# Fatimah Jackson

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{{Short description|Biologist, anthropologist and educator}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson
| image             = 
| othername         = 
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| birth_name        = 
| birth_date        = 
| birth_place       = Denver, Colorado
| death_date        = 
| death_place       = 
| burial_place      = 
| workplaces        = [University of North Carolina](/source/University_of_North_Carolina), Professor, 2009 – Present<br>[W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory](/source/W._Montague_Cobb_Research_Laboratory), Director, 2013 – Present<br>[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill), Professor, 2009 – 2013<br>Institute of African American Research, Director, 2009 - 2013,<br>[University of Maryland, College Park](/source/University_of_Maryland%2C_College_Park), Professor Emerita, 1990 - 2011<br>[University of Florida](/source/University_of_Florida), Associate Professor, 1986 - 1990<br>[University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley), Assistant Professor, 1981 - 1986
| alma_mater        = [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University)
| years_active      = 
| known_for         = [Biologist](/source/Biologist), [Anthropologist](/source/Anthropologist)
| awards            = Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award
}}
'''Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson'''<ref name= knudson>{{cite book| url= http://wonderwise.unl.edu/02teach/afrplbio.pdf | title= Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson Biography| first= Mary| last= Knudson| year= 1997 | publisher= University of Lincoln| place= Lincoln, Nebraska| via= UNL.edu}}</ref> is an American biologist and anthropologist.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Let minority serving institutions lead the way| first1= Fatimah |last1= Jackson |first2= Clarence M. |last2= Lee | first3= Sherese |last3= Taylor |url-access= subscription| pmid= 25146280 | doi= 10.1126/science.345.6199.885-c| format= Letter| url= https://www.science.org/content/article/elsewhere-science-22-august-2014| journal= Science |date= 22 August 2014 | volume= 345 | issue= 6199 | page= 885 |accessdate= 5 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Seabrook|first1=John|title=Flash of Genius: And Other True Stories of Invention| publisher= Macmillan |url=https://archive.org/details/flashofgeniusoth00john |url-access= registration |page= [https://archive.org/details/flashofgeniusoth00john/page/124 124]|isbn= 9780312535728|date=2008-09-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Reardon|first1= Jenny |title=Race to the Finish: Identity and Governance in an Age of Genomics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uj-Wx2RtlRUC&pg=PA131 |isbn=978-1400826407 |date= 2009-02-09|publisher= Princeton University Press }}</ref> She is a professor of biology at [Howard University](/source/Howard_University) and Director of its Cobb Research Laboratory.

== Early life, family and education==
Jackson was born and raised in [Denver](/source/Denver), [Colorado](/source/Colorado).<ref name= knudson />{{rp|7}} Her mother was raised in [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts), [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts).<ref name= knudson />{{rp|7}} Fatimah's father was a mechanic who died when she was six years old.<ref name= knudson />{{rp|7}} One of her great-grandmothers was descended from [Choctaw](/source/Choctaw) people and was an herbalist.<ref name= knudson />{{rp|9}} She attended elementary school, junior high school, and high school which were predominantly African-American.<ref>{{cite journal| title= In conversation with Fatimah Jackson: The life and career of an African American Muslim biological anthropologist| first= Fatimah |last= Jackson |journal= [Feminist Anthropology](/source/The_Association_for_Feminist_Anthropology) | publisher= [American Anthropological Association](/source/American_Anthropological_Association) | interviewer= Sameena Mulla| date= 20 September 2020 | volume= 1 | issue= 2 | pages= 155–164 | doi= 10.1002/fea2.12017| s2cid= 224880322 | url= https://epublications.marquette.edu/socs_fac/289 | access-date= | url-access= subscription }}</ref>

