Jamboree - Meet the Speakers: Dr. Kathryn Johnston

Dr. Kathy Johnston, a retired dermatologist, has been engaged in genealogical research for over 25 years. She has been active in genetic genealogy since 2004 at which time she started collecting DNA samples from her aging parents in order to identify their Y-DNA and mitochondrial DNA lines. When autosomal testing became available, she was one of the first genealogists to compare 23andMe haplotype blocks between individuals. She has had a special interest in the X chromosome since 2008 because of its unique pattern of inheritance and the richness of its ancestry informative markers (AIMs).

Kathy has been active in the DNA Interest Group of the Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS) and the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG). As a volunteer, she helps genealogists understand their direct-to-consumer DNA test results. She is a volunteer administrator for several projects at Family Tree DNA.

Kathy was a volunteer at the first Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013 conference co-sponsored by SCGS and ISOGG. In September 2013, she along with other members of ISOGG, was invited to attend an historic ancestry inference roundtable discussion organized by the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG). In October, 2013 in Boston, she presented a scientific poster during the Ethical, Legal, Social and Policy Issues in Genetics Session at the ASHG 63rd Annual Meeting.

TH013 Thursday June 5, 2:15-3:15 p.m.
Finding Hidden Treasure on the X Chromosome: What genetic genealogists need to know.