Dissertation Research: Genetics, Biotechnology and Disease: Group Standards of Collaborative Diabetes Sciences

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This dissertation research project investigates a consortium of genetic scientists as they actively transform DNA labeled with historically specific folk taxonomies of race into substances with biological significance. The consortium under examination includes scientists who have formed an alliance, which is transdisciplinary, transnational, and is comprised of public and private academic, clinical, nongovernmental, biotechnological, and state funded institutions. This investigation is anchored with a subset cluster within The Consortium comprised of scientists from University of Chicago in collaboration with University of Washington, University of Texas Health Sciences, and Decode Genetics, Inc, an Icelandic biotechnology firm. As an ex-officio member of The Consortium, and by following DNA data sets through the pathways of collaborative research back to their points of origin, the researcher will investigate how DNA taken from racially marked populations is transformed into a genetic understanding of Type 2 Diabetes. The genetics of diabetes is a rich area by which to investigate the use and definition of race in biomedical research because its risk factors are said to include diet, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and membership in various racial and/or ethnic groups. The use of DNA from racially identified populations presents a challenge for medical research, however, because the genetic markers and their contributions vary between and within populations. Further, the environmental risk factors for these diseases make the isolation of genetic causes problematic. Still, the parsing of populations by race is the first stage in the genetic epidemiology of diabetes. While the historical record of the advancement of biological differences of race demonstrates brutal consequence, a summary indictment of biological race often overlooks the ways biological and social knowledge is produced. Harrison (1995) points out that the critique of the biological concept of race led to a "no race" position in favor of ethnicity. However, this does not explain why racial social categories persist in many situations. Drawing upon the social studies of technoscience and medicine as well as critical theories of race, this project consists of interviews and sustained observation of scientists in their places of work, at scientific meetings and of their collective conversations about the power of data sets and experimental results. The heterogeneously positioned researchers in this collaborative venture requires the standardization of race (biological and social) in order to compare results, combine data sets and make generalizable scientific claims. Thus, this project investigates the strategic production of disease-gene carrier-populations, (the stated beneficiaries of the collaborative enterprise), and goes beyond the simple binarisms of biological versus social race. Finally, this examination of the epidemiology (genetic and social/ environmental) of Type 2 Diabetes evaluates the emerging significance of genetic science for the prevention and cure of complex diseases and assesses the consequences of the collaborative practices of biomedical genetic science.