Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation Presents Mongolia Photo Exhibit, Lecture at Downtown Salt Lake City Library

People Living in Remote, Rarely Visited Locations in Central Asian Crossroads of Mongolia Provide Critical Ancestry Clues During a Time Before Most Written Genealogies Begin. Month-Long Mongolia Photo Exhibit and One-Night Presentation Offer Public Insights from Non-Profit Scientific Organization's Study of Humankind's Genetic Family Tree.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH and ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA (February 27, 2008)—The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), a non-profit scientific organization that has created the world's most diverse and comprehensive collection of genetic genealogy, today announced the opening of a month-long exhibit of 30 photographs from its recent genetic genealogy expeditions to remote, rarely visited locations in Mongolia. Along with the photo exhibit will be a one-night program featuring a lecture by geneticist Dr. Scott Woodward and remarks from the Consul General of the Mongolian Embassy in Wash., DC.

The photo exhibit, which runs March 1-April 1, 2008, is entitled "From The Land Of Genghis Khan: Photographs From the Mongolian Genetic Genealogy Collection Expeditions of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation." Both the exhibit and the lecture are open to the public and will be held in the Lower Urban Room of the downtown Salt Lake City Public Library at 210 E. 400 South. The exhibit will open simultaneously at the National University of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar.

On Friday, March 21, at 6 p.m., Woodward, who is executive director of SMGF and one of the world's leading genetic genealogy researchers, will offer a lecture and discussion that includes Gonchig Ganbold, Consul General of the Mongolian Embassy in Washington, DC and Malan Jackson, Honorary Consul of Mongolia in Utah.

The expeditions were a joint research effort of SMGF and the National University of Mongolia. More than 3,000 DNA samples and related multi-generation pedigree charts from individuals in each of the country's geographic regions, 24 separate ethnic groups and tribes, were collected. All exhibit photographs were taken by Edgar Gomez-Palmieri, director of international outreach for SMGF.

Study of the DNA and genealogy collections from Mongolians in May and August of 2007 may reveal important clues about the genetic flow of the human family through time. Data gathered during the expeditions provide a window into an important period immediately before most written genealogy begins, about 500-700 years ago. At that time, Mongolians, led by Genghis Khan and others, spread through much of Eurasia and the resulting interactions likely contributed a significant genetic component to human populations from eastern Europe through southeast Asia. The expeditions gathered and preserved evidence that represents a national treasure for Mongolia, which is undergoing a renaissance of national identity.

"It was a privilege for me to work on this genetic genealogy project with Mongolians whose rich history, family and clan names stretch back as far as the Tenth Century A.D.," said Gomez-Palmieri. "Our results will shed new light on the deep ancestry of many people curious about where they fit into the human family tree."

For information about other SMGF collection projects, visit www.smgf.org/maps/collections.jspx. The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation was established by the late James LeVoy Sorenson, a biotechnology pioneer and philanthropist. The foundation began building a comprehensive genetic genealogical map of the world in 2000 and the growing repository of information is available to anyone through a free online database at www.smgf.org. Sorenson believed the database's scientific evidence would help show people how each person in the human family is closely linked to every other.


About Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation
The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF; www.smgf.org) is a non-profit research organization that has created the world's largest repository of correlated genetic and genealogical information. The SMGF database currently contains information about more than six million ancestors through linked DNA samples and pedigree charts from more than 170 countries, or approximately 90 percent of the nations of the world. The foundation's purpose is to foster a greater sense of identity, connection and belonging among all people by showing how closely we are connected as members of a single human family. For more information about the foundation's free, publicly available database, visit www.smgf.org.

About the National University of Mongolia
The National University of Mongolia (NUM) is the country's oldest and only comprehensive university and a leading center of science, education and culture. It was established on October 5, 1942 in the capital city Ulaanbaatar. NUM has played a significant role in the development of higher education in Mongolia. After sixty years of dynamic growth, NUM has educated generations of professionals in various fields and its graduates comprise one-third of the country's intellectuals. It has twelve schools and faculties in Ulaanbaatar and campuses in three provinces. In 2006 NUM had an estimated 12,000 students enrolled, including 2,000 graduate students. The University offers a broad range of bachelor's and master's degrees and Ph.D. programs. Visit http://num.edu.mn.