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"The Ethical Implications
of Synthetic Life"
April 2, 2008
4:00-5:30 pm
(reception to follow)
Albin O. Kuhn Library
7th Floor Conference Room
UMBC
The J. Craig Venter Institute recently
announced the creation of the world's first wholly synthetic bacterial genome.
For better or worse, this achievement by the celebrated and controversial
scientist and his team marked the beginning of human-designed life on Earth.
On April 2, the entire campus community and the public are invited to an
interdisciplinary symposium, "The Ethical Implications of Synthetic
Life," featuring discussions from top experts in bioethics, genomics
and policy on the social, political and moral implications of this rapidly
growing technology with vast potential to be either friendly or a 21st-century
Frankenstein.
 Please
note that "Beyond Genetics: A User's Guide to DNA" by panelist Glenn
McGee is now featured at the UMBC Book
Store. Copies will also be available for
purchase
and to
be signed by the author after the discussion.
Directions
to UMBC and Parking Information. There will be signs directing visitors to the Walker
Street Garage where they should be prepared to feed the meters.
Directions From I-95:
Take exit 47B (I-195 towards Catonsville).
Exit to the right (following signs to UMBC campus) onto UMBC Boulevard.
Go straight through first stop sign (passing silo & UMBC sign on left).
Go straight through 2nd stop sign (at Research Park Drive, bwtech@UMBC entrance on right).
Merge left and turn left onto Hilltop Circle (inner loop).
Go straight through stop sign and continue straight on Hilltop Circle at Hilltop Road traffic
light.
Turn right at next stop sign onto Walker Avenue.
Turn right into Walker Avenue Garage, feed meters and follow signs to library (gray and blue domed
building).
Take elevators to 7th floor of Library.
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Panelists:
Glenn
McGee, Ph.D. Director
Alden March Bioethics Institute
Albany Medical College
Albany, New York
Glenn McGee is the founding director of Alden March Bioethics Institute,
a comprehensive, university-based bioethics research, clinical and outreach
program in New York's state capital. His research focuses on the impact of
new technologies on our personal, social and political lives. He is the Editor-in-Chief
of The American Journal of Bioethics. Prof. McGee is the author of five books,
including Beyond Genetics (2004). His upcoming book explores ethical issues
in the diagnosis and treatment of autism. Professor McGee has authored hundreds
of essays and articles in journals of medicine, science and bioethics such
as Science, JAMA, and Nature Genetics. In addition, his work reaches a wider
readership through his regular columns for MSNBC (2000-2003) and for Hearst
Newspapers, distributed by the NYT News Service. Prof. McGee has testified
in 23 state legislatures, and before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives
and Senate. He has assisted California, New York and Rhode Island in the
authorship of proposed legislation dealing with cloning and stem cells. He
has conducted bioethics training for incoming members of Congress and for
the Counsel of Chief Judges of the Courts of Appeals. He was recently named
one of the top ten influential people in Albany, and in 2006, was named to
the inaugural Google, Nature and O'Reilly Science Foo Camp. He is one of
the 2004 Seed magazine’s Third Culture,
"scientists and thinkers who have a propensity for writing directly and very
eloquently for the general public." Prof. McGee holds a Ph.D. in philosophy
from Vanderbilt University and completed a post-doc through the National Human
Genome Research Institute’s Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues program.
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Jaydee Hanson,
M.A.
Policy Director/Political Activist
International Center for Technology Assessment
Washington, DC
Jaydee Hanson directs the CTA's work on human genetics, including work
on stem cell research, cloning, and gene/embryo patenting. He also works
on the convergence of biotechnology and nanotechnology. He is a fellow of
the Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future. Prior to coming to CTA
in 2004, he served as The United Methodist Church's staff director of genetics
and bioethics issues from 1981 to 2004. From 1991 to 2004, he also was the
legislative director for the church. Mr. Hanson has testified to many state
and US congressional hearings on human cloning, animal and gene patenting,
and related issues. He coordinated the 1995 religious leaders' statement
opposing gene and animal patenting, which was endorsed by over 200 leaders
from every US religious tradition. Hanson has served on many committees related
to public policy and genetics. He chaired the National Council of Churches'
Exploratory Commission on the New Human Genetics and chaired the National
Council of Churches' Eco-justice Working Group biotechnology taskforce. He
is a member of the World Council of Churches' genetics and nanotechnology
committees, which developed new policy for that world-wide body of 400 denominations.
He served on the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Science
and Religion Advisory Committee and the Ecumenical Roundtable on Science
and Religion.
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Jef
Boeke, Ph.D.
Professor Molecular Biology & Genetics
Johns Hopkins Medical Institute
Baltimore, MD
Dr. Jef D. Boeke is Professor of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Professor
of Oncology, and Director of the High Throughput Biology Center at Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine. He elucidated one of the major forms
of DNA movement (transposition) in yeast cells, in which Ty1 elements move
via reverse transcription of RNA. He coined the term “retotransposition” to
describe this unusual process. His work elucidated the intricate molecular
mechanisms involved in retrotransposition in yeast and human cells. Retrotransposition
formed about half of all human DNA and has been a major force in the evolution
of the genomes of many organisms. His recent work suggests that retrotransposition
may have profound effects on the expression of those genes and could thus
contribute to common genetic diseases. His laboratory has also constructed
highly active synthetic retrotransposons with a wide variety of practical
and academic uses. His interest in Synthetic Biology has led to an interdisciplinary
effort to redesign and synthesize the genome of the brewer’s yeast,
in part using a team of undergraduates in the new course “Build A Genome” being
taught at Johns Hopkins. |
Gautam Mukunda,
Ph.D.(c)
Political Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Mr. Mukunda's doctoral research is focused on international relations.
He was a consultant with McKinsey & Company focusing in the pharmaceutical
and financial sectors. He is currently the Founding Managing Director of
the Two Rivers Group, a consulting firm that brings the insights and knowledge
of the academic world to bear on the problems facing the private, public,
and non-profit sectors. He was Administrator of the Russian Investment Symposium
and Program Coordinator of the Kommersant Program on Executive Education
in Russia at the Kennedy School of Government. His current research interests
include leadership in competitive organizations, the implications of black
swan events on international politics, and the security and economic implications
of emerging technologies, particularly Synthetic Biology. He is a member
of MIT’s Security Studies Program and Program on Emerging Technologies,
and he is the social sciences representative on the Student Leadership Council
of the National Science Foundaton’s Synthetic Biology Engineering Research
Center (SynBERC). He graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Government
in 2001, magna cum laude. He is a 2005 Paul and Daisy Soros New American
Fellow, a 2006 Carnegie Endowment Biosecurity Fellow, and a 2007-2009 National
Science Foundation IGERT Fellow. |
