Overview
PNRI’s Science Matters seminar series featured free, virtual discussions with scientists around the globe exploring exciting research in genetics, genomics, and evolutionary biology with important societal impact.
Topics addressed research on the genetics of ethnically diverse populations, diseases afflicting vulnerable or underserved groups, and efforts to expand the diversity (broadly defined) of research subjects or the scientific workforce.
While the Science Matters seminar series has now concluded, recordings of past sessions are available below and remain free and open to the scientific community and anyone interested in learning more about genetics and genomic research.
You can also watch recordings of past Science Matters seminars on PNRI’s YouTube channel: PNRI’s Science Matters Seminar Playlist.
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Past Seminars
December 10, 2025
Omic-Driven Precision Care in South Africa
Professor and Head of Medical Genetics, Tygerberg Hospital; Head of the Rare Disease Genomics Research Group, Stellenbosch University
November 19, 2025
Computational Early Cancer Genome Analysis at a National Scale
Research Group Leader, EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and Associate Faculty, Sanger Institute
October 08, 2025
Head, Division of Developmental Medicine (Interim); Professor of Pediatrics, Divisions of Developmental Medicine and Genetic Medicine at University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital
September 17, 2025
Michael H. Gelb, PhD, and Dean Suhr
Weinstein Endowed Chair in Chemistry, University of Washington/President & Co-Founder of the MLD Foundation
July 09, 2025
Type 1 Diabetes — Prediction, Pathogenesis, Prevention
Research Professor of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine; Consultant Lab Director, PNRI; Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Washington
June 11, 2025
Associate Professor, Medical Genetics at University of Washington
May 14, 2025
Precision Medicine – Tackling the Mysteries of Genetic Diseases
Assistant Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
March 19, 2025
Wofford Cain Chair and Professor at Baylor College of Medicine
January 22, 2025
Chair, Dept. of Pathology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School
December 11, 2024
Director, Program of Immunogenetics and Translational Immunology, Universidad del Desarrollo
November 20, 2024
Principal Investigator, Seattle Children’s Research Institute/Assistant Professor, University of Washington’s School of Medicine
October 16, 2024
Advancing Genomic Technologies for Insights into Human Diseases
Professor of Genome Sciences, University of Washington
September 18, 2024
Principal Investigator, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
September 18, 2024
Pediatrician and Geneticist, Mass General Brigham Hospital
July 10, 2024
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics and Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine
June 12, 2024
In Search of a More Perfect Clinical Genome: Pearls from the Middle East
Professor of Human Genetics, Alfaisal University/Dept. Chair of Translational Genomics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center
May 22, 2024
Professor, Clinical Genetics/Rare Diseases Research Group Lead, Karolinska Institutet & Head of Clinical Genetics Diagnostic Laboratory, Karolinska University Hospital
April 17, 2024
Applications of Human Brain Organogenesis
Professor, Depts. of Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego
March 20, 2024
Principal Investigator, Ray Lab, Center for Systems Immunology, Benaroya Research Institute
February 28, 2024
February 28, 2024
Assistant Professor/Physician Scientist, Dept. of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine
January 24, 2024
Principal Investigator, Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children’s
December 13, 2023
Assistant Professor, California State University, Northridge
November 08, 2023
Assistant Professor, University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital
October 20, 2023
Director, Disease Gene Engineering, Genomic Medicine Center, Children’s Mercy Kansas City
September 20, 2023
Why We Have the Diseases We Have
Professor, Radboud University Medical Center, the Netherlands
June 14, 2023
Genetics, Ancestry and Health in Latin American Populations
Professor, Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil
May 24, 2023
Uncovering the Genomic Basis of Extremely Severe Forms of Schizophrenia
Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
April 26, 2023
Understanding the Regulation of Our Genome
Assistant Professor, Medical Genetics and Genome Sciences, University of Washington
March 29, 2023
On the Origin of (Segmental) Aneuploidies
Professor, Laboratory of Cytogenetics and Genome Research, Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Belgium
March 22, 2023
Enabling and Improving Gene Discovery Across Diverse and Admixed Populations
Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular & Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine
February 15, 2023
Complex Structural Variation in a Complete Human Genome
Professor, Dept. of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
January 25, 2023
mRNA Retrotransposition: A Driving Force Generating Genetic Novelties in the Human and Other Vertebrate Genomes
Senior Researcher, Hospital Sírio-Libanês, São Paulo, Brazil
December 07, 2023
Mendelian Genomics in the Genetics Age
Assistant Professor, Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
November 16, 2022
Technologies for Visualizing Fully Assembled Genome
Assistant Professor of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
October 12, 2022
Biology in Balance: Human Diploid Genome Integrity, Gene Dosage & Genomic Medicine
Cullen Endowed Chair in Molecular Genetics, and Professor of Pediatrics/Program in Integrative and Molecular and Biomedical Sciences/Program in Translational Biology & Molecular Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
September 21, 2022
Hidden Genetic Variation in Congenital Vascular Malformations
Associate Professor, University of Washington Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetic Medicine and Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, WA
June 01, 2022
Genomic Medicine for Rare and Common Diseases
Head and Professor, Division of Medical Genetics, The Arno G. Motulsky Endowed Chair in Medicine, Joint Professor of Medicine and Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
May 10, 2022
Genomic Structural Variations and Beyond
Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
April 13, 2022
Combining Genetics and Genomics to Decipher Complex Disease
Professor, Bernard & Lusia Milch Chair, The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME
March 09, 2022
Rare Disease Genomics in Latin American Populations
Principal Investigator, International Laboratory for Human Genome Research, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), México
March 01, 2022
Genomic Context and Environmental Stimulation of Copy Number Variation in Budding Yeast
Associate Professor, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
February 09, 2022
The Genetic History of the Peopling of the Americas
Professor, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
November 17, 2021
New Frontiers in African Genomics
Investigator at the Center for Precision Health Research and Head of Childhood Complex Disease Genomics Section at the National Human Genome Research Institute, Bethesda, MD
Support Science Matters
PNRI’s Science Matters seminar series brings leading voices in genetics and biomedical science to our community—sparking conversation, sharing discoveries, and highlighting research that has real-world impact.
We invite companies and organizations who share our passion for innovation, health, and science education to become corporate sponsors of the Science Matters series.
By sponsoring a seminar, your company can:
- Align with cutting-edge genetic research
- Engage with a diverse audience of scientists, students, and science supporters
- Demonstrate your commitment to scientific advancement
Explore sponsorship levels and benefits on our Corporate Sponsorship page and help us bring more science to more people.
Questions
Contact the Development Team via our contact form or call (206) 726-1233 with any questions you may have about giving to PNRI. We appreciate your support.