Decoding the Medical, Ethical, and Defense Ramifications of Targeted Gene Editing
A conversation with:
Dr. Keith Stewart, M.D.
Director and Professor of Medicine
Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine
Col. Nelson Michael, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, US Military HIV Research Program
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Professor of Medicine
Uniformed Services University
Dr. Paula Bryant, Ph.D.
Senior Scientific Officer, Office of Biodefense Research Resources and Translational Research
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Moderated by:
Dr. Pierre Noel, M.D.
Director, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Program and Professor of Medicine
Mayo Clinic in Arizona
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security
Atlantic Council
Introduced by:
Dr. Mathew Burrows, Ph.D.
Director, Strategic Foresight Initiative, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security
Atlantic Council
In 2016, the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper included gene editing in his annual Worldwide Threat Assessment, adding it to the list of threats posed by weapons of mass destruction and proliferation.
But what exactly is gene editing and how does it threaten national security?
On September 27 at 4:00 p.m., the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Foresight Initiative will host four medical experts to help answer these questions and discuss gene editing’s medical applications, bioethical aspects, and biodefense implications. This discussion will also focus on the revolutionary CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique that has lowered the barrier to entry for gene editing, enabling scientific breakthroughs at low costs, while also opening the door for possible misuse by bad actors.