DURHAM, N.H. -- This year's Sidore Lecture Series at the University of New Hampshire will focus on the implications of having the ability to determine an individual's genetic code with six talks by visiting scholars in the Memorial Union Building theaters between October and April. All events are free and open to the public. 

With the success of the Human Genome Project and advances that permit individuals to have their genetic code determined, the era of personal genomics is here. Scholars representing multiple areas of human genome and microbiome research will outline and navigate the current state of knowledge. The series will explore how the genomic revolution will affect our lives, and will stimulate debate of the scientific, medical, ethical, legal, and societal implications of sequencing human genomes. 

Wednesday, Oct. 14: "Gut Feelings: How the Microbiome Influences Behavior,"by Jane Foster of the Brain-Body Institute at McMaster University,
Monday, Dec. 7: "Personalized Medicine: Using Integrative Omics to Analyze Complex Disease and Manage Health," by Michael Snyder, director of the Stanford Center for Genomics and Personal Medicine

Spring speakers will includeBarbara Koenig, Institute for Health and Aging at UCSF, and Elaine Ostrander, head of comparative genetics at NIH and a pioneer in the field of canine genetics. For a complete schedule and more information on the speakers visit http://cola.unh.edu/center-humanities/sidore. 

The Saul O Sidore Memorial Lecture Series was established in 1965 in memory of Saul O Sidore of Manchester. The purpose of the series is to offer the university community and the state of New Hampshire programs that raise critical and sometimes controversial issues facing our society. The University of New Hampshire Center for the Humanities sponsors the programs. This year's series is organized by Kelley Thomas, director of UNH's Hubbard Center for Genome Studies and Rick Cote, chair of the Department of Molecular Cellular and Biomedical Sciences. 

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 13,000 undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students.