Posted By: David L. Nelson, 2018 President
In light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the White House’s 2017 Executive Order limiting travel for citizens of select nations, I want to affirm, on behalf of the membership of our Society, that we remain committed to the knowledge that research in the U.S. benefits greatly from the presence and full participation of international researchers in laboratories around the country and world.
ASHG noted in our March 2017 statement opposing the ban that nearly one-third of members reside outside the U.S., and that cross-pollination of ideas across borders is essential for sparking new avenues of inquiry and establishing partnerships. The diversity of experience, perspective, and expertise that comes from a globally connected research community moves science forward, and that benefits all of us. As 2017 ASHG president Nancy Cox noted so eloquently at the time, as geneticists, “we are all students of human variation and we value – indeed, celebrate – the diversity that has contributed to our survival as a species.”
We affirm our commitment to serve and support the international human genetics community and continue to welcome participation of scientists from all nations in the Society’s work and events.
David L. Nelson, PhD, is 2018 President of ASHG. He is a Cullen Foundation Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine, Associate Director of the BCM Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, and Director of the BCM Integrative Molecular and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program.