John Doucet, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Louisiana’s first certified public health geneticist, will join universities from around the country in promoting the education of genetics as part of the Education Board of the American Society of Human Genetics.

Doucet, who has been a member of the society for 12 years, attended workshops on teaching genetics, “expressed an interest in serving the greater good,” and was selected to fill a vacant spot on the education board.

Representing the University in such a large organization is a great honor, Doucet said.

“Big scientific societies are typically run by people from big schools. It’s remarkable that someone from a small institution like Nicholls will be on this board. It’s a nice honor, and I’m ready to go to work,” Doucet said.

Being part of the board is also about being part of a scientific movement, Doucet explained.

“Physics had their revolution with Einstein, quantum mechanics and so forth. We are now living in the biology revolution because of all this new technology about the human genome is being developed,” Doucet said. “So it is important to serve on the board because education is changing so rapidly, especially in biology and especially in genetics.”

Doucet said being part of the board will allow him to show off student work done during genetics classes in the University’s Department of Biological Sciences. Students are involved in independent research projects and also work on the Web site, “Genetics and Louisiana Families,” which is a collection of educational information collected by Doucet and colleagues about genetic diseases affecting the people of the state. Several students have worked as copy editors for the Web site, and one student has written a chapter for the site as well.

“I think this is a big thing for Nicholls. I’m not even thinking this is a big thing for me, I’m just proud to go out there and represent a small university to show that small universities can engage in this kind of innovative activity, education and otherwise, just like any other university.”

Doucet became the first certified public health geneticist in Louisiana in 2010, after completing the Professional Certificate Program in Public Health Genetics/Genomics at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.

He will be sworn in as a member of the Education Board on March 16 in Washington, D.C.