"Synthetic Genomics: Options for Governance"

Speaker: Michele Garfinkel, Policy Analyst, J. Craig Venter Institute

Commentator: William K. Hall, Adjunct Professor of Strategy, University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Sponsored by The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation Co-Sponsored by the University of Michigan Life Sciences and Society Program, the University of Michigan Center for Ethics in Public Life, and the University of Michigan Program in Biomedical Sciences

ABSTRACT: The rapidly developing field of synthetic genomics offers great promise for both basic research and as a powerful tool for biotechnology. Researchers point to pharmaceutical production, alternative energy source development, and cleaner bio-based manufacturing as areas that could benefit from this emerging technology. As with virtually any new technology that promises significant benefits, synthetic genomics brings with those benefits a series of societal concerns and issues. A prominent concern raised in the United States is that the technology may end up being used by bioterrorists. Further, risks to the environment and to laboratory workers are a possibility. At the same time, much of the current discussion among scientists, ethicists, and concerned members of the public about synthetic genomics can more accurately be described as talking past each other, rather than with each other, about the societal issues raised by this new technology. Concerns about “creating life” have been raised by philosophers and theologians, among others. And as with many new technologies, questions have been raised about who will gain the benefit from synthetic genomics. Dr. Garfinkel will discuss the results of an earlier project focused on the biosecurity and biosafety concerns raised by synthetic genomics, including a review of possible governance options to mitigate at least some of those concerns. She will also provide an overview of a project currently underway to understand how the public views scientists and engineers working in the area of synthetic genomics and how scientists understand society's views of their work.

MICHELE GARFINKEL is a policy analyst at the J. Craig Venter Institute. Her research focuses on identifying emerging societal concerns associated with new discoveries in genomics and crafting options for policy interventions. Her earlier work at Columbia University's Center for Science, Policy, & Outcomes focused on health research policy. Prior to her appointment at Columbia, she was an assistant in the Scientific Freedom, Responsibility & Law Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where she worked primarily on policy issues related to stem cell research. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, where she conducted research on genetic and developmental regulation of the cell cycle in Drosophila melanogaster. Dr. Garfinkel received her A.B. in Genetics from the University of California, Berkeley and her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Washington, Seattle, where she completed a dissertation on translational regulation of messenger RNAs in eukaryotic cells during influenza virus infection. She also holds an M.A. in Science, Technology, and Public Policy from the George Washington University, where she was a Shapiro Fellow in International Affairs.