About me

Hi. I'm a scientist interested in genetics and technology and how they affect our lives.

I am a Research Fellow in the Centre for Policy Futures at The University of Queensland - in Brisbane, Australia - with broad expertise in genetics including conservation genetics, ancient DNA, DNA forensics, and science communication.

I'm excited to be a recipient of the 2018 ABC Top 5 Scientists media residency award. (Link is here). And I’m honoured to be the recipient of a 2019 Queensland Tall Poppy Science Award.

I'm interested in the ways that science and technology impact society, and how society influences the trajectory of science.

I’m particularly interested in privacy issues surrounding genomic data and other emerging technology. My research spans both science and humanities to look at some of the emerging ethical, legal and social issues being created by the advances in genetic technology, in order to inform policy debate on these important issues.

What are the new challenges being presented along with the advances in science and technology?
How can genetic data be integrated to society in a way that benefits everyone equitably?

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Public engagement

I believe that effective communication is key to promoting a better understanding of science.

The 2018 Top 5 Scientist media residency award recipients. Link here

Our articles on genomics, technology, and society have been republished in 81 popular media outlets, including the ABC, SBS, and World Economic Forum.

(Click images for links to full articles)

dna ancestry testing and race screenshot the conversation.JPG

*Our DNA facial prediction article (above) sparked quite a lot of discussion - and the article featured on a few radio shows and podcasts.

Our article 'DNA facial prediction could make protecting your privacy more difficult' was discussed on the Dr Drew Midday Live Show in Los Angeles - with a former US federal prosecutor. (They weren't too familiar with the technology and wondered if it was a thought exercise.)

Listen here (it starts at minute 18:57).

Our article was also part of an interesting discussion on The Future, This Week. Listen here (it starts at minute 24.30)

Australia’s regulation of gene editing technologies (such as CRISPR-Cas9) have recently been amended. We spoke with Nature News about that — and a link to that story (April 2019) is here:

Nature, April 23, 2019. Story by Smriti Mallapaty.

I recently spoke with the Australian Academy of Science about some of the ethical dilemmas surrounding ancestry DNA testing, and some of the issues that I think we should be thinking about and talking about with our digital genetic data.

You can watch that here.

Another theme of my research is thinking about how society impacts science.

This is an interesting and important question. Our recent scientific paper describes an episode in history where politics, strong personalities, and confirmation bias impacted the trajectory of science and the study of evolution. Our paper has generated a fair bit of discussion in the articles below.

(Click images for links to full articles)

How does our collective fascination with DNA ancestry testing interact with our ideas and conversations about race?

ABC Radio National Live Science Podcast: Ockham’s Razor - recorded live at the World Science Festival,

Brisbane, Australia. March 22, 2019.

caitlin curtis_ockhams razor_22MARCH2019.JPEG

Link to listen to the podcast here:

Ockham’s Razor Science podcast, ABC Radio National, March 31 2019. (12 minutes). Listen here

Topic: DNA Ancestry testing and race

I also created a piece for ABC Radio National's The Health Report, about forensic uses of open, crowd-sourced DNA databases.

(Click images for links to audio)

This is a report that I created during my residency at the ABC. (11 minutes). Listen here

I’ve spoken about our articles in a few recent radio and television interviews, and a few of these are included here.

(Click photos for links to interviews)

Spoke with TripleJ HACK (May 3, 2018). Listen here

Spoke with Radio New Zealand (April 3, 2019). (11 minutes) Listen here

Topic: Ancestry DNA testing: why it doesn’t define culture.

Spoke with Radio Adelaide (April 10, 2019) (8 minutes) Listen here

Topic: Ancestry testing technology and how we think about who we are

Spoke with 2SER Radio, Sydney (December 22, 2018). (7 minutes). Listen here

Topic: DNA phenotyping and policy implications

Spoke with Radio Adelaide (December 21, 2018). (8 minutes). Listen here

Topic: Protecting the privacy of our genetic data.

Interview on The Nature of Things with Dr Matt Wright. Radio 2SER 107.3 (Sydney, Australia). December 14, 2017. (7 minutes). Listen here

Topic: Who should have access to our digital genetic information?

Interview on The Daily with Sean Britten. Radio 2SER 107.3 (Sydney, Australia). January 26, 2018.

Topic: What is a DNA marketplace with cryptocurrency?

Interview on Mornings with Leon Compton. ABC Radio Hobart (Tasmania, Australia). October 5, 2017.

Topic: How does DNA forensics work?

Interview on ABC Radio National's Life Matters with Amanda Smith. February 6, 2018 (Australia-wide broadcast). Listen here

Topic: The benefits and potential downsides of direct-to-consumer DNA tests.

Interview on Evenings with Kelly Higgins-Devine. ABC Radio Brisbane. (Queensland, Australia). January 23, 2018.

Topic: How does direct-to-consumer DNA testing work and what are the risks?

Interview on Statewide Drive with Fiona Wyllie. ABC Radio New South Wales. (NSW, Australia). February 6, 2018.

Topic: Direct-to-consumer DNA testing - what are the privacy issues?

Today Show, Channel 9. June 9 2018.

ABC News August 13 2018,

Commercial DNA.
You leave your DNA everywhere you go. But the laws governing what happens to it is a long way behind the technology. Dr Caitlin Curtis is a genetic scientist from UQ, and was part of our 2018 Top 5 Scientists Media Residency Program.
Posted by ABC Science on Wednesday, August 15, 2018

I've provided commentary on issues relating to genetics and genomics for national and international news outlets.

(Click images for links)

Commentary for Reuters (LONDON). August 3 2018 - Link here.

Commentary for ABC News.- June 7 2018 - Link here

Commentary for C/NET - March 22 2019 - Link here

Commentary for ABC News - October 13 2018 - Link here

I recently spoke at a Parliamentary Briefing about some of the privacy, legal and social issues raised by genomics at Queensland Parliament House.

Parliamentary Briefing: Understanding genomics in health care; Premiers' Hall, Queensland Parliament House. August 21 2018. Link here.

I recently gave a public lecture about our work:

Dr Caitlin Curtis. BrisScience Public Lecture. March 5, 2018. SouthBank, Brisbane, Australia.

Link here

Last year saw an incredible surge in demand for direct to consumer genetic tests - but it raises a lot of questions... - What exactly is a genetic test? - How is your privacy protected when you take a genetic test? - Do some companies make money selling your genetic data to third parties?