News & Publications

CIRGE has a newsletter!

• Volume 2, Issue 1: Summer 2012
• Volume 1, Issue 4: Winter 2011-2012
• Volume 1, Issue 3: Summer 2011
• Volume 1, Issue 2: Winter 2010-2011
• Volume 1, Issue 1: Summer 2010

For Center publications, please see Publications.

For Center news, please see below.

10/16/12 - CIRGE Post-Doc Nanibaa' Garrison and SCBE Director David Magnus published The Instrumental Role of Hospital Ethics Committees in Policy Work in the American Journal of Bioethics!

10/09/12 - CIRGE Scholars Taylor A. Goodspeed, Megan Allyse, Lauren C. Sayres, Mary E. Norton, and Mildred K. Cho published Translating cell-free fetal DNA technology: structural lessons from non-invasive RhD blood typing in Trends in Biotechnology!

Des Moines Register, 10/08/12
--Another view: Candidates' silence on science is troubling
In this opinion piece, Christopher Scott discusses presidential candidate Mitt Romney's stance on stem cell research. Scott is director of Stanford’s Program on Stem Cells and Society and a senior research scholar at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20121008/OPINION01/310080032/Another-View-Candidates-silence-on-science-is-troubling

Los Angeles Times, 10/05/12
--Mouse stem cells used to produce eggs, Japanese scientists say
Researchers in Japan say they used mouse stem cells to create eggs and sperm, producing healthy offspring. The discovery could eventually aid human fertility. Renee Reijo Pera,
professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Stanford Center for Reproductive and Stem Cell Biology, provides comment in this article. The research is also discussed in a piece from the Daily Telegraph (U.K.), which quotes Hank Greely from the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics.
http://www.latimes.com/health/la-sci-stem-cells-infertility-20121005,0,5337238.story
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/mice-skin-cells-turned-into-eggs-suggesting-new-fertility-treatments/story-e6freuz9-1226488841701

10/1/12 - Former CIRGE Post-Bacc Fellow Jessica Erickson and CIRGE PI Mildred Cho published Interest, rationale, and potential clinical applications of genetic testing for mood disorders: A survey of stakeholders in the Journal of Affective Disorders!

9/28/12 - Missed Duke Professor Robert Cook-Deegan's Sept. 28th CIRGE Speaking Event? A recording can be found HERE!

Morning Edition (NPR), 09/25/12
--This segment discussed a family's experience with whole-genome sequencing. Hank Greely, with the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, was featured.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/09/25/160957147/doctors-sift-through-patients-genomes-to-solve-medical-mysteries

8/30/12 - CIRGE post-doc Marsha Michie and scholars from UNC and Duke have published "Am I a control?: Genotype-driven research recruitment and self-understandings of study participants" in Genetics in Medicine!

Reuters, 8/29/12
--Neuroscience in court: My brain made me do it
This piece discusses how neuroscientific evidence is increasingly being used in court. Hank Greely, with the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, provides comment.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/29/neuroscience-crime-idINDEE87S04920120829

MIT Technology Review, 8/29/12
--New tests could divine a baby's genome before birth
Scientists can now sequence the entire genome of a fetus from samples of a pregnant woman’s blood, several recent studies have shown. Mildred Cho, associate director of the SCBE, is quoted in this article.
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/428791/new-tests-could-divine-a-babys-genome-before/

Los Angeles Times,08/23/12
--Children of older fathers prone to certain disorders, study says
Men who become fathers later in life pass on more new genetic mutations to their children, increasing the risk of autism and schizophrenia, according to new research from the University of Iceland. Hank Greely, of SCBE and CIRGE, provides comment in this article!

NY Times, 8/16/12
--Study of Judges Finds Evidence From Brain Scans Led to Lighter Sentences
The findings of the study “The Double-Edged Sword: Does Biomechanism Increase or Decrease Judges' Sentencing of Psychopaths?” done by CIRGE Alum Teneille Brown and her colleagues at the University of Utah are discussed by the NY Times in this article!

