professor and director of National Human Genome Center African American Hereditary Prostate Cancer Study Network, 1998-2004; African Burial Ground Project, New York City, researcher; African Ancestry, Inc., founding partner (with Gina Paige) and scientific director, 2002; Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, associate professor, 2004. Afrocentricity redirects here. But he gravitated toward subjects with broad social importance, and his eventual scholarly specialties were all hot topics: prostate cancer and its underlying causes, the relationship between genetics and disease prevalence more generally, and the validity (or lack of validity) of the concept of race. He is currently the leader of the Washington, D.C.-based African Ancestry Inc., a genetic testing service for determining individuals' African ancestry, which he co-founded with Gina Paige in February 2003. In 2003, Dr. Rick Kittles and Dr. Gina Paige collaborated on a groundbreaking way to help Black people reconnect to their roots beyond the limits of their current family trees. Color?, Sampson now finds himself thinking less about race and more about ancestry. By that time, Kittles had been hired as an associate professor at the Ohio State University medical school, in the department of molecular virology, immunology, and medical genetics. This project involved setting up national network of mostly African-American medical scientists who would enroll 100 families with at least four members who were afflicted with prostate cancer; blood samples were subjected to genetic research, with the intent of finding a genetic marker that might explain the high incidence of the disease among African-American men. "The Finnish Population Bottlenecks: Exploiting the Evolutionary History of Genes for Population and Genetic Disease Studies." When word of his efforts leaked out, Howard found its switchboard jammed with calls from reporters and from ordinary African Americans who wanted to know how they could sign up to be tested. In addition, he discovered, through of a DNA analysis, he descends mainly of people of Dakar, Senegal, and Nigeria's Hausa people. "It has nothing to do with race, it has more to do with ancestry," explained Rick Kittles, the director of the Center for Population Genetics at the University of Arizona and co-founder of . He is also known for appearing in films and TV series like Malibu's Most Wanted (2003), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), Next (2007), Miracle at St. Anna (2008) among others. "There is very strong resistance in the African-American community to participate in government-sponsored research," Kittles pointed out to the Chicago Sun-Times. Rick Kittles, PhD - Dec. 15, 2010 TEDxNorthwesternU: Identity, Democracy After Anatomy Alice Dreger, PhD - Dec. 15, 2010 The Biologic Basis of Obesity Jeffrey Friedman, MD, PhD - Oct. 13, 2010 From Reading to Writing Life Code Juan Enriquez, PhD - Nov. 4, 2009 Personal Genomes and Web 2.0 Volunteerism George Church, PhD - May 12, 2009