Congressional briefing on genetic technologies and raising awareness

pgEd is organizing a Congressional briefing on advances in genetic technologies and the importance of raising public awareness. This briefing is being hosted by Congresswoman Louise Slaughter.

We will begin by highlighting exciting developments in the fields of genetics, personalized medicine, and genetic engineering (no background in genetics necessary), describing how they are transforming health and reproductive medicine, law, business, sports, and employment. This introduction will also tackle ethical and social issues related to genetic technologies. The briefing will then illustrate the strategies that pgEd has found especially effective in reaching the public. Finally, drawing from the knowledge of Congressional members and staffers about their constituencies, the briefing will address how best to coordinate efforts for accelerating public awareness.

Panelists will include George Church (Harvard Medical School), Heidi Rehm (Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School), Jeff Schloss (NIH/NHGRI), Mike Dougherty (American Society of Human Genetics), Enrique Legaspi (will.i.am’s i.am.angel Foundation, Boyle Heights), Amy Wilstermann (Calvin College), Ann Merchant (The Science & Entertainment Exchange, The National Academies), and Carlos Olguin (Autodesk Research).