Race, Methodology, and Social Construction in the Genomic Era

DNA segments can be used to distinguish among individuals and populations, but such differentiation of the population is not consistent with any known system of racial classification. In this article we elaborate on this core idea and discuss how it should influence genetic and genomic research on health and prisons in the United States. For studies involving racial classification and inequality, we provide methodological recommendations for addressing both the structure of race and gene expression of individuals and groups.