Research on the genetics of Psychiatric, Neurologic, and Behavioral (PNB) phenotypes reveals a panorama of complexity that creates several challenges: 1) the data are difficult for clinicians to assimilate and integrate into their practices, and even more so for patients and other members of society to understand and use; 2) because the traits investigated by PNB geneticists often have significance for our self-perceptions, new data can challenge our self-images in fundamental ways.

Advances in psychiatric genetics are likely to offer major diagnostic and therapeutic benefits, but also legal and social-related risks, to individuals who were diagnosed with, or have a proclivity for, psychiatric disorders. In response, courts and policy-makers will have to ensure that psychiatric genetic data are used to promote, and not to obstruct, equality, justice, and social inclusion.

A big data ecosystem is evolving in our society in which people may have, or feel they have, little control over the flow of their personal health information, and thus their privacy. Further, although there has been significant discussion related to big data and privacy at the highest levels of government, there is little consensus among scholars and stakeholders as to what privacy actually is, not to mention a lack of data from individuals as to personal conceptions of privacy.

This project will analyze how US white nationalists are appropriating, adapting, politically mobilizing and changing themselves in response to contemporary genomics research. White nationalists have gained public prominence since 2015 trying to bring greater visibility to their movement and policy ideas. Ideas from genetics have been prominent in their public pronouncements and in online discussions among white nationalists.