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PROJECT NARRATIVE Consumer protections are of rising importance to the sustainability of personal genomics and mobile health industries and realization of precision health, yet the extent of consumer protections available from the Federal Trade Commission (the primary federal agency in the United States responsible for ensuring online privacy and data security beyond medical settings, for the prevention of unfair and deceptive trade practices of companies that might not be governed by HIPAA, and for promoting innovation) are poorly characterized and have received surprisingly little ELSI re

The last few years have seen calls for more diverse and representative collections of biological samples for population based translational research. This need has sparked increased interest in using residual bloodspots from state newborn screening programs for research purposes, given that these collections contain DNA from all newborns born in a state each year. Nevertheless, because these specimens were collected as part of a mandatory public health program, their use raises a number of ethical, legal, and social challenges involving consent, privacy, and the identifiability of samples.

PROJECT NARRATIVE Human genome editing technologies are evolving rapidly and with this evolution brings questions regarding governance and the ethical implications involved in applying these technologies. The He Jiankui controversy is the primary example of the potential exploitation of HGE and the importance of self-governance. This project will be the first case-study to evaluate self-governance in the realm of human genome editing technologies, the findings of which will be validated through a survey of HGE scientists.

PROJECT NARRATIVE Consumer protections are of rising importance to the sustainability of personal genomics and mobile health industries and realization of precision health, yet the extent of consumer protections available from the Federal Trade Commission (the primary federal agency in the United States responsible for ensuring online privacy and data security beyond medical settings, for the prevention of unfair and deceptive trade practices of companies that might not be governed by HIPAA, and for promoting innovation) are poorly characterized and have received surprisingly little ELSI re

PROJECT NARRATIVE At least 15% of children with cancer have an underlying genetic cause of their cancer, requiring significant counseling regarding therapy modifications, cancer surveillance, and lifestyle changes for both the patient and their family. There is a shortage of qualified genetic counselors available to meet with these families, especially in the stressful setting of cancer diagnosis.

PROJECT NARRATIVE Between 1907 and the mid-1970s, 32 US states passed and implemented eugenic sterilization laws that authorized the sterilization of people considered unfit. Our epidemiological, historical and mixed-methods analysis of over 32,000 eugenic sterilization requests in five US states (California, North Carolina, Iowa, Michigan and Utah) identifies varying demographic patterns and documents changes in how eugenics laws were applied over time.

The ability to examine the health of the fetus has expanded dramatically in the last half century. Most of the time, the news is reassuring. However, prenatal screening and diagnosis detect genetic conditions in a small percentage of cases. Effective prenatal intervention for these conditions is still uncommon—few are treatable prenatally. Therefore, when their physician detects a congenital fetal condition, some people choose to terminate their pregnancies. 

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