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"Contingencies
of genomics - finding roads into the future"
13 December 2007, De Witte Vosch, Utrecht (Netherlands)
The title of the Corsage winter meeting on 13 December 2007 in Utrecht was
‘Contingencies of genomics: finding roads into the future’. The workshop
was be supported financially by the Center for Society and Genomics (CSG, Nijmegen); the Postgraduate Forum on Genetics and
Society (PFGS, Exeter/UK); and the Netherlands Graduate School of Science,
Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC, Maastricht).
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9:00-9:30
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Registration and coffee
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9:30-9:40
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Opening by organizing committee
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9:40-10:20
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Opening lecture by prof.dr.
Abraham (Bram) Brouwer, Director of the Ecogenomics Consortium
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10:20-10:30
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Coffee break
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10:30-12:15
parallel
sessions
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New
dilemmas
Rixt Komduur - The
role of genes in discussions about overweight
Roeland Huijgen -
Agreement in the Netherlands
to minimize the consequences for life and disability insurance of
diagnosing Familial Hypercholesterolemia
Arno Müller -
Ethical aspects of the therapeutical application of gene technology in
sports
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Large
and small production systems
Rens Vandeberg -
Interactive learning in emerging technologies
Bart Penders -
Norms and politics in contemporary ‘Big Nutrition’
Daniel Puente Rodríguez - Engaging genomics and bio-fuels with sustainable
developments
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12:15-13:10
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Lunch
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13:10-14:20
parallel sessions
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Interactive
research (1)
Wouter Boon - Demand articulation in emerging pharmaceutical
technologies
Conor Douglas -
Patient participation in pharmacogenetics research
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Genetic ownership
(1)
Jerzy Koopman – Navigating
between legal regimes
Jessica Wright – Privacy and the
use of genetic databases
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14:20-14:35
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Tea break
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14:35-15:45
parallel sessions
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Interactive
research (2)
Maud Radstake – A is for agenda:
redefing ELSA’s problem
Roel Nahuis – User producer
interaction in context
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Genetic ownership
(2)
Eric Vermeulen – Consent regimes
for research with ‘leftover human tissue’
Bram de Jonge – The why, how and
what of benefit-sharing
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15:45-16:00
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Tea break
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16:00-17:00
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Panel discussion
Dr. Ellen Moors (chair) is
assistant professor in innovation studies
Marjan Slob is an independent
writer and journalist
Prof. Huub Schellekens is a specialist in
medical applications of gene technology
Dr. Luc Rietveld is project development manager
at the NGI
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17:00-17:15
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Closing by organizing committee;
short round of evaluation
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17:15- …
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Drinks
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Audience
We invited AiOs and post-docs
working on ethical, legal, societal, cultural and other aspects (ELSA) of
genomics and related sciences to submit abstracts related to their work, at
whatever stage of maturity.
We also invited young
scientists working towards their PhD from the various -omics fields who in
their work link up with any of the above aspects, and would like to present
a paper in progress.
‘Contingencies’
The workshop theme – as in the
previous two years - inspired discussions at the workshop but was
in no means restrictive with respect to the presentations.
What are ‘contingencies’? Due
to complex, not yet fully elucidated gene-disease-diet relationships,
technical uncertainties of genetic tests and what they imply for early
diagnosis and treatment of genetic disorders, and the dynamic nature of the
ethical, legal, political, economic and societal contexts of genomics based
innovation there are limitations to predicting or forecasting the outcomes
of many activities in and around genomics. The term ‘contingency’
highlights the uncertainties and mutual dependencies of science and
technology in society, now and in the future.
But ‘contingencies’ also mean
that there is room to respond to constraints in a flexible way - by ‘making
other plans’ and trying out a number of options, in an ethically
responsible way. A contingency view emphasizes that genomics can have a
robust place in our future but what the future will actually be, and how we
get there depends – is contingent - on activities now. ELSA and other
social science researchers can help reflecting on uncertainty and making
alternative choices, in close collaboration with people from research,
industry, regulation and society.
Weblinks
Corsage: http://www.geneyous.nl/corsage/
CSG: http://www.society-genomics.nl/
GeNeYouS: http://www.geneyous.nl/home.php
PFGS: http://www.pfgs.org/home.htm
WTMC: http://www.wtmc.net/
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