After high school, she attended the [University of Colorado](/source/University_of_Colorado).<ref name= knudson />{{rp|9}} She transferred to [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University), however, where she earned her B.A. (cum laude and with distinction in all subjects), M.A., and Ph.D. from [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University).<ref name= Bio-Howard /> Her doctorate was on 'The Relationship of Certain Genetic Traits to the Incidence and Intensity of Malaria in Liberia, West Africa'.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=Fatimah Jackson |url=https://humanorigins.si.edu/about/broader-social-impacts-committee/members-member-resources/fatimah-jackson |access-date=2025-03-30 |work=The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program |language=en}}</ref> She trained in human biology.<ref name= Cobb-Our /> Both she and her husband, Robert Jackson, spent years performing research in Africa.<ref name= knudson />{{rp|10}}

While in Tanzania, in 1974, Jackson contracted and nearly died of malaria. She was temporarily blind and unable to walk but recovered. The experience led her to research malaria throughout her career.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://uwm.edu/anthropology/womens-history-month-fatimah-collier-jackson/ | title=Women's History Month - A tribute to Fatimah Collier Jackson | date=3 April 2023 }}</ref>

== Career ==
In the 1970s, Jackson taught science education in Tanzania. She would use cultural examples to explain scientific information, in order to make it relatable to people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fatimah Jackson |url=https://sciencereligiondialogue.org/resources/profiles-listing/jackson/ |access-date=2025-10-10 |website=AAAS - DoSER |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1981 she became assistant professor at [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley) in its Department of Anthropology before moving to the [University of Florida](/source/University_of_Florida) in 1986 as associate professor. She became professor emerita of applied [biological anthropology](/source/biological_anthropology) at the [University of Maryland](/source/University_of_Maryland%2C_College_Park) after teaching there for 20 years (1990–2011), which was recognised by a Distinguished Scholar Teacher Award in 1995.<ref>{{cite web| title= Fatimah Jackson, Ph.D | first= Fatimah| last= Jackson |url= http://www.bsos.umd.edu/anth/faculty/fjackson| publisher= College of Behavioral & Social Sciences, University of Maryland| website= bsos.umd.edu| url-status=bot: unknown| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20090604021810/http://www.bsos.umd.edu/anth/faculty/fjackson|archivedate=June 4, 2009 |accessdate= 2013-04-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fatimah Jackson, Ph.D: Background Summary |url=http://www.bsos.umd.edu/anth/faculty/fjackson/bio.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505171715/http://www.bsos.umd.edu/anth/faculty/fjackson/bio.htm |archive-date=May 5, 2009 |access-date=April 5, 2013 |website=bsos.umd.edu |publisher=College of Behavioral & Social Sciences, University of Maryland |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> In 2009 Jackson held a professorship and director role in biological anthropology at the [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill) (UNC). She became a professor of biology and director of the W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory at Howard University in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=CRL Director, Fatimah Jackson Named STEM Woman Researcher of the Year |url=https://provost.howard.edu/sites/provost.howard.edu/files/2023-06/CRLNewsSpring2017.pdf |accessdate=November 27, 2019 |website=cobbresearchlab.com |publisher=W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory, Howard University}}</ref> Jackson served as director of UNC's [http://iaar.unc.edu/ Institute of African American Research] from 2009 to 2011.<ref>{{cite web| website= uncnews.unc.edu| url= http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2715/138/|title=Jackson to direct UNC's Institute of African-American Research |date= July 21, 2009 | publisher= The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20130317102724/http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/2715/138/|archivedate=March 17, 2013|url-status= dead |accessdate= April 5, 2013}}</ref> She serves now as the director/curator of the W. Montague Cobb Research Lab.<ref name="Cobb-Our">{{cite web |date= |title=Cobb Biological Anthropology Laboratory |url=https://provost.howard.edu/cobblab |access-date=February 5, 2021 |website=cobbresearchlab.com |publisher=W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory}}</ref> Her research on peoples of recent African-descent also led to appearances on the [PBS](/source/PBS) programs ''[African American Lives](/source/African_American_Lives)'', ''[Nova](/source/Nova_(American_TV_program))''<ref>{{cite episode |title=Secrets in Our DNA |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/secrets-our-dna-preview-vpkct1/ |series=[Nova](/source/Nova_(American_TV_program)) |via=[PBS](/source/PBS).org |year=2021 |publisher=[WGBH](/source/WGBH_Educational_Foundation)}}</ref> and the BBC's ''[Motherland](/source/Motherland_(British_TV_series))''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Motherland: A Genetic Journey |url=https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cvideo_work%7C1784984/motherland-1-genetic-journey}}</ref>