Booster Shots (LATimes.com), 07/25/12
--Fetal DNA tests: Will patents work against patients?
This article discusses how patenting and licensing for fetal DNA testing could have serious consequences for technology advances and benefits to public health. The issue was the subject of a paper co-authored by Mildred Cho, associate director of the SCBE, and Megan Allyse.
http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-fetal-dna-tests-patents-20120725,0,5107237.story
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/4/144/144fs23

Huffington Post, 07/26/12
--Optogenetics: A novel technology with questions old and new
This piece focuses on some of the questions posed by optogenetics, a technique that combines genetic engineering of brain cells with fiber optics. Karl Deisseroth, associate professor of bioengineering and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, pioneered the technology and is quoted here. Lauren Milner and Megan Allyse, postdoctoral scholars in the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (SCBE), also provide comment.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ruth-starkman/optogenetics-a-new-techno_b_1700219.html

Former, CIRGE Post-Baccalaureate fellow Lauren Sayres, CIRGE Post-Doctoral Fellow Megan Allyse. CIRGE PI Midred Cho, and Taylor A. Godspeed published In the Public Interest? in Science Translational Medicine.

CIRGE Post-Doctoral Fellow Nanibaa' Garrison contributed to a genetics resource through the American Indian & Alaska Native Genetics Resource Center. Click here for her section on cases involving tribes and genetics research.

CIRGE PI Mildred Cho and CIRGE Alumnae Jennifer McCormick, Angie Boyce, and Jennifer Ladd published Barriers to Considering Ethical and Societal Implications of Research: Perceptions of Life Scientists in the American Journal of Bioethics Primary Research.

CIRGE Scholars published Customers or Research Participants? Guidance for Research Practices in Commercialization of Personal Genomics in Genetics in Medicine.

CIRGE Scholars, Lauren Sayres and David Magnus, published Duty-Free: The Non-Obligatory Nature of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis in the American Journal of Bioethics.

CIRGE Scholars, Sandra Lee and Simone Vernez, published Assessing the Pedagogical Goals of Self-Testing in Evaluating the Consultation Needs of Different Student Populations in the American Journal of Bioethics.

CIRGE PI, Mildred Cho, co-authored Managing Incidental Findings and Research Results in Genomic Research Involving Biobanks and Archived Data Sets in Genetics in Medicine.

CIRGE PI, Mildred Cho, and Henry Richardson published Secondary Researchers' Duties to Return Incidental Findings and Individual Research Results: a Partial-Entrustment Account in Genetics in Medicine.

CIRGE Scholar Joanna Fanos published New "first families": the psychosocial impact of new genetic technologies in Genetics in Medicine.

CIRGE Scholar Chris Scott and co-authors published Personal Medicine - the New Banking Crisis in Nature Biotechnology.

Congratulations to Ellen Farrelly on publishing her Master's project! Genetic Counseling for Prenatal Testing: Where is the Discussion about Disability? has been published in Journal of Genetic Counseling.

CIRGE PI, Mildred Cho, co-authored Human Evolutionary Genomics: Ethical and Interpretive Issues, published in Trends in Genetics.

Congratulations to Reana Tischler on publishing her Master's project! Noninvasive Prenatal Diagnosis: Pregnant Women's Interest and Expected Uptake has been published in Prenatal Diagnosis.

CIRGE Scholars Molly Havard, Mildred Cho, and David Magnus published Triggers for Research Ethics Consultation in Science and Translational Medicine.

CIRGE Post-Baccalaureate Fellow, Jessica Erickson, and PI Mildred Cho published Ethical Considerations and Risks in Psychiatric Genetics: Preliminary Findings of a Study on Psychiatric Genetic Researchers in AJOB Primary Research.

CIRGE Post-Doctoral Fellows Megan Allyse and Lauren Milner were cited in The Military's DNA in Genome Technology.

CIRGE Post-Baccalaureate Fellow, Lauren Sayres, and PI Mildred Cho published Cell-Free Fetal Nucleic Acid Testing: A Review of the Technology and its Applications in Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey.

CIRGE Scholars Megan Allyse, Lauren Milner, and Mildred Cho published The G.I. Genome: Ethical Implications of Genome Sequencing in the Military in Nature Reviews Genetics.

CIRGE Scholars Lauren Sayres, Megan Allyse, Mildred Cho, and Laura Roberts published Cell-free fetal DNA testing: a pilot study of obstetric healthcare provider attitudes toward clinical implementation in Prenatal Diagnosis.

CIRGE Collaborator Joachim Hallmayer and colleagues published Genetic Heritability and Shared Environmental Factors Among Twin Pairs with Autism in Archives of General Psychiatry.

Hallmayer and co-authors provided comment on NPR's Forum program. Click here to listen.

Please welcome our new CIRGE summer research assistants: Seanan Fong, Taylor Goodspeed, Catherine Nguyen, and Alex Whitford.

