Krystal Tsosie

2022-2023 ENRICH Global Chair

Krystal Tsosie (Diné/Navajo Nation), PhD, MPH, MA is an Indigenous geneticist-bioethicist at the Center for Biology and Society in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. As an advocate for Indigenous genomic and data sovereignty, she co-founded the first US Indigenous-led biobank, a 501c3 nonprofit research institution called the Native BioData Consortium.

Her research can be encapsulated in two main foci: Indigenous population genetics and bioethics. In particular, she focuses on bioethical engagement of Indigenous communities in genomics and data science to build trust. As a whole, her interest is in integrating genomic and data approaches to assess Indigenous variation contributing to health inequities.

At the laboratory bench, she developed and patented a combined targeted ultrasound imaging and chemotherapeutic drug delivery device for treating early metastases in cancer. Krystal’s research and educational endeavors have received international media attention.