Sunday, April 14, 2013

Robert Klitzman to Appear on WNYC's "Leonard Lopate Show" on April 15, Reflects on Human Genome Project

Bioethicist Robert Klitzman will appear on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC, 93.9 FM, on Monday, April 15 as part of the 10th anniversary of the complete mapping of the human genome. Klitzman will discuss the impact of the mapping on medicine.

In addition, Klitzman published an essay on the website of Psychology Today reflecting on the anniversary. The essay, titled, "Am I My Genes? Confronting Fate and Family Secrets in the Age of Genetic Testing," examines the benefits and also the complications arising from the sequencing. He writes,

April 14th 2013 marks the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Human Genome Project — the successful mapping of the entire human genome, the three billion molecules that are the blueprints for us as human beings. This event ranks with NASA’s response to Sputnik as one of the great achievements of modern science supported by public funds. Over the past decade, researchers have continued to make incredible strides, discovering genes associated with diabetes, depression,schizophreniabipolar disorder, and other diseases. The future possibilities are enormous.

But we should use this anniversary as an opportunity to not only celebrate, but reflect. These miraculous discoveries present us too with countless dilemmas, and are far outpacing our abilities to grasp and address their ethical, legal, social and psychological implications. The genome is far more complicated than anyone imagined. The more we learn, the more we realize how much we don’t know. Uncertainties and controversies abound.

Klitzman is the director of the Masters in Bioethnics Program at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. His bio there notes,
Dr. Robert Klitzman has conducted research and written about a variety of ethical issues in medicine and public health to promote public and professional education concerning these issues. He has written five books, drawing on qualitative as well as quantitative methodologies, and also has written for the New York Times and other publications to improve public understanding of ethical and policy issues concerning public health and medicine.

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