Rick Kittles

Dr. Rick Antonius Kittles (born in Sylvania, Georgia, and raised in Central Islip, New York) is a leading American geneticist known for his pioneering contributions to human genetic ancestry research and health equity. He earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1989, where he joined Kappa Alpha Psi, and completed his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at George Washington University in 1998. After a brief period teaching high school biology, Dr. Kittles joined Howard University in 1998 as an assistant professor. There, he co-founded the National Human Genome Center and directed the African American Hereditary Prostate Cancer (AAHPC) Study Network, a nationwide effort to explore genetic predispositions to prostate cancer among African-American men. In the late 1990s, he submitted DNA samples from the historic New York African Burial Ground Project, helping trace the geographic origins within Africa for remains of enslaved ancestors—an innovative blend of anthropology and genetics. That experience inspired him to co‑found African Ancestry, Inc. in 2003 with Gina Paige, a company dedicated to tracing African lineages for individuals of African descent. Dr. Kittles has held professorships and research leadership roles at several major institutions: Ohio State University (2004–2006), University of Chicago (2006–2010), University of Illinois Chicago (2010–2014), University of Arizona (2014–2017), and City of Hope National Medical Center (2017–2022), where he was Founding Director of the Division of Health Equities. Throughout his career, he has focused on the intersections of race, genetic ancestry, and disease predisposition—particularly prostate, colon, and breast cancers, sickle cell anemia, and pharmacogenomics. In August 2022, Dr. Kittles became Senior Vice President for Research at Morehouse School of Medicine, where he oversees the institution's research initiatives and faculty development. He has authored over 240 peer‑reviewed publications, received numerous awards (including Ebony's Power 100 and RIT's Distinguished Alumni Award), and appeared in major documentaries and on programs such as PBS's African American Lives, BBC's Motherland, and 60 Minutes. Dr. Kittles' career reflects a profound dedication to using genetic science to empower individuals, deconstruct socially constructed racial narratives, and address health disparities across communities.