Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has opened a new science center, DNA Learning Center NYC, on the campus of the New York City College of Technology in Downtown Brooklyn. Biology lab experiences offered at the center help students and the public see themselves as scientists.

What DNA Says About Our Past and Future, a permanent museum exhibition under development, will present a hopeful message of genetics in our lives. The DNA of any two people is 99.9% identical; racial and ethnic differences acquired as we peopled the globe are, indeed, only “skin deep.”

A gallery within the exhibition—All the World in New York City—will feature photographs of the many races, cultures, and ethnicities represented by the people living today in New York, America’s traditional immigrant city. All of these people are closely related by their common DNA past.

Photographs should tell a story or reflect the heritage of New Yorkers with origins from another part of the world. The portraits of New Yorkers will illustrate migrations that have mixed people and their DNA throughout history.

The judging panel will be chaired by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, a celebrated photographer and public health advocate. Photographs and subject biographies will be judged “blind,” without submitter’s name. The photographers of the top 40 photographs will each receive a $500 award.

There is no entry fee. A maximum of three photos may be submitted per photographer. Entries are welcome from anyone age 18 and older.

• Register/Log in to submit a maximum of three entries. Submissions are saved between sessions.
• The subject biography (approximately 100 words) is important and will be considered in judging.
• Each entry must include a signed Photo Release Form.
• NEW Deadline for submission: June 1, 2022 (11:59 pm EST)

Visit Guidelines for call for entry details.