Congregation Bet Shalom will present a lecture, “Genes, Jewish History, and Jewish Migration,” by Matthew Kaplan, facility manager of the Functional Genomics Core at the University of Arizona, on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
Kaplan previously served as a staff scientist in the Arizona Research Laboratories division of biotechnology at the UA and as project lead of the Human Origins Genotyping Laboratory, which performs all public testing for National Geographic and IBM’s Genographic Project.
He has worked on several research projects using Y chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA to investigate Jewish population genetics and Jewish population history. In 1999, he developed the protocols for a collaborative project between Michael Hammer, Ph.D.’s laboratory at the UA and the Family Tree DNA, which has grown into the world’s largest DNA testing service for genealogists.
The lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer session. RSVP by Nov. 12 to Sarah at 577-1171 or betshalom@comcast.net.
