THE CENTER FOR GENETIC RESEARCH ETHICS & LAW

RESEARCH GROUPS

Enhancement Research Issues

Convener: Maxwell Mehlman
Collaborators: Robert Binstock, Jennifer Fishman, Eric Juengst, Jessica Berg, Mary Quinn Griffin

Under the leadership of Professor Maxwell