CIRGE Scholar Chris Scott and CIRGE Alumna Jennifer McCormick and colleagues published Democracy Derived? New Trajectories in Pluripotent Stem Cell Research in Cell.

CIRGE PI Mildred Cho and CIRGE Scholars Kelly Ormond, Louanne Hudgins, Jenn Ladd, David Magnus, and Hank Greely published Medical and Graduate Students' Attitudes Towards Personal Genomics in Genetics and Medicine.

All CIRGE Fellows presented their research at the ELSI Congress in Chapel Hill, NC. A full conference program can be found here.

CIRGE Scholar Hank Greely published Get Ready for the Flood of Fetal Gene Screening in Nature.

CIRGE PI Mildred Cho and Program Manager Maya Wolpert published Not Yet in Sequence: Clinical, technical, ethical questions linger over personal genomics in Modern Healthcare.

CIRGE Alumna Teneille Brown and Kelly Lowenberg published Biobanks, Privacy, and the Subpoena Power in the Stanford Journal of Law, Science, and Policy.

CIRGE PI Mildred Cho published Patently unpatentable: implications of the Myriad court decision on genetic diagnostics in Trends in Biotechnology.

Post-Doctoral Scholar Nanibaa' Garrison moderated a panel on Native American views of Genetic Research at the ACMG Clinical Genetics Meeting in March. Her report is available here.

CIRGE is pleased to welcome new Post-Doctoral Fellow, Lauren Milner.

CIRGE scholar Chris Scott commented on the use of human tissue created from stem cells to identify potentially dangerous side-effects from drugs under development before undergoing expensive human trials. Click here to read more.

CIRGE is pleased to welcome new Post-Baccalaureate Fellow, Jessica Erickson.

CIRGE scholar Hank Greely discussed UC Berkeley's Genetic Testing Program on National Public Radio.

The Coming Revolution in Prenatal Genetic Testing, by CIRGE scholars Hank Greely and Jaime King, has been published in the Professional Ethics Report, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Synthetic "Life," Ethics, National Security, and Public Discourse, by CIRGE scholar Mildred Cho and David Relman, has been published in Science.

CIRGE is pleased to welcome new fellows and staff!

• Post-Doctoral Fellow Megan Allyse will receive her Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Policy from the University of Nottingham. Her research interests include inter-cultural normative dialogue and the socio-cultural impacts of emerging technologies.
• Post-Baccalaureate Fellow Lauren Sayres graduated from Stanford with a BA in Human Biology.
• Program Manager Maya Wolpert graduated from Stanford with a BA in Human Biology.

CIRGE Scholars Sally Tobin, Sandra Lee, Hank Greely, Kelly Ormond, and Mildred Cho published a response to a PLoS Genetics article (Web-Based, Participant-Driven Studies Yield Novel Genetic Associations for Common Traits) and editorial (Consent and Intrenet-Enabled Human Genomics). Their response is entitled Not a Loophole: Commercial Exploitation of an IRB Error and can be found here.

The CIRGE/CLB Conference was a success. Audio recordings and select speaker PowerPoint presentations are posted here.

CIRGE Scholar Hank Greely discussed direct-to-consumer personal genetic tests on MSNBC Nightly News and in the StarTribune.

Stem cell tourism and the power of hope by CIRGE Scholars CJ Murdoch and Chris Scott has been published in the American Journal of Bioethics.

 

CIRGE scholars Atul Butte, Kelly Ormond, Louanne Hudgins, Hank Greely, Russ Altman and others published Clinical Evaluation Incorporating a Personal Genome in Lancet.

CIRGE has moved! Please note the change in our address to 1215 Welch Road, Modular A, Stanford, CA  94305-5417. All phone numbers will remain the same.

CIRGE Postdoctoral Fellow Nanibaa' Garrison was interviewed on the Native America Calling radio station about genetic testing in Native America. Listen here to the March 31, 2010 segment.

CIRGE is pleased to welcome applications for a new Program Manager, two Postbaccalaureate Fellows and two Postdoctoral Fellows. For more information, please visit our Employment Opportunities page under "Center Activities."

Predicting Phenotype from Genotype: Normal Pigmentation* by CIRGE Scholar Nanibaa' Garrison has been published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences.

The "how" and "whys" of research: life scientists' views of accountability by CIRGE Scholars Jennifer Ladd, Martine Lappé, Jennifer McCormick, Angie Boyce and Mildred Cho has been published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

CIRGE Scholars Mildred Cho and Jennifer Ladd presented Maren Grainger-Monsen's new film Citizen Scientists at the November 2009 Public Responsibility in Research & Medicine advancing ethical research conference.

