Public forum at UW Medicine Oct. 27 on human genome editing

News Release

October 25, 2017
For immediate release

Public forum at UW Medicine Oct. 27 on human genome editing

 A discussion of the promises and pitfalls of rewriting human DNA will be held at UW Medicine South Lake Union in Seattle.

Media Contact: 

Susan Gregg: sghanson@uw.edu

The event, presented by UW Medicine's Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, will take place from 3:30 p.m.to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, in Orin Smith Auditorium, UW Medicine South Lake Union Building C.

A panel of UW Medicine and visiting experts in genome editing, maternal-fetal medicine, bioethics and public policy will give short presentations followed by a structured Q&A and questions from the audience.  

The panelists:

  • Paul Knoepfler, professor of cell biology and human anatomy, University of California, San Diego
  • Ray Monnat, professor of pathology and genome sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Malia Fullerton, associate professor of bioethics and humanities , UW School of Medicine
  • Edith Cheng, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, UW School of Medicine

The moderators are Charles “Chuck” Murry, director, Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, and Erica Jonlin, regulatory manager, Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. Murry is a professor of pathology at the UW School of Medicine and a UW professor of bioengineering. 

Recently researchers in Oregon and the United Kingdom electrified the scientific world by removing a potentially fatal, disease-causing mutation and a gene required for normal development in human embryos.  The researchers used a gene-editing tool called CRISPR/Cas9 to rewrite the embryos’ DNA codes.  A few months earlier, the United States National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine had issued recommendations on policy changes to expand embryonic DNA editing research.  The advisory group pointed to the importance of public discussion on the issue. 

The Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine planned the forum to bring the community up-to-date on this revolutionary science and engage the public in talking about the appropriate use of the new technology.  

Engage with us: To suggest a question for the panelist in advance, please contact barbarod@uw.edu

Tweet @UWMedicine #EditingtheHumanGenome

Join us live streaming from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://washington.zoom.us/j/815445834

Options for dial-in audio only.:

  • iPhone one-tap: US: +14086380968,,815445834#  or +16468769923,,815445834#
  • Telephone:US: +1 408 638 0968  or +1 646 876 9923  or +1 669 900 6833.  Meeting ID: 815 445 834
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