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Faculty
Faculty

Fatimah Jackson

Professor

  • Biology
  • College of Arts & Sciences

Biography

Dr. Fatimah Jackson received her Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. (cum laude with Distinction in all Subjects) from Cornell University. Her doctoral dissertation research was on The Relationship of Certain Genetic Traits to the Incidence and Intensity of Malaria in Liberia, West Africa. She has conducted research on (and is particularly interested in): 1.) Human-plant coevolution, particularly the influence of phytochemicals on human metabolic effects and evolutionary processes and 2.) Population substructure in peoples of African descent, developing Ethnogenetic Layering as a computational tool to identify human microethnic groups and differential expressions of health disparities. Trained as a human biologist, Dr. Jackson has published extensively in such journals as Human Biology, Biochemical Medicine and Metabolic Biology, Journal of the National Medical Association, American Journal of Human Biology, Annals of Human Biology, BMC Biology, and most recently the American Journal of Public Health. Dr. Jackson's research has been funded by: USAID, Ford Foundation, Huber Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, NIH (NIMHD and NHGRI), Wenner-Gren Foundation, and EPA. Dr. Jackson has taught at Cornell University, University of California - Berkeley, University of Florida, University of Maryland - College Park (where she is Distinguished Scholar Teacher and Professor Emerita), University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and now at Howard University. She has been a Visiting Scholar at University of Georgia and University of Khartoum in Sudan and she was a Senior Fulbright Fellow in Egypt. She has been awarded the Nick Norgan Award for 2009 Best Article Published in Annals of Human Biology. In 2012 she was the first recipient of the Ernest E. Just Prize in Medical and Public Health Research, Avery Research Institute, College of Charleston and Medical University of South Carolina (University of South Carolina). In 2012, she was also Coined by Rear Admiral Dr. Helena Mishoe, National Institutes of Health, NHLBI and US Public Health Service.

Education & Expertise

Education

cum laude with Distinction in all Subjects

B.A.
Cornell University
1972

M.A.
Cornell University
1978

Ph.D.
Cornell University
1981

Expertise

Genetic variation in peoples of African descent

Human-plant coevolution

Gene-environment interactions in chronic disease

Academics

Academics

Biological Anthropology and Human Evolution (BIOL412)

Human Diversity and Evolutionary Genetics (BIOL475)

Research

Research

Funding

Research, Fletcher Foundation, Oasis Scientific, (2006 - 2009) PI
Research, NIH-NIMHD and NHGRI, Wenner-Gren Foundation (2011-2012); 
PI for International Conference on The Genetics of the Peoples of Africa 
and the Transatlantic African Diaspora, 2012 
Research Training, Marie Curie Actions, EUROTAST, EU. (2012-2017) Associate Partner
Cooperative Agreements with National Park Service. (2013-present) PI 

Group Information

The Jackson Research Laboratory

The Jackson Research Lab focuses on the development of models to facilitate our understanding of human diversity and microevolution. Towards that end, the Jackson Research Laboratory is focused on integrative assessments of gene-environment interactions including human-plant coevolution, epigenomic consequences of cultural practices, anthropological genetics, and quantification of social and behavioral factors influencing human biology. 

 

The W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory

The Cobb Research Lab houses the remains of the Cobb Collection of Human Skeletal Remains and the New York African Burial Ground. Scholars interested in the skeletal and dental biology, genetics, disease history, and social history of these collections are invited to conduct research on these collections. Dr. Fatimah Jackson is the Director and Curator of the Cobb Research Laboratory.

Cobb Research Lab Office 232 Douglass Hall 
Cobb Research Lab Telephone: 202-806-5019 

Accomplishments

Accomplishments

Director, W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory, Howard University

Fellow, Human Biology Association

Distinguished Scholar Teacher, University of Maryland, 1995

First Recipient of Ernest E. Just Prize in Medical and Public Health Research,

Avery Research Institute, College of Charleston and Medical University of South Carolina (2012)

Awarded Nick Norgan Award for 2009 Best Article Published in Annals of Human Biology.

Coined by Rear Admiral Dr. Helena Mishoe, National Institutes of Health,

Related Articles

What could you do with 400 years of biological history on african americans?

Jackson F, Jackson L, Cross C, Clarke C. What could you do with 400 years of biological history on african americans? Evaluating the potential scientific benefit of systematic studies of dental and skeletal materials on African Americans from the 17th through 20th centuries. Am J Hum Biol. 2016 Jul;28(4):510-3. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22821. Epub 2016 Jan 9.

A Study on the Receptivity to Cancer Prevention Among African American Muslims.

Obuobi SR and Jackson F 2014 A Study on the Receptivity to Cancer Prevention Among African American Muslims. Journal of Social Science for Policy Implications. 2(2) June:01-17. http://aripd.org/journals/jsspi/Vol_2_No_2_June_2014/1.pdf

Let minority-serving institutions lead

Jackson F, Lee CM, Taylor S. Let minority-serving institutions lead. Science. 2014 Aug 22;345(6199):885. doi: 10.1126/science.345.6199.885-c.

Gene–environment interactions in human health: case studies and strategies for developing new paradigms

Jackson, FLC 2014 Gene–environment interactions in human health: case studies and strategies for developing new paradigms and research. Frontiers in Genetics, 29 August 2014 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00271methodologies http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fgene.2014.00271/full

Conceptual shifts needed to understand the dynamic interactions of genes, environment, epigenetics,..

Jackson, FLC; Niculescu MD, and Jackson, RT 2013 Conceptual shifts needed to understand the dynamic interactions of genes, environment, epigenetics, social processes, and behavioral choices. American Journal of Public Health. October 2013, Vol. 103, No. S1, pp. S33-S42.doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301221

Illuminating cancer health disparities using ethnogenetic layering (EL) and phenotype segregation network analysis

Jackson, F. 2006 Illuminating cancer health disparities using ethnogenetic layering (EL) and phenotype segregation network analysis (PSNA). J Cancer Education 21(1):69-79. http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/17020506