CIRGE would like to welcome new postdoctoral fellow Nanibaa' Garrison. Nanibaa's research interests include personal genomics, human genetic ancestry and evolutionary history, and issues with privacy and confidentiality.

CIRGE would like to welcome new postdoctoral fellow CJ Murdoch. CJ is also part of the SCBE Program on Stem Cells in Society and the Stanford Law School Center for Law and the Biosciences. CJ will work on ethical and legal issues in stem cell research and behavioral genomics.

CIRGE Scholar David Magnus discussed the necessity for health care reform in a recent Stanford Medicine podcast.

CIRGE wishes former postdoctoral fellow Teneille Brown much luck and success in her new position as Associate Professor of Law at S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah.

CIRGE Scholars Kelly Ormond and Hank Greely voiced cautions about direct-to-consumer genetic testing in the ACP Internist.

In a local paper, CIRGE Scholar Mildred Cho commented on the complexity of the health care system.

CIRGE Scholar Sandra Lee presented her work on social networking and direct-to-consumer genomics at the July 2009 Genetics & Ethics in the 21st Century conference.

In a local paper, CIRGE Scholar Sandra Lee commented on the need for federal regulations for companies offering direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

In a local paper, CIRGE Scholar Hank Greely commented on the practice of banking newborn blood samples.

The Illusive Gold Standard in Genetic Ancestry Testing has been published by CIRGE Scholar Sandra Lee in Science.

Research 2.0: Social Networking and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Genomics has been published by CIRGE Scholars Sandra Lee and LaVera Crawley in the American Journal of Bioethics.

Revisiting Race in a Genomic Age, edited by CIRGE Scholar Sandra Lee along with Barbara Koenig and Sarah Richardson, received high praise in a recent Science book review.

"Biobanks, privacy, and the subpoena power" by CIRGE Scholar Teneille Brown, with Kelly Lowenberg, has been accepted for publication in the Stanford Journal of Science Policy and Law.

"Through A Scanner Darkly - functional neuroimaging as evidence of a criminal defendant’s past mental states" by CIRGE Scholar Teneille Brown, with Emily Murphy, has been accepted for publication in Volume 62 of the Stanford Law Review.

Please visit Active Areas of Research to find descriptions of current CIRGE projects including the newest endeavor, Judiciary Perspectives on the Genetics of Alcohol Use Disorders.

Biomedical scientists' perceptions of ethical and social implications: is there a role for research ethics consultation? by CIRGE Scholars Jennifer McCormick, Angie Boyce and Mildred Cho has been published online at PLoS ONE.

The "etiome": identification and clustering of human disease etiological factors by CIRGE Scholars Paul Wise and Atul Butte, with Yueyi Liu, has been published in BMC Bioinformatics.

CIRGE Scholar David Magnus has commented on the birth of the CA octuplets in The Washington Post and in Telegraph.co.uk.

Direct-to-consumer genetic tests: beyond medical regulation? by CIRGE Scholars David Magnus and Mildred Cho, with Robert Cook-Deegan, has been published in Genome Medicine.

Translating genomics into the clinic: moving to the post-Mendelian world by CIRGE Scholar Mildred Cho has been published in Genome Medicine.

Assessing the Understanding of Biobank Participants by CIRGE Scholar Kelly Ormond, et al. has been published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A.

Racing forward: the Genomics and Personalized Medicine Act by CIRGE Scholar Sandra Lee and HumBio student Ashwin Mudaliar has been published in Science.

Race and ancestry in biomedical research: exploring the challenges by CIRGE Scholar Sandra Lee and others has been published in Genome Medicine.

Several presentations from the CIRGE 2006 Interpreting Complexity and 2008 Capturing Complexity Symposia are now featured on Nature Precedings as highlighted collections. Videos of the presentations are also linked from Nature Precedings to GoogleVideo.

Professor and CIRGE scholar Hank Greely commented on the issue of cognitive enhancement in a December 8, 2008 USNews.com article. He was also the coauthor of a December 7, 2008 Nature commentary on the topic.

Research ethics consultation: the Stanford experience, by CIRGE scholars Mildred Cho, Sally Tobin, Hank Greely, Jen McCormick, Angie Boyce and David Magnus, was published in IRB: Ethics & Human Research.