== Research ==
Jackson specializes in the study of human-plant coevolution<ref name= Bio-Howard>{{cite web| title= Fatimah Jackson| url= http://www.biology.howard.edu/faculty/jackson/jackson.html | url-status= dead| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20190715083308/http://www.biology.howard.edu/faculty/jackson/jackson.html| archivedate= July 15, 2019| publisher= Department of Biology, Howard University| access-date= February 5, 2021}}</ref> and anthropological genetics, especially African human genetics and population biological substructures in peoples of African descent.<ref name= Darwin-JBHE>{{Cite web| title= Fatimah Jackson to Receive the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award |url= https://www.jbhe.com/2020/03/howard-university-scholar-to-receive-the-charles-r-darwin-lifetime-achievement-award/| via= JBHE.com| work= The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education| date= March 20, 2020| access-date= February 5, 2021}}</ref> For example, genetic changes in human evolution due to cultural migrations.<ref name= WISE /> Another example is the influence of [phytochemical](/source/phytochemical)s on human [metabolic](/source/Metabolism) effects.<ref name="Cobb-profile">{{Cite web |title=Fatimah Jackson |url=https://profiles.howard.edu/fatimah-jackson |access-date=2020-06-10 |website=provost.howard.edu/cobblab |publisher=W. Montague Cobb Research Laboratory |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name= knudson />{{rp|4}} She has also conducted work in gene-environment interactions in chronic disease.<ref name= Bio-Howard /> She developed ethnogenetic layering as a computational tool to identify human microethnic groups and quantitative approaches to understanding the effects of population stratification on health disparities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Center for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora - Fatimah L.C. Jackson |url=https://csaad.nyu.edu/people/fatimah-l-c-jackson/ |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=Center for the Study of Africa and the African Diaspora |language=en-US}}</ref>

A significant portion of her research is dedicated to examining the properties of cassava, a starchy root similar to a potato. Jackson's studies reveal that individuals in Liberia, West Africa, who consume considerable quantities of cassava exhibit immunity against certain illnesses. Notably, they display reduced rates of [sickle cell anemia](/source/Sickle_cell_disease) and a decreased susceptibility to [malaria](/source/malaria) compared to those with lower cassava consumption.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wayback Machine |url=https://wonderwise.unl.edu/02teach/afrplbio.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227180758/https://wonderwise.unl.edu/02teach/afrplbio.pdf |archive-date=2023-12-27 |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=wonderwise.unl.edu}}</ref>

Jackson is the Director and Curator of the Cobb Research Laboratory at Howard University<ref>{{cite web | url=https://profiles.howard.edu/fatimah-jackson | title=Fatimah Jackson &#124; Howard Profiles }}</ref> where she conducts studies on African-American biological history with access to the largest collection of African-American skeletal and dental remains in the world.<ref name= WISE />

Jackson has published in many scientific and scholastic journals, including ''[Human Biology](/source/Human_Biology_(journal))'', ''[Biochemical Medicine and Metabolic Biology](/source/Biochemical_Medicine_and_Metabolic_Biology)'', ''[American Journal of Human Biology](/source/American_Journal_of_Human_Biology)'', and ''[Journal of the National Medical Association](/source/Journal_of_the_National_Medical_Association)''.<ref name= Cobb-Our /> In 2008, Jackson published a paper using the method of ethnogenetic layering (EL) for analysis of health disparities across micro ethnic groups (MEG). The current use of racial models for analysis of variation in disease may fail to capture medically relevant information. EL relies on computational approaches by using [GIS](/source/Geographic_information_system)-facilitated maps to produce geographical regional profiles which are used to better understand disease risk. Some incorporated information includes local historical demography, genetic diversity, cultural patterns, and specific chronic disease risks (such dietary and toxicological exposures).<ref>{{Cite journal |pmid = 18428008|year = 2008|last1 = Jackson|first1 = F. L. |title = Ethnogenetic layering (EL): An alternative to the traditional race model in human variation and health disparity studies |journal = Annals of Human Biology |volume = 35|issue = 2|pages = 121–44|doi = 10.1080/03014460801941752|s2cid = 52802335}}</ref>

