Jean Cadigan – Ethical Governance of Human Genome Editing | GES Colloquium [ZOOM ONLY]
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SPRING SEMINAR SERIES
Due to inclement weather, our seminar with Dr. Cadigan will now be held over Zoom only and the lunch has been cancelled. Register at https:/go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloq-zoom
Governing Genome Editing at the Boundaries: Empirical Insights from Human Health Applications
Now Zoom Only | Drawing on empirical research on human genome editing, this talk examines how ethical questions around enhancement, disease seriousness, and governance are negotiated in practice, with implications beyond human health.
This talk draws on empirical research on human genome editing to examine how ethical boundaries around enhancement, disease seriousness, and governance are understood and negotiated in practice. Focusing on how scientists, clinicians, and policy professionals make sense of emerging genome‑editing technologies, the presentation highlights tensions between categorical policy distinctions and the context‑sensitive judgments required under conditions of uncertainty and clinical urgency. Rather than treating ethical boundaries as fixed or purely normative, the findings illustrate how they are shaped through anticipatory reasoning, institutional constraints, and efforts to act responsibly in the face of incomplete knowledge. Although grounded in human health applications, this analysis offers insights relevant to broader debates about responsible innovation and the governance of genetic engineering across domains.
Related links:
- Incidental Enhancement: Addressing a Neglected Policy Issue in Human Genome Editing, NIH National Human Genome Research Institute project, R.J. Cadigan (PI)
- Download seminar poster
Jean Cadigan, PhD
Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Profile
Jean Cadigan, PhD, is a Professor of Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whose work focuses on the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging genomic technologies. A medical anthropologist, she conducts empirical research on how scientists, clinicians, policymakers, and publics understand and navigate ethical boundaries in areas such as human genome editing and genomic medicine. She recently led an NIH‑funded study, “Incidental Enhancement: Addressing a Neglected Policy Issue in Human Genome Editing,” which investigated how concerns about enhancement arise in the context of ostensibly therapeutic genome‑editing interventions. She is delighted to be affiliated with GES through PreMiEr’s Social and Ethical Implications (SEI) research focus.
The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.
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