Gene Editing and Frontiers in Genetic Technologies: Innovations, Impacts, and Implications
This was the fourth in a series of Congressional Briefings that PGED was invited to organize on November 17, 2015 in cooperation with the offices of Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Three pioneering scientists who are all leaders in their fields – Drs. Diana Bianchi, Jennifer Doudna and George Church – spoke about technologies ranging from non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), CRISPR gene editing, to DNA nanotechnology. At the same time, the speakers raised questions regarding the technologies’ social, ethical, commercial, and policy implications, which will need to be answered collaboratively by all stakeholders, and emphasized the importance of public engagement.
The standing-room only event was attended by over 150 staffers from Congressional offices, various government departments and agencies, academic and professional societies, and other members of the public. Also in the audience were Drs. Mildred Cho (Stanford University), Allison Werner-Lin (University of Pennsylvania) and Fr. Kevin FitzGerald (Georgetown University), who shared their bioethics and social science expertise during the lively discussions following the presentations.
After the briefing, the three speakers, along with PGED’s director, Dr. Ting Wu, and director of programs, Dr. Marnie Gelbart, met with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). In the more informal setting of the OSTP, the speakers and our team continued the discussion about these emerging genetic technologies, as well as pgEd’s mission of raising public awareness about issues surrounding personal genetics. Capping off the day’s events, we were honored to be joined by congressman Bill Foster (D-IL11) and congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA3) at dinner with the three speakers.
Panelists
Diana Bianchi, MD, Executive Director, Mother Infant Research Institute; Vice Chair for Research and Academic Affairs, Department of Pediatrics; Attending Geneticist and Neonatologist; Natalie V. Zucker Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine
George Church, PhD, Professor, Harvard Medical School and MIT; Director, NIH Center of Excellence in Genomic Science; Director, Personal Genome Project
Jennifer Doudna, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Professor, Departments of Molecular & Cell Biology and Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley
