Vivian Ota Wang

 

Tuesday, February 7
Vivian Ota Wang
Location: 4:00pm - 5:00 pm Student Union Theatre

What Race and Genomics Are and Aren't in Meaning and Measurement

Dr. Ota Wang will discuss the historical, social, and scientific intersections for understanding genomics, race, and racial identity. Issues and implications for decreasing health disparities in clinical practices, research, and policy will be discussed.

Vivian OTA WANG, MS, MPhil, Ph.D., CGC, FACMG is a Program Director at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is currently responsible for the submission, management and oversight of controlled access genotype/phenotype datasets for the NHGRI and the National Cancer Institute/ NHGRI Cancer Genome Atlas.  She has served as an NIH Agency Representative to the National Science and Technology Council of the Executive Office of the President in the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office under the Bush and Obama administrations, where she was responsible for developing federal interagency science R & D, ethical, legal, and social policies and leading public participation activities for nanoscale science and nanotechnology.  Previously she served as a Senior Advisor to the Director of NIH’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and a Program Director of the NHGRI-NIH Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications Research Program.

Prior to joining NIH, she held tenure-track faculty positions at Rutgers, Arizona State, and Vanderbilt universities where she maintained a research program focused on race and racial identity issues related to research ethics, program development and  evaluation, and public engagement in psychology, genomics, and public health.

Dr. Ota Wang has served on numerous national and international advisory committees, review panels and editorial boards for US Federal agencies, professional organizations, and international organizations including the US Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Agriculture, the  United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) , and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She was Chair of the National Society of Genetic Counselors Ethics Subcommittee and was a voting member on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA), Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee for Isosorbide dinitrate/ hydralazine (BiDil), the first FDA approved “race-specific” drug.  She currently serves on the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Human Research and the committee’s Ethics Committee Liaison.

Dr. Ota Wang’s accomplishments have been recognized through university, professional, and national awards, honors, and commendations including the: Arizona State University Dean’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity (2000)], National Society of Genetic Counselors Special Projects Fund Award; Asian American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Contributions Award; American Psychological Association’s Board of Scientific Affairs Meritorious Research Service Commendation; U.S Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service, two NIH Director’s Awards, four National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI-NIH) Merit Awards, eleven National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI-NIH) Performance Merit Awards, the Colorado College Louis T. Benezet Award and the Teachers College – Columbia University Distinguished Alumnus Award. She also has been featured in  the Teachers College – Columbia University‘s Alumni Magazine and Oral History Archive.  

Dr. Ota Wang received a BA in Biology from Colorado College, an MS in Genetic Counseling from the University of Colorado and an MPhil and PhD in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University.  She completed her psychology pre-doctoral internship at the NYU -  Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine.  She is an elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association, a Fellow of the American Medical Association’s American College of Medical Genetics, a Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Genetics, a Diplomate of the American Board of Genetic Counseling, a Clinical Laboratory Specialist in Cytogenetics, and a licensed psychologist.