Participants will hear how experiences of the ancestors are passed to the present. Liz will describe the role of epigenetics in the heritability of ancestral trauma, based on research from the fields of biology, genetics, medicine, and psychology. If you’re looking for a highly technical, reductionist talk—filled with equations, statistics, and probabilities—this talk isn’t for you! Rather, using a warm extemporaneous style, Liz will bring this potentially boring scientific information to life, offering a fascinating new insight into science—in such a way that you can actually understand it—even if you are not a biologist!

When an individual experiences a traumatic event, the expression of the genome is changed, but the underlying DNA remains the same. These changes are stored in the epigenome, and it is the epigenome that transmits the effects of ancestral trauma across generations. Not all epigenetic changes are permanent, but enduring epigenetic changes are heritable. Once the relationship between the environment and all living organisms is understood, and the epigenetic changes that result, it is easier to see why the fate of the ancestors remains tied to today—physiologically, sociologically, and psychologically. With the understanding of transgenerational epigenetic effects, is becomes possible to change, by healing the scars of the past, creating a better present, and creating a better future for all!