==Honors and awards==
She won the Nick Norgan Award in 2009 for the Best Article Published in ''Annals of Human Biology''.<ref name= Cobb-profile /> She was awarded the Ernest E. Just Prize in Medical and Public Health Research by Avery Research Institute of [College of Charleston](/source/College_of_Charleston) and [Medical University of South Carolina](/source/Medical_University_of_South_Carolina) in 2012 as its first recipient.<ref name= Cobb-profile /> Furthermore, in 2012, she had the honor of being coined by Rear Admiral Dr. Helena Mishoe, National Institutes of Health, NHLBI, and US Public Health Service.<ref name=":0" />

In 2017, she received the [STEM](/source/STEM) Woman Researcher of the Year from Howard University.<ref name= WISE>{{Cite web| title= Dr. Fatimah Jackson| url= http://wisemuslimwomen.org/muslim-woman/dr-fatimah-jackson/ |website= WISEMuslimWomen.org| date= 8 September 2019 | publisher= Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality & Equality |access-date= 2020-06-10}}</ref> That same year, she received the Outstanding Service Award from the Department of Biology at Howard University.<ref name= Cobb-profile />

In 2020, Jackson was awarded the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award from the [American Association of Physical Anthropologists](/source/American_Association_of_Physical_Anthropologists). She is the first African-American woman to receive this award.<ref name= Darwin-JBHE />

She has also been a [Fulbright Senior Fellow](/source/Fulbright_Program).<ref name= Cobb-profile />

==Personal life==
Jackson is an observant Muslim; she converted when she was in graduate school at Cornell University.<ref name= knudson />{{rp|2}}

At age 19,<ref name= knudson />{{rp|10}} she married Robert Jackson, now a professor of nutrition.<ref name= knudson />{{rp|2}} They met after Fatimah transferred colleges to Cornell University.<ref name= knudson />{{rp|10}} They have six children.<ref name= knudson />{{rp|2}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.jmberlin.de/en/lecture-series-god-darwin-and-evolution|title=God, Darwin, and Evolution - Lecture Series: Science and Faith in Judaism and Islam (with video recording)|publisher=[Jewish Museum Berlin](/source/Jewish_Museum_Berlin)|date=January 31, 2019|access-date=2021-02-21}}
*{{YouTube|id=ToUkapAO3ck|title=Dr. Fatimah Jackson: Searching for a Meaningful African American Muslim Discourse}}
*{{YouTube|id=6TGzEuhr7qk|title="Global Blackness: An Exploratory Proposal" Keynote by Fatimah Jackson}}
*{{YouTube|id=2ugZ7tzN8Ik|title=Scholar's Chair Interview with Dr. Fatimah Jackson}}
*{{YouTube|id=lz4VeNBsz7M|title=Reconciling Past Injustices: Building a future in African American genomics}}
*{{YouTube|id=DbLHvh_94EI|title=Epigenetics and Poverty - Dr. Fatimah Jackson}}
*{{YouTube|id=HMpZjHjWq8s|title=Practices of Freedom and Justice (Dr Fatimah Jackson)}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Fatimah}}
Category:Cornell University alumni
Category:Howard University faculty
Category:University of Maryland, College Park faculty
Category:University of California, Berkeley faculty
Category:University of Florida people
Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill people
Category:American anthropologists
Category:American women anthropologists
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Living people
Category:21st-century African-American scientists
Category:American women scientists
Category:American women academics
Category:21st-century African-American academics
Category:21st-century American academics
Category:20th-century African-American academics
Category:20th-century American academics
Category:21st-century African-American women
Category:Scientists from Denver
Category:African-American Muslims
Category:Converts to Islam

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fatimah Jackson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatimah_Jackson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatimah_Jackson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.