Rick Kittles facts for kids
Rick Antonius Kittles is an American scientist who studies human genetics. He was born in Sylvania, Georgia, in the United States. He is a Senior Vice President for Research at the Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Kittles is of African-American heritage. He became well-known in the 1990s for his new ways of tracing the family history of African Americans using DNA testing.
Before his current role, he worked at several universities. These include Howard University (1998–2004), Ohio State University (2004–2006), the University of Chicago (2006–2010), the University of Illinois Chicago (2010–2014), the University of Arizona (2014–2017), and the City of Hope National Medical Center (2017–2022).
About Rick Kittles
Rick Kittles grew up in Central Islip, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in biology in 1989. He received this from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Later, he earned his Ph.D. in biology in 1998. This degree came from George Washington University in Washington, D.C..
In 1990, he started his career as a teacher. He taught at high schools in New York and Washington, D.C. From about 1995 to 1999, he worked on a special project. This was the New York African Burial Ground Project (NYABGP). In this project, researchers studied the remains of 408 African Americans. These remains were from an 18th-century graveyard in New York City. Dr. Kittles collected DNA samples from these remains. He compared them to a DNA database. This helped find out where in Africa these people had originally come from.
In 1998, Dr. Kittles became an assistant professor. He taught microbiology at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He also directed a study network there. This network focused on prostate cancer in African Americans. He worked at Howard University until 2004. In 2004, he became an associate professor. This was at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Today, he leads African Ancestry Inc. This company is based in Washington, D.C. He co-founded it with Gina Paige in 2003. It is a genetic testing service. It helps people find out their African family roots. He also works as an associate professor. This is at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Dr. Kittles has been featured in several TV programs. He appeared in the BBC Two films Motherland: A Genetic Journey (2003) and Motherland – Moving On (2004). He was also in part 4 of the 2006 PBS series African American Lives. On October 7, 2007, he was on the American TV show 60 Minutes. In February 2008, he appeared in part 4 of African American Lives 2.
He has written many scientific papers. These papers are about genetic differences and prostate cancer in African Americans. Through his own DNA analysis, he found out his family mostly came from Dakar, Senegal. He also found connections to Nigeria's Hausa people.
Important Scientific Work
Dr. Kittles was one of the first geneticists to trace African family lines using DNA tests. This led him to start African Ancestry Inc. The company aims to help people of African descent trace their ancestry.
Dr. Kittles is well-known for his work on prostate cancer. However, he also studies other diseases. These include colon cancer, breast cancer, sickle cell anemia, and pulmonary hypertension. He has spent much of his career studying prostate cancer in African Americans. His main goal was to understand how genes and the environment affect the risk of this cancer.
Dr. Kittles has done a lot of research. He has published over 160 peer-reviewed articles. Much of his work focuses on genetic ancestry. He also studies health differences among African Americans and other minority groups. He has helped develop new ideas. These include understanding genetic markers. He also explores how a person's ancestry can help find their risk of disease. More recently, Dr. Kittles and his team have been doing genetic sequencing studies. They are looking for gene changes that affect how a person responds to medicines.
See also
- Jeffrey C. Long
