ELSI Friday Forum: Structural Racism and Genomics in the Time of COVID

The 30th anniversary of the Human Genome Project comes at a moment of unprecedented international crisis. The coronavirus now accounts for over one million deaths worldwide and has ravaged communities of color in the US, disproportionately killing Black and Brown Americans at rates two to four times the national average. While we know that these elevated deaths are influenced by social determinants of health and systemic bias, some look to genetics to explain these inequalities. As scholars and researchers committed to the study of the ethical, legal and social implications of genetics (ELSI), how can we address entrenched inequities so clearly delineated by the catastrophic toll of the pandemic? What does it mean for racism to be structural in ELSI research? And, what would constitute a justice-forward genomics research agenda?

Panelist: Dr. Vence Bonham (National Human Genome Research Institute)
Panelist: Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew (George Washington University Law School)
Moderator: Professor Sandra Soo-Jin Lee (Columbia University)