Celebrating my husband @1kdne.bsky.social, who shared his spare! This photo of us was taken a mere 48 hours after he donated his kidney at Temple Health!

ICE Detention of Gene Therapy Research Volunteer With Rare Skin Condition 'Undermines' US Biotech The US government's arrest of a Libyan asylee who helped advance precision medicine casts a dark shadow on rare disease research, which requires access to a global population, experts say.

Immigration policies can have dramatic impacts on biomedical research. I appreciate Turna Ray at GenomeWeb shining a light on this issue. www.genomeweb.com/policy-legis...

Postdoctoral Scholar Position in Neuroethics or Techethics, Dept. of Engineering Science & Mechanics APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, a...

Who's looking for a post-doc? Consider the possibility of Penn State, where Dr. Laura Cabrera and I are collaborating on an NIH-funded project and could use another bright mind to help! (Learn about Dr. Cabrera's Lab at sites.psu.edu/lcabrera/) psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PSU_Academic...

Competition in human genetic technologies: The current US legal landscape Here, we offer a perspective on the US legal landscape regarding the promotion of competition, with specific attention given to the human genetics and genomics industry. We highlight current policy on...

I'm happy to share another publication from my team out today! Gratitude and congratulations to Abdulai Rashid, Nicole Rincon, and Nathan Rihani for this collaboration. www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltex...

The FDA’s plan to phase out animal testing Replacing animal testing through ‘New Approach Methodologies’ holds promise for developing cheaper and safer drugs without animal suffering. However, …

Happy to have had the opportunity to collaborate on this piece with the great @saragerke.bsky.social & Jacob Balamut! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

I'm excited to share these companion articles published w/ student Caitlin Maloney & collaborators Nina Claessens & Peter Claes! We hope they'll spark important tech & ethical discussions on AI-enabled facial genetics research! doi.org/10.1002/ggn2.202500056 & doi.org/10.1002/advs.202513207

Postdoctoral Scholar Position in Neuroethics or Techethics, Dept. of Engineering Science & Mechanics APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, a...

Motivated ELSI scholars, are you looking for a post-doc position for a Spring 2026 start? Come to #PennState to work with Dr. Laura Cabrera and me on ethical, legal, and social issues involving multimodal brain and behavioral data! psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/PSU_Academic...

Cellular and Gene Therapy Guidances This page contains a listing of cellular and gene therapy guidances.

ICYMI the FDA issued three draft guidance documents for gene therapies (expedited programs for serious conditions; postapproval methods to capture safety & efficacy data; and innovative clinical trial designs for small populations). Public comment period ends 11/24/25. www.fda.gov/vaccines-blo...

I am sad to see that I already have a conflict that will prevent me from going to the 7th ELSI Congress back at UNC next year! 😭 Shouldn’t the organizers consult UNC alumni before scheduling that? JK.

Who is going to ASHG next week? Send me a note so we can connect!

I'm not sure when exactly this bright red scary banner went up, but it does seem quite ominous for NHGRI. I realize it was up much of the summer (as it's arrival was noted in this warning about the Human Genome Project archives www.statnews.com/2025/06/05/n...), but it still makes me furious.

Always a few bad actors that ruin it for the rest of us - Fearful of AI-generated grant proposals, NIH limits scientists to six applications per year www.science.org/content/arti... #grants #science #research #NIH

FDA Draft Guidelines for AI and the Need for Ethical Frameworks This Viewpoint discusses the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the drug and biological product life cycle, including the consideration of qu...

I'm pleased to share this Viewpoint coauthored with Anjali Deshmukh. FDA draft guidelines for AI could be important baby steps toward the realization of digital twins for pediatrics care, but more consideration of ethical issues is needed! jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

+1 on this message, as someone born and raised in rural PA.

I had such a stimulating time in Belgium this past week presenting at the 3rd International Facial Genetics Symposium and attending the OriGENE lecture by Joanna Wysocka at KU Leuven! Thank you Peter Claes, Benedikt Hallgrimsson, Hannah Long, & Manfred Kayser for organizing!

It’s a beautiful day at Stanford! And I am back on social media simply to express appreciation to @hankgreely.bsky.social for hosting another Biolawlapalooza! It’s been no secret that this is my favorite meeting year after year!

How to Delete Your Data From 23andMe DNA-testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy, which means the future of the company’s vast trove of customer data is unknown. Here’s what that means for your genetic data.

People have been asking me offline, so here you go... www.wired.com/story/how-to...

Exclusive: NIH to terminate hundreds of active research grants Studies that touch on LGBT+ health, gender identity and DEI in the biomedical workforce could be terminated, according to documents obtained by Nature.

Let's call this what it is: This is censorship of scientific research.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Today is International Day of Women & Girls in Science. I don’t feel like celebrating when all signs show me this admin prefers to “protect us” from scientific facts, research, & innovations. To my sisters in science (esp at gov agencies), I see you, appreciate you, & am with you in solidarity.

Take my — — from my cold dead HANDS.

About 8 years ago I jokingly asked which would implode first, the healthcare system or higher ed. Joke is on me. They are taking them both out in one shot… and fwiw, no, I don’t think the actions being taken to achieve this are lawful, but wtf does that matter these days.

Research universities are often the largest employers in their region. They are often the primary health care providers to communities. This funding shift will not only reduce US research leadership, it will put working people out of work and reduce healthcare access.

Giving access to SSNs, other data on government employees to non-employees like Musk is a violation of 5 USC 552a, and carries with it a penalty of $1000 per person whose data was accessed. We are building a case. Govt employees who want to participate should contact me directly

Everyone concerned about data loss right now should learn about the End of Term Web Archive, which I believe has been working on preserving federal websites for the past 8 months. The dataset you fear has been lost may well be here

Just an incredible project. Thank you to everyone involved

repeat after me: an AI system does NOT and CANNOT seek power. it CANNOT seek, want, & desire anything more than your toaster can. people in positions of power use AI to seek, assert, consolidate, and centralise power

Trainee Connect Mentor - Mentee Relationship Continues The CERA TraineeHub program supports the research and career goals of trainees and early career scholars of all disciplines with an interest in the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetics ...

Caitlin Maloney (my PhD student at @psuanthro.bsky.social) & I were interviewed by @elsihub.bsky.social), which was checking in w/ us ~3 yrs after being matched in its Trainee Connect Mentor program. You can read our comments on mentorship. elsihub.org/news/trainee...

American science and medicine has been thrown into chaos and uncertainty over the past week. Here are some stories to get up to speed. 1/12

In the midst of so much chaos and the unmistakeable scorched earth strategy unleashed in the US since Jan 20, it seems like a bad time to wish y’all a happy Data Privacy Day. Yet here I am doing it anyway.

Build a DNA database to help identify children stolen in conflicts The secure and ethical use of genetic testing can assist family reunifications in Ukraine and other settings for humanitarian disasters.

An important commentary…
www.nature.com/articles/d41...