Doctoral Dissertation Research, Anthropos: Being Human at the State-of-the-Art. New Genetic Technologies and Scientific Lives

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This dissertation research project is a field study on the island of Kosrae, Micronesia, which will form an integral component of a larger study looking at the shifts in molecular biology that are occurring as the human genome is being sequenced and increasing amounts of human genetic data are being produced. This particular sub-study will involve an ethnographic analysis of a genetic research study being carried out on an isolated island population. Isolated populations are often used to identify specific genetic mutations. The use of such populations is highly controversial. This study will particularly focus on a genetic screen being done on the population of Kosrae, Micronesia, in which a scientific team from the Rockefeller University is looking for genetic mutations involved the onset of Syndrome X, a syndrome which is comprised of Type II Diabetes, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and obesity. An ethnographic analysis will be done focusing on the interactions between the Kosraen islanders and the scientific research team conducting the study.