Krystal Tsosie facts for kids

Dr. Krystal Tsosie (Diné) is a Navajo geneticist and bioethicist. She works at Arizona State University and is a strong advocate for Indigenous data sovereignty. This means she believes Indigenous communities should control their own information and research. She also teaches and is an expert on how genetics and social identity are connected. Her work helps fix unfair differences in genetics research, especially for Indigenous people. Many big news sources like The New York Times and NPR have featured her work.

Krystal Tsosie's Early Life and Learning

Krystal Tsosie grew up in West Phoenix. Her family had to move from their original homes, so she was often the only Native kid in her school. Her mother is from Shonto, Arizona, and her father is from Central Arizona. Her father worked at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center, which is a very large health clinic for Native Americans in the U.S.

Krystal went to Arizona State University (ASU). There, she earned a bachelor's degree in Microbiology. She also received two master's degrees: one in Bioethics and another in Public Health Epidemiology. She first worked on cancer research. She even helped create a special device to treat early cancer.

However, Krystal saw that her tribal community had trouble getting special medical care. So, she decided to focus on genomics and health differences. She wanted to help her community more directly. While studying bioethics, she learned about the Havasupai Tribe v. the Arizona Board of Regents lawsuit. This case showed how important it is for communities to control their own genetic information.

In 2022, Krystal finished her PhD in Genomics and Health Disparities at Vanderbilt University. After that, she became a special fellow at ASU. Later, she joined the faculty there.

Krystal Tsosie's Career and Research

Krystal Tsosie helps lead a study about pre-eclampsia. This is a serious condition that can affect pregnant women. Her study looks at genetic factors in pregnant Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa women. She works closely with the tribe's research board. Krystal's team hopes to find out how environmental and social factors might affect these women. This research aims to lower the high rates of pre-eclampsia in their tribe. She has also researched uterine fibroids in Black women, using genetic information.

Protecting Indigenous Data

Krystal Tsosie strongly supports "genomic and data sovereignty." This means that Indigenous nations have the right to control their own data. They should decide how their information is collected, owned, and used. This is important because, in the past, researchers often used Indigenous data without permission. They did not respect the traditions of those nations.

Krystal works to help tribal nations create their own rules for data privacy. She also helps them set up bio-banks. These are places to store biological samples safely. Her work helps protect the interests of these tribes.

Building Indigenous Science Programs

In 2018, Krystal Tsosie helped start the Native BioData Consortium. This was the first biobank in the U.S. led by Indigenous people. She also works with other Indigenous groups focused on data and genetics.

One of these groups is the Summer Internship for Indigenous Peoples in Genomics (SING). SING holds workshops in places like Aotearoa (New Zealand), Canada, and the United States. These workshops help Indigenous people learn more about genetics and genomics. Based on their workshop projects, the SING Consortium created guidelines. These guidelines help make sure genetic research with Indigenous communities is done in an ethical way.

Krystal also helps organize and teach for Indigidata. This is a week-long workshop. It teaches tribal college and graduate students about data science and computer skills.

From 2022 to 2023, Krystal was a Global Chair for ENRICH. This program creates a network of Indigenous and allied scholars. They work on Indigenous data sovereignty and governance. This includes areas like law, public health, and genetic sciences. As part of this role, she spent a month at New York University.

In 2023, Krystal became an assistant professor at ASU. She is the first Indigenous human geneticist there. At ASU, she is reviewing studies of ancient DNA. She looks at how these studies can work with Indigenous communities.

Krystal Tsosie's Activism

Krystal Tsosie has spoken out about important issues. One example is the discussion around Senator Elizabeth Warren's genetic testing. Krystal defends Indigenous sovereignty. This means the right of Indigenous people to govern themselves. She also protects Indigenous cultural and political identities.

She worries that these identities could be harmed. This happens when non-Natives use DNA tests to find out if they have "Native American" genetic markers. Then, these non-Natives might claim to be Indigenous. Krystal points out that DNA companies often don't have enough samples. So, they can't truly say if a marker means someone has heritage from Native Americans in the United States.

More importantly, she explains that being Indigenous is about more than a DNA test. It's about culture and family ties within a living community. She writes that people who take these tests and claim to belong to specific tribes don't understand this. No DNA test can tell you which tribe you belong to. Making such claims does not respect the tribes' rules for citizenship.

Krystal Tsosie shared her thoughts on Twitter. She said, "to ascribe any power to a DNA-test result dis-empowers those Native Americans who do live according to their traditions. Native American identity is not one of biology, but of culture. And, crucially, “Native American” is a political designation that confers rights. If that designation becomes tied to a DNA test, it could threaten those rights."

Krystal also supports the "decolonization of DNA." This means recognizing that many social, cultural, and colonial factors affect health. These factors are often mixed up with genetics.