This conversation with D2R Training Program Officer, Anthony Van Kessel, has been edited for length and clarity.聽

Hi Benjamin, thank you for joining me for this chat! You are a Doctoral student working in Claude Bh茅rer鈥檚 group and are a D2R Scholar. Why did you decide to apply for the award?

When the awards were announced, I read through D2R鈥檚 Foundational Axes and saw things like data science and social determinants of health 鈥� I know that these are areas that my research touches on that could fit well into the D2R community, so I decided to apply. And the emphasis on not just getting an award but also joining a community also played a big role.

If I鈥檓 correct, you didn鈥檛 really follow a typical path into genomics research?

That鈥檚 right. I did two bachelors at the University of Central Florida 鈥� one in Forensic Biochemistry and then another in Anthropology with a focus in biological anthropology with a minor in Jewish studies. I was always interested in scientific research that practically impacted people but also in doing 鈥渉ard science鈥� if you will. So, I focused my Master鈥檚 at the University of New Brunswick on molecular biological anthropology 鈥� kind of combining both interests to understand skeletal biology in the ancient past through studying hormone levels. Coming then into genetics, my project now is very anthropological in nature.

What do you mean by that?

I feel that in computational genetics or population genetics, there are people who are studying in this field with interest in doing computer science or people who do population genetics to answer an anthropological question 鈥� I definitely think I am closer to the latter type of researcher. Trying to understand people and their history on a molecular level is really a driving force in population genetics. We are asking questions about how historical events and patterns along with cultural practices influence our biology.

Are you from the U.S. originally?

Yes, I grew up in New York City and went to high school in the suburbs of Miami.

Do you feel like all of your education has come together in your PhD project?

Yes, when the opportunity to work in Claude鈥檚 lab came up when interviewing for PhD programs, the chance to take my science educational background and my anthropological training and work on a project that is socially conscious and scientifically sound was really exciting for me.

And what specifically is your project now focused on?

I am studying the population genetics of Canada鈥檚 Jewish population, taking a particular focus here in Quebec. Historically, population genetics of Jewish peoples have taken a very globalised context, meaning people mostly have been attributed to their ancestral countries of origin. This ignores the context of the particular country they are currently living in. And this could mean things for both anthropological questions about people鈥檚 movements, people鈥檚 history, etc. but also from a healthcare perspective. In Canada, current pre-screenings are based solely on Ashkenazi Jews, so Jewish people of Eastern European descent, and from people living in the United States. Canadian Jews have never been studied in their own right.

So your research really is grounded here in Canada and in Quebec.

Yes, exactly. In Quebec, both Jewish people and French Canadians, as founder populations, are disproportionately susceptible to rare disease. Part of our project is trying to inform health ministries on the prevalence of these rare diseases to ensure that genetic pre-screenings cover the most appropriate diseases for specific populations. For example, Montreal, which is really the hot spot for my research, has the largest population of Jewish people of Moroccan descent in the Western hemisphere, which will understandably influence the type of screenings that are appropriate for the Qu茅bec government.

What are some challenges you face in your research?

I would say that as a Jewish person myself and studying a community that has very much been the subject of race science in the past, you must be very deliberate in the questions you鈥檙e asking and the way you discuss them. Also, to be Jewish historically meant a matrilineal continuation. Being of patrilineal descent doesn鈥檛 make anyone less Jewish when talking about it from a socio-cultural context, but it has implications when studying it from a genetic perspective.

Your work definitely brings in elements of the social sciences. Why is that important in your project?

Having a strong social science background when dealing with a community that has historically been marginalized is essential 鈥� it allows me to have tools to do the research in a way that is both ethical and meaningful to a community without being harmful, which can be undervalued.

D2R is working to further engage members of the social science community. From your perspective, how can more bridges be built between wet lab and social scientists?

My research has always existed on the margin between social science and hard science. I would say that, while I think this applies more to people from hard science backgrounds, there is a preconception that the social sciences and hard sciences are mutually exclusive. But they are not 鈥� I might have a Master鈥檚 of Arts but I did proteomics. That鈥檚 important to communicate to both groups of researchers.

Yes, for sure. Now in the world of big data, you can鈥檛 only have the people whose job it is to acquire the data be the one to determine how to handle the data, from an ethical perspective for example.

Absolutely, and we saw this need recently as well in the context of mRNA therapeutics with the COVID vaccine where, in the United States at least, the initiative to get as many people vaccinated as possible led to the hiring of thousands of sociologists and anthropologists. They evaluated and created action plans to encourage vaccination in communities that have been historically distrustful of vaccinations, particularly due to historic abuses these communities have faced at the hands of health researchers. Why are we seeing these disparities, and how can we actionably change that? The hard sciences need social scientists.

Before we wrap up, is there anything you would like the D2R community to know about you?

Well, a party trick is that I can name every U.S. state capital; I can also do all of Canada鈥檚 provinces and territories, but that鈥檚 less impressive, I鈥檇 say. Also, I am training to run the Montreal Marathon this fall. But if anyone reading this wants to reach out, I am always happy to mentor and collaborate with any social scientists who are interested in bridging the gap between the social and hard sciences.