Getting to Know...Lee Bitsoi

October 9, 2009

Lee Bitsoi, recently recruited to Georgetown, sits down with the GUMC Update to share his first impressions of GUMC and tells us more about his many roles in and around campus.

GUMC: What is your position at GUMC?
Lee: I currently serve in a joint appointment at Georgetown as a postdoctoral fellow in the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and as a research assistant professor in the Department of Human Science at NHS.

GUMC: What are your specific duties in these roles?

Lee: In my role, I am a co-investigator for research initiatives regarding ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of genomic research and the impact on indigenous people of the U.S., Canada, Australia, India, Mexico and New Zealand.

GUMC: Lee, it sounds like you have a very busy schedule. Do you get the chance to travel with your positions?

Lee: Yes, in fact, I recently traveled with Professor Jeff Collmann, director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, to New Mexico and Arizona to meet with tribal college leaders of Dine College, the tribal college of the Navajo Nation, and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We traveled to these areas in the hopes of establishing partnerships to pursue indigenous research projects, as well as discuss developing pipelines for American Indian students from tribal colleges to attend Georgetown University.

GUMC: What other projects are you currently working on?

Lee: I continue to work with Professor Collmann and various indigenous communities—both nationally and globally—to strengthen existing community based institutional review boards or establish novel approaches to allow for greater understanding of the risks and benefits of genomic research. In addition, Dean Bette Jacobs will join Professor Collmann and me to present our research at the following organizations: Pathways into Health, Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Latinos, Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society.

GUMC: What made you want to devote you career to enhancing educational opportunities for Native Americans?

Lee: I have devoted my career to enhancing educational opportunities for Native Americans to become scientists, science educators and scientifically-informed community members because, we, as Native Americans, need to participate in discussions and policy—making decisions regarding health disparity issues and other challenges. Traditionally, we have always had scientists and doctors, such as ethobotanists and medical healers, so we need to compliment our traditional knowledge base with scientific and medical training to be that much more effective in assisting our tribal nations.

GUMC: What do you find most rewarding about your work?

Lee: What I find most rewarding to knowing that I am assisting indigenous people to fully understand the risks and benefits of genomic research to enable them to make informed decisions about ways to participate in research studies that will address health disparities in their communities. Perhaps, most importantly, I am working with colleagues to develop ways in which the scientific community can work more appropriately and effectively with indigenous communities. The scientific community needs to better understand that the policies and procedures in place to protect indigenous people should not be viewed as anti-scientific, but rather as pro-indigenous.

GUMC: Lee, thank you for sharing your fascinating information with us. We’ll continue to follow your work and wish you the best at your upcoming conferences!




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