Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Mexican Genome: The Science and Politics of Public Health Genomics in Mexico

加州大学欧文分校博士生克里斯蒂娜·贝贾拉诺将在梅湛博士的指导下，探索公共卫生基因组学最近制度化的文化和社会影响。在医学和基因研究中，将基因组科学应用于公共卫生研究、项目和政策的趋势越来越大。研究人员将专注于这些发展对理解公民、医疗保健、科学和社会之间不断变化的关系的影响。这项研究将在墨西哥进行，在即将到来的国家纪念日之前，科学家和政界人士最近都宣布了一个专门针对墨西哥的基因组。研究的目标是：1)了解是否以及为什么正在提倡一种基于生物学的国家认同概念；以及2)检查这种国家认同概念可能对墨西哥人如何参与和利用其国家医疗保健系统产生的影响。研究人员将采用多种社会科学方法，包括：在研究机构和庆祝墨西哥独立200周年和墨西哥革命100周年的政治活动中对关键信息者进行参与者观察和半结构化访谈；对患者倡导团体、健康实践者和其他利益攸关方进行访谈；以及对与基因组科学、墨西哥基因组、国家叙事和国家认同有关的媒体和教育材料进行文本分析。通过建立在科学社会学和医学人类学的基础上，这项研究项目将进一步理解科学与政治、生物公民身份和生物社会学之间的关系。从墨西哥公共卫生基因组学的具体案例中获得的知识将促进我们对这些关键主题的理解，并为其他国家正在进行的类似进程提供见解。支持这项研究也支持社会科学家的教育。

University of California, Irvine, doctoral student Cristina Bejarano, supervised by Dr. Mei Zhan, will explore the cultural and social implications of recent institutionalizations of public health genomics. There is a growing trend in medical and genetic research to apply genomic science to public health research, programs, and policies. The researcher will focus on the implications of these developments for understanding the changing relationship between citizens, healthcare, science, and society. The research will be carried out in Mexico, where, in advance of upcoming national anniversaries, a specifically Mexican genomic has recently been announced by both scientists and politicians. The research objectives are: 1) to understand if and why a biologically-based notion of national identity is being promoted; and 2) to examine effects this idea of national identity may have on how Mexicans participate in and have access to their national healthcare system. The researcher will employ multiple social science methods including: participant observation and semi-structured interviews with key informants at research institutions and at political events celebrating the 200th anniversary of Mexican Independence and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution; interviews with patient advocacy groups, health pratitioners, and other stakeholders; and text analysis of media and educational materials related to genomic science, the Mexican genome, national narratives, and national identity. By building on social studies of science and medical anthropology, this research project will further understanding of the relation between science and politics, biological citizenship, and biosociality. The knowledge gained from the particular case of public health genomics in Mexico will advance our understanding of these key themes as well as provide insights into similar processes occurring in other countries. Supporting this research also supports the education of a social scientist.