Lori Andrews and Ethics and the Double Helix: April 1, 2019, Wishnick Hall Room 113

Please join QED: The Ethical Debaters for a fantastic talk by Lori Andrews titled Ethics and the Double Helix on April 1, 2019, 12:45-1:45 in Wishnick Hall, Room 113

Genetic technologies make it possible to assess and even alter a person’s genome, raising a wealth of ethical questions.  Should insurers be able to deny coverage to a healthy person whose genome indicates he or she will be at a higher risk of cancer later in life?  Should police be able to use ancestry DNA databases to find suspected criminals?  Should parents be able to edit their embryo’s genome, possibly added traits from other species, such as to give their future child the running speed of a cheetah?  What are our responsibilities as scientists, ethicists, and members of the public in the design of the next generation?

Lori Andrews is a University Distinguished Professor of Law at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law and Director of IIT’s Institute for Science, Law and Technology. She’s written 14 books, including three mysteries involving a female geneticist. Her latest non-fiction book is I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy.  She chaired the federal advisory committee to the Human Genome Project, advised the Chicago Historical Society on the ethics of testing Abe Lincoln’s DNA, and counseled the science ministers of twelve countries on the issues of embryo stem cells, gene patents, and DNA banking. Lori’s path-breaking litigation about technologies caused the National Law Journal to list her as one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in America.” The American Bar Association Journal describes Lori as “a lawyer with a literary bent who has the scientific chops to rival any CSI investigator.”  She received her B.A. summa cum laude from Yale College and her J.D. from Yale Law School.