"Elephant in the Room - Unboxed" with host Suzette Chang and guest Dr. Jennifer Caldwell dives into the importance of genetic testing, health equity, and community-centered research—especially for melanated communities often overlooked in medical studies.
Dr. Caldwell, a public health geneticist, shares her journey from aspiring doctor to advocating for culturally tailored health education. She discusses:
Barriers in healthcare access and historical distrust in medical systems.
Her groundbreaking projects, like the Genesis AI Project, which co-creates genetic education with communities.
The Linking Gains study, exploring how genetic risk knowledge impacts health behaviors in Black communities.
The urgent need for self-advocacy—from decoding family medical histories to challenging dismissive doctors.
The conversation also tackles cultural myths around food, diabetes, and body image, emphasizing that "knowledge is power" for healthier lives.
Dr. Caldwell is a human geneticist with an interest in combining genetic ancestry analysis and community engaged research strategies. Her research uses interdisciplinary research designs to observe genetic, environmental, and cultural factors that contribute to chronic health disparities. Based on her interest in epigenetics, Dr. Caldwell’s study designs combine observing genetic traits, social determinants of health and behavioral risk factors that impact health disparities.