Krystal Tsosie facts for kids

Dr. Krystal Tsosie (Diné) is a Navajo scientist who studies genetics and bioethics. She works at Arizona State University. Dr. Tsosie is also an activist who champions the rights of Indigenous peoples to control their own data. This is called Indigenous data sovereignty.

She is an educator and an expert on how our genes and our social backgrounds shape who we are. Her work helps to make genetics fairer for everyone. Many big news organizations have featured her work. These include The New York Times, Nova, and NPR.

Early Life and Education

Dr. Tsosie's family had to move from their traditional homes. Because of this, she grew up in West Phoenix. She was often the only Native American 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. This is the largest Indian health service clinic in the United States.

College Studies

Dr. Tsosie went to Arizona State University (ASU). There, she earned a Bachelor's degree in Microbiology. She also got two Master's degrees. One was in Bioethics, and the other was in Public Health Epidemiology.

She first studied cancer biology. She even helped create a new device. This device used ultrasound imaging and medicine to treat early cancer. But she saw that her tribal community had trouble getting special medical care. So, she decided to focus on genetics and health differences. She wanted to help her community more directly.

While studying bioethics, she learned about a big lawsuit. It was between the Havasupai Tribe v. the Arizona Board of Regents. This case showed how important it is for communities to control their own genetic information.

In 2022, Dr. Tsosie finished her PhD at Vanderbilt University. Her PhD focused on genomics and health differences. After that, she became a special fellow at ASU. She then joined the faculty there.

Career and Research

Dr. 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 women from the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. She works closely with the tribe's research board.

Her team hopes to understand how genes, environment, and culture affect health. This research aims to help Native women. It could lower the high rates of pre-eclampsia in their tribe. She has also studied uterine fibroids in Black women.

Indigenous Data Sovereignty

Dr. 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 different from how researchers sometimes use Indigenous data without permission. They might not respect the nation's traditions.

Dr. Tsosie helps tribal nations create their own rules. These rules cover data privacy and storing biological samples. She also helps them build research spaces. These spaces protect the tribe's interests.

Native BioData Consortium

In 2018, Dr. Tsosie helped start the Native BioData Consortium. This was the first biobank in the U.S. led by Indigenous people. A biobank stores biological samples and data for research.

She works with many other Indigenous data and genetics groups. One is the Summer Internship for Indigenous Peoples in Genomics (SING). This program holds workshops in New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. It helps Indigenous people learn about genetics and genomics. The SING Consortium has published guidelines for ethical genetic research with Indigenous communities.

Dr. Tsosie also helps organize Indigidata. This is a workshop that teaches tribal students about data science.

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

In 2023, Dr. Tsosie became an assistant professor at ASU. She is the first Indigenous human geneticist there. At ASU, she is reviewing studies of ancient DNA. She focuses on how to involve Indigenous communities in research about their ancestors' DNA.

Activism

Dr. Tsosie has spoken out about important issues. She has defended Indigenous sovereignty. This is the right of Indigenous peoples to govern themselves. She also protects Indigenous cultural and political identities.

She explains that DNA tests cannot truly show if someone belongs to a specific tribe. Commercial DNA companies sometimes suggest that certain genetic markers mean someone is "Native American." But these companies often don't have enough samples from Native American populations to make such claims.

More importantly, Dr. Tsosie says that being Indigenous is about more than just DNA. It's about culture, family, and being part of a living community. She points out that DNA tests cannot tell you which tribe you belong to. Claiming tribal membership based on a DNA test does not respect the tribes' own rules for citizenship.

She has stated that giving power to a DNA test result can harm Native Americans who live by their traditions. She emphasizes that Native American identity is about culture, not just biology. She also notes that "Native American" is a political term that gives certain rights. If this term becomes linked to a DNA test, it could threaten those rights.

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