CRISPR and Genetic Editing: Uncharted Waters

On Wednesday August 30 at 6pm, Vineyard Haven Public Library will host a panel discussion, "CRISPR and Genetic Editing: Uncharted Waters." Leading scientists and bioethicists from Harvard, MIT, Stanford and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole will discuss the astounding new techniques that make editing DNA, for scientists, nearly as easy as editing an email. Along with vast potential for curing disease, feeding the world and eliminating pollution come vexing issues of fairness, safety and morality. This presentation is part of the library's "Pushing the Limits" series, funded in part by a grant from National Science Foundation and Califa Library Group. The event will be held at the Katherine Cornell Theatre at 51 Spring Street starting at 6pm, and is free and open to the public.

Included on this panel will be Dr. Sheila Jasanoff from Harvard's Kennedy School, one of the world's leading bioethicists. Simply put, her job is to think and talk about the ethics of the work being done with gene editing. Prof. Kevin Esvelt from the MIT Media Lab and is director of the Sculpting Evolution group, which invents new ways to study and influence the evolution of ecosystems. His current project is developing mice that are immune to Lyme and releasing them on Nantucket. Professor Paul Aluru, of the Biological Labs at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, is in the field of “environmental epigenetics,” which involves studying how environmental factors interact with DNA, “turning genes on” or “off”.  The WHOI is one of the premiere institutions in the world for this kind of research. Professor Jeantine Lunshof, Assistant Professor at the Department of Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands, and currently a visiting professor at Harvard, is a philosopher and bioethicist, based in the synthetic biology laboratory of Dr. George Church. As an “embedded” ethicist, Dr. Lunshof works with scientists at all stages of their research to help identify potential areas of concern. Professor Emeritus Paul Levine from Stanford will open with introductory remarks about the short history of genetic engineering from the '70s. John Sundman will moderate the panel. His background includes writing and speaking at various institutions about CRISPR.