News and updates

SING Indigenous Genomics Conference

The SING Indigenous Genomics Conference was held from 23-24th January 2020 at the University of Waikato. Over 130 delegates were in attendance and listened to presentations from over 25 Indigenous presenters on genomics related topics.  The Chief Editor of Nature Genetics attended the conference and has written the February editorial on Indigenous genomics in response to the SING meeting,  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-020-0585-6.

SING Consortia Newsletter: The Expansive Issue

SING has expanded internationally with the aim of discussing uses and limitations of genomics research in Indigenous communities. Including: SING USA, Canada, Aotearoa, and Australia. This expansive issue highlights SING activities and puts a spotlight on key faculty members from each of the partners.

SING Canada

From July 29 – August 4, 2018, the inaugural SING Canada was held at Simon Fraser University
(SFU) near Vancouver, British Columbia. It was hosted by SFU and co-organized with the Indigenous
Science, Technology, and Society (ITS) research group at the University of Alberta. 18 interns and 2 Indigenous community involvement and policy staff members from the Silent Genomes research project attended this workshop.  Participants came from across Canada and the US including Métis, Mi’kmaq, Nishnawbek, Anishinaabe, Cree, Gitxsan, Dakelth, Inuit, Mohawk, Choctaw, and Jñatrjo (Mazahua)/Ñuu Savi (Mixtec) Indigenous people.

Silent Genomes Gathering Ceremony

Maui Hudson and Phil Wilcox attended the gathering ceremony and launch of the Silent Genomes research project on 18/19 July 2018 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada . One of the aims of the projects is to develop the governance policy and protocols to manage an Indigenous Background Variant Library which will be used to improve the quality of genetic diagnosis for First Nations children.

SING Seattle 2018

SING USA was held at the University of Washington in Seattle from 24-29th July 2018. SING Aotearoa conveners Maui Hudson and Phil Wilcox were invited to participate as faculty/mentors and spoke about the development of the cultural guidelines. They were joined by SING Alumni Scholarship recipients Jordan Housiaux and Anezka Hoskins.  It was great spending a week talking about indigenous genomics with over 40 indigenous faculty and students.