National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), in partnership with the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, has held the first symposium of the International Commission on Clinical Use of Heritable Human Genome Editing.
The Commission is determined to create a framework for clinicians, scientists, and regulatory bodies to assess potential clinical applications related to human germline genome editing.
This framework of professionals needs to identify ethical, medical, and scientific requirements for consideration and to develop potential pathways from research to clinical use, provided the public is convinced that applications of editing the heritable human genome are acceptable. Learn more about NASEM in this video about NASEM and Human Genome Editing).
The Commission
Establishing the Commission is the most recent activity by the international scientific community to discuss issues related to the sometimes controversial topic of human genome editing. It follows the 2nd joint International Summit on Human Genome Editing, held last November in Hong Kong by the Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, the Royal Society, and the National Academy of Medicine.
After a scientist from China revealed at that summit that, as a result of his research, twins had been born with edited embryonic genomes, the topic attracted global attention. This prompted worldwide condemnation from the scientific community as the scientist had violated long-standing ethical norms and scientific principles.
The Royal Society and the U.S. National Academies of Sciences form the commission secretariat, which has representatives from ten countries. Professor Kay Davies (MDUK Oxford University Neuromuscular Centre) and Richard Lifton (Rockefeller University President New York City) co-chair the commission.
The commission is set to hold additional meetings and international workshops in the future and welcomes public input and participation for their work.
Members of the general public were welcome to attend the symposium in person or via webcast, but advance registration is required. For more information, please check out the NASEM website.