Talk Overview
Dr. Tshaka Cunningham is a molecular biologist and a Black man of faith. In this short film, the Science Communication Lab explores Dr. Cunningham’s personal and professional identities, and how they unite to help him promote community health through personal genomics.
This short film was produced in partnership with undergraduate biology educators at San Francisco State University and Princeton University. The learning objectives for this film include:
- Recognize that scientific thinking is not at odds with spirituality or faith.
- Broaden understanding of who can be a scientist.
- Examine how a scientist can unite their professional and personal identities, to engage a marginalized community in an authentic way.
- A. Examine why people in marginalized communities (like the Black community) might mistrust science and medicine. B. Recognize that even scientists may not trust all scientific research or approaches.
- Explain how inclusion of marginalized communities in scientific and medical research, particularly genomics research, could benefit those communities specifically.
Speaker Bio
Tshaka Cunningham

Dr. Tshaka Cunningham received his PhD in molecular biology from Rockefeller University and completed postdoctoral training at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. He is the co-founder and CSO of Polaris Genomics, a precision behavioral health company. Dr. Cunningham is a leading advocate for diversity and representation in genomics and is Executive Director of the Faith-Based… Continue Reading
Leave a Reply