Duke to Launch New Institute for Genomic Sciences and PolicyDuke University Medical Center How parents will cope with genetic testing of their newborn children, and how scientists will meet the research challenges of the genomic revolution, will be among the topics discussed during the Nov. 20 launch of Duke University's new $200 million Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy. The day-long program of symposia and roundtable discussions will feature a keynote address by Richard Klausner, director of the National Cancer Institute, followed by a panel discussion involving two medical ethicists, a former member of the National Science Board and a congressional advocate for biomedical research. The symposia and discussions are free and open to the public. The day's events begin with a 1:30 - 4:45 p.m. symposium on the institute's five centers, to be held in Room 103 of the Bryan Research Building on Research Drive. The keynote address and roundtable discussion on genomics will begin at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Auditorium, located in the Bryan University Center on Science Drive.  Duke officials say the new institute represents a comprehensive approach to the broad challenges of the genomic revolution. The institute involves not only scientists, engineers and physicians who are working to advance the fundamental basic knowledge of genome science and technologies, but Duke scholars in business, ethics, economics, law, public policy, religion and the environment. The genomics institute seeks to ensure that the ethical and policy issues arising from the unraveling of the genetic code and corresponding technological advances are fully explored to the betterment of society. Further, the institute seeks to integrate those discoveries into the nation's health care system and to transfer effectively the intellectual property from biomedical discoveries to the private sector. Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane said the university will invest more than $200 million over the next five years to launch and sustain the new institute. This commitment will be a priority in a long-term strategic plan for the university that will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for formal approval in February, Keohane said. "The study of the vast scientific and cultural landscape in which nature translates DNA into the intricate structures of life holds enormous promise for exploring the art of the possible," Keohane said. "But genomics is not just about expanding knowledge of genetics, but what society can and should do with such knowledge. "The ethical, legal, theological and policy challenges are daunting, and the constellation of Duke programs - from our Kenan Institute for Ethics to the Nicholas School of the Environment to our law school - uniquely position Duke to advance understanding across all these areas. If the next generation is to devise humane and moral guidelines for incorporating genomics into everyday life, their decisions will be informed by the work our faculty and students do," Keohane said. The events begin at 1:30 p.m. with a symposium that includes directors of the five genomics institute's centers. The directors will describe their perspectives on genomics and their centers' plans to meet the challenges presented by the burgeoning field. Speakers will include:
The 7 p.m. keynote address by Klausner will discuss cancer research involving genomic technologies and the use of mouse models to study cancer and promising future technologies that will have an impact on the diagnosis and understanding of cancer. In assessing the National Cancer Institute's progress, Klausner has written, "The revolution in molecular biology, along with the emergence of powerful new technologies, have enabled us to gather an impressive body of knowledge about cancer's very nature." "Today we are able to identify many of the biological pathways in a cell that become disrupted in cancer, and we are getting a fuller understanding about how such changes contribute to a cancer cell's abnormal and dangerous behavior in the body," Klausner said. "We are also gaining important insights into how the vulnerability of DNA, our genetic material, and elements in our environment and lifestyle interact to give rise to this disease. "To the many who struggle with cancer, the striking changes in the science and technology of cancer research are reflected in marked improvements in treatments and a heightened chance for survival. They also are reflected in more effective prevention, particularly for those who may be at increased risk for the disease." Klausner's address will be followed by a roundtable discussion on critical issues in genomics, to be moderated by Keohane. She will challenge the panelists with a near-future scenario in which parents of an infant find themselves coping with information from genetic testing on their child's future susceptibility to such disorders as cancer and heart disease. In particular, she will pose questions to the panelists about: the reality and consequences of genetic testing; the ethical use of clinical material derived from such testing; the role of universities in genomics research, and the role of the federal government in balancing private and public needs. In addition to Klausner, panelists will include Arthur Kaplan, professor of bioethics and director of the Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania; Marye Anne Fox, chancellor of North Carolina State University and a former member of the National Science Board; Henry Greeley, professor of law and genetics, Stanford University; and Congressman John Edward Porter, chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. Porter is a leader in congressional efforts to double funding for the National Institutes of Health, the principal source of funding for biomedical research. The university has already begun construction or planning for two major facilities that will support the work of the genomics institute - a $41 million Center for Human Disease Models building and a $35 million Center for Human Genetics. The Center for Human Disease Models aims to make the mouse a much more effective surrogate for human disease. The center will permit scientists to use gene-engineered mice in a way much like human populations are studied to better understand more complex diseases such as hypertension, heart failure and behavioral disorders. The building to house the existing Center for Human Genetics will enhance the ability of the center's researchers to use family histories, sophisticated molecular analysis and statistical genetics to reveal the genetic origin of a wide array of disorders. In particular, the building will greatly aid the center's progress from exploring apparent single-gene disorders, such as the muscular dystrophies, to those that are far more subtle, such as Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease. In addition to new construction, centers of the genomics institute have launched research initiatives that utilize genome analysis to study cancer, cardiovascular disease, fungal pathogenesis and gene-environment interactions. The centers also have developed doctoral and postdoctoral programs in a combined informatics/genome technology program and will host a series of seminars and symposia on genome sciences and policy.
For more information, or to contact Duke University Medical Center, see their website at: www.mc.duke.edu |
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