Join us on November 1st at 4pm as we host Shoumita Dasgupta in conversation with Sohini Ramachandran to discuss her latest release, Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins: Lessons on Belonging from Our DNA. Signed copies of the book will be available in-store for purchase.
About the book:
A geneticist and internationally recognized anti-racism educator provides a powerful, science-based rebuttal to common fallacies about human difference.
Well-meaning physicians, parents, and even scientists today often spread misinformation about what biology can and can’t tell us about our bodies, minds, and identities. In this accessible, myth-busting book, geneticist Shoumita Dasgupta draws on the latest science to correct common misconceptions about how much of our social identities are actually based in genetics.
Dasgupta weaves together history, current affairs, and cutting-edge science to break down how genetic concepts are misused and how we can approach scientific evidence in a socially responsible way. With a unifying and intersectional approach disentangling biology from bigotry, the book moves beyond race and gender to incorporate categories like sexual orientation, disability, and class. Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins is an invaluable, empowering resource for biologists, geneticists, science educators, and anyone working against bias in their community.
About the author:
Shoumita Dasgupta is the daughter of Bengali immigrants, a woman of color in STEM, and a scientist educator and geneticist. She is Professor of Medicine and Assistant Dean of Diversity & Inclusion at Boston University, a Fulbright Specialist, and a member of the inaugural cohort of faculty affiliates at the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research.
About the moderator:
Sohini Ramachandran is the Hermon C. Bumpus Professor of Biology and of Data Science at Brown University; she joined the faculty there in 2010. Sohini's research program in population genetics focuses on the causes and consequences of human genetic variation, as well as how analyses of human genetic variation underscore our shared humanity. Her research has been recognized with multiple national awards including a Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering in 2019 and as a National Finalist for the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in 2024. She has also received multiple Brown University teaching awards for her courses on statistics and human population genetics.
