Jessica Cerdena
University of Connecticut, CT·Social Science
Millions of people have taken direct-to-consumer DNA tests to learn about their health risks and ancestry. Sometimes the results are unexpected, revealing surprising information about family or health.
- Fields
Social Science
Public Health & Epidemiology
- Topics
direct-to-consumer genetic testing
DTC genetic testing
DNA testing
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2027
What they work on
- Examine whether unexpected direct-to-consumer DNA test results change customers' decisions about health risks, using interviews and behavioral observations.
- Test how unexpected genetic results affect family, kinship and other social relationships, using interviews and content analysis of online communication and social media.
- Build a community-based network of people affected by unexpected DNA results to improve communication about the science and lived experience of genetic testing.
More about the research
This project asks how such results change what people decide and do, both about health risks and about family and kinship relationships.
Why it matters
People who receive surprising results from consumer DNA tests may face hard decisions about health and family. By documenting how these results reshape decisions and relationships, the work could help improve communication about genetic testing for consumers, and the community network it builds may give affected people and the public clearer information about what such tests can reveal.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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The school
University of Connecticut: 31 labs on PI Pages, $434M a year on research, 360 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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