Gene Editing Policy Top Of The Agenda For Life Sciences Experts

Gene editing policy developments and practice will be top of the agenda at the upcoming Life Sciences and Society conference in Cambridge this May, headed by experts from around the world.

Organised by Cambridge health policy think-tank PHG Foundation, the conference on 25 May will run under the theme Gene editing: from innovative science to effective policy, providing biomedical science professionals and policymakers with opportunities for discussion, debate and networking.

The half-day life sciences conference is the latest instalment in a series of conferences and follows last October’s event, entitled Personalised healthcare: making the most of genomics.

This upcoming conference will explore the “complex interplay of biomedical advances and ethical, legal and social issues that arise when developing policy in this area” and involve discussion between international guest speakers and experts from the University of Cambridge.

Speaking on the topic of law and policymaking for gene editing will be Professor Bartha Knoppers, director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy at McGill University, and Dr Rumiana Yotova, law fellow and director of studies at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.

President and chief executive officer of the Council of Canadian Academies Dr Eric Meslin will be discussing the subjects of evidence, ethics and epistemology in policy-making for gene editing, along with Cambridge professor of science Tim Lewens.

According to the PHG Foundation, scientific innovation within the life sciences has never been more rapid than in recent years, illustrated by the House of Commons’ Science and Technology Committee’s inquiry on genome editing. With these innovations come ethical, social and legal implications for policy-making, which will be up for debate at the event.

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