About the KU Center for Genomics
Established in August 2021, KU’s Center for Genomics (KUCG) capitalizes on the ongoing COBRE Center for Molecular Analysis of Disease Pathways, an NIH-funded program, which founded and supports the KU Genome Sequencing Core and focuses on disease-related research. The KUCG seeks to develop an integrated community of scientists at KU that includes both biomedical investigators and those using genomics to study fundamental biological questions of development, behavior, evolution and ecology. Members of the KUCG will have access to COBRE CMADP resources through the Genome Sequencing Core and other campus core facilities.
Initiatives
Initially, the Center will have four main efforts, but we will also work to secure training grants, programmatic grants and more to expand the mission and vision.
We will host two seminars annually with top-genomics researchers as speakers. We will also have a postdoctoral seminar series with seminars about once per month. Finally, we will host an annual genomics symposium.
We will have one call for applications each year, and postdocs will apply to work with one or more affiliated faculty. The position will be a two-year appointment with the hope that we can secure fellowship funding to extend the timeframe. The center will cover salary, fringe and some research funding. The first round application deadline will be in early 2022.
The center will provide several research pilot grants for projects that are likely to result in preliminary data for federal grant proposals. We expect these grants will be $5,000-10,000 with one annual call for proposals in October.
The center will be an opportunity for postdocs to participate in professional development. First, we will provide postdocs with leadership opportunities, such as organizing the annual symposium. Second, we will host professional development workshops throughout the year.
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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
The KU Center for Genomics recognizes the structural inequities within society, academia, and the sciences, which disproportionately impact members of groups discriminated against because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, age, socioeconomic status, family status, veteran status, or other aspects of their identity. We are particularly conscious of our own disciplines’ histories of extractive research and promotion of scientific racism and the ways in which aspects of these histories persist in the disciplines today.
As individuals and as a Center, we are committed to work against these unjust systems through several initiatives. Through the adoption of best-practice recommendations in the literature and ongoing dialogue, we will build an environment that values and supports the participation of people from historically marginalized groups. We will elevate the voices of Black, Indigenous and other marginalized scholars through seminar invitations, research funding, hiring initiatives, and other professional support. We will highlight the roles genetics and biological anthropology have played in the development of scientific racism by hosting seminar speakers, journal club readings, and educational efforts for the general public. Finally, we will encourage members to promote the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and anti-racism throughout their own research, teaching, and mentoring practices.
Recognizing that this is an ongoing effort, we will publish the outcomes of these initiatives in yearly public reports, so that we can track progress and assess ways in which we can improve.
Land acknowledgement
The Center is physically located on the traditional lands of the Wazhazhe Manzhan (Osage) and the Washtáge Mon-zhán (Kaw/Kansa). Other tribes have lived throughout the region known today as Lawrence, Kansas, after relocation or displacement from their original homelands. They were subsequently forcibly removed to make way for settlers in Kansas Territory. Today, Lawrence is home to Native peoples of many different tribes from across the United States, including students, faculty and staff at the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University. We encourage members of the Center, collaborators, and visiting scholars to learn about the history of this land and reflect upon our position within this history and our obligations to Indigenous peoples. We provide several resources as a place to start below: