Seminar on Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Genetics

Presented by the Center for Research on Ethical/Legal/Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic & Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University

Our Uncertain Eugenics: Population and Proband Dilemmas in Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening

Speaker: Daniel Navon, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego

The rapid expansion of non-invasive prenatal screening (NIPT) raises a series of overlooked ELSI issues, particularly for genetic conditions where we do not have unbiased risk data. This talk explores how, at the level of the proband, many thousands of would-be parents will now have to grapple with deeply uncertain prenatal diagnoses. Meanwhile, at the population level, the selective termination of pregnancies following NIPT screening is likely to produce a cascade of complex eugenic outcomes.

Upcoming Presentations

• Oct. 25, 2021 – Shirley Sun, PhD, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore
• Nov. 15, 2021 – Tania Simoncelli, MS, Vice President, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
• Dec. 16, 2021 – Tim Yu, MD, PhD, Dept. of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School (Note this seminar will take place on Thursday, 4-5p.)
• Jan. 24, 2022 – Danton Char, MD, Dept. of Anesthesiology, Stanford University
• Feb. 14, 2022 – Shawneequa Callier, JD, MA, Dept. of Clinical Research and Leadership, George Washington University
• Mar. 14, 2022 – Kathryn Philipps, PhD, Dept. of Clinical Pharmacy, Univ. of California, San Francisco
• Apr. 11, 2022 – Ben Berkman, JD, MPH, Dept. of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health
• May 16, 2022 – Susan Gelman, PhD, Dept. of Psychology, Univ. of Michigan
• June 13, 2022 – Nathaniel Comfort, PhD, Dept. of the History of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Univ.

All seminars for the 2020-21 academic year will be held online. Registration information will accompany the announcement of each seminar. For additional information or to convey suggestions about future speakers, contact Paul S. Appelbaum, MD, Director, Center for Research on the Ethical, Legal, & Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic & Behavioral Genetics, Department of Psychiatry, at 646-774-8630 or psa21 [[at]] columbia [[dot]] edu (psa21[at]columbia[dot]edu).