Katherine Borges - Speaker Profile

Talk Title: Epigenetics for the Genetic Genealogist

Member - I am a member of Southern California Genealogical Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Colonial Dames of the XVII Century.

Day Job(s) - Director of ISOGG, President of the Salida Chamber of Commerce

Night Job - I co-founded and became Director of the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), which promotes and educates about genetic genealogy to over 8,000 members in 70 countries. We work to increase professional standards in the practice, research, and discussion of relevant issues in DNA testing, interpretation, and ethics. I now give many presentations on genetic genealogy to groups across the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as administering several surname, regional, and haplogroup DNA projects.

How did you get into genealogy?

I started doing genealogy in 2000 after the passing of my last grandparent. I realized that if I didn't start doing genealogy now, a lot would be lost.

What about your involvement with genetic genealogy?
I learned about genetic genealogy from a speaker at a Daughters of the American Revolution meeting and became a DNA Project Administrator 11 years ago this month! (Oct).

So what will you be talking about?
Learn what Epigenetics is and why you need to learn about it for genetic genealogy. This presentation includes a brief history of this nascent field including both animal and human studies. Knowledge of epigentics can give you clues to mutations in your DNA.

Where can people get more information about you or your topic?

• Everyone should join ISOGG - there is loads of support and a dedicated community of genetic genealogists just waiting to help you 
• The ISOGG wiki is a great place to get up-to-date information about the latest to do with DNA and DNA testing 
• One of the projects I administer is the Ireland mitochondrial DNA project

Previous Talks at GGI

GGI2018 - Introducing DNA Painter
The DNA Painter website is a user-friendly website packed with tools to help you analyse your DNA matches (no matter which company you have tested with). I'll review the tools available and how they can help you in practice, including the DNA Painter itself, the Shared cM Tool, and the WATO tool.

GGI2014 - GGI2017: DNA Testing Basics - I'll be discussing the basics of DNA testing and helping people understand what test might be best for them to take. This is perfect for the complete beginner or for people who have heard about DNA but want to know a little bit more detail. I'll be talking about all three types of DNA test and what each type of test can do for you. By the end of the talk you should have a much better idea of what kind of questions in your own family tree DNA can help you answer.

These lectures are sponsored by FamilyTreeDNA and organised by volunteers from ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy).


You can watch a video of Katherine's previous presentation by simply clicking on the image below. To watch it in Full Screen, click on the "square" icon in the bottom right of the screen.