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

加州大学欧文分校的博士生Cristina Bejarano将在Zhan Mei博士的指导下，探讨最近公共卫生基因组学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、项目和政策的趋势日益明显。研究人员将重点关注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，科学家和政治家们最近宣布了一个专门的墨西哥基因组。研究目标是：1)了解是否以及为什么一种基于生物学的国家认同概念正在被推广；2)研究这种民族认同观念可能对墨西哥人如何参与和获得国家医疗体系产生的影响。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周年的政治活动中与关键线人进行参与式观察和半结构化访谈；与患者倡导团体、卫生从业人员和其他利益攸关方进行访谈；以及与基因组科学、墨西哥基因组、国家叙事和国家认同相关的媒体和教育材料的文本分析。通过建立科学的社会研究和医学人类学，本研究项目将进一步了解科学与政治、生物公民和生物社会性之间的关系。从墨西哥公共卫生基因组学的特殊案例中获得的知识将促进我们对这些关键主题的理解，并为其他国家发生的类似过程提供见解。支持这项研究也支持了对社会科学家的教育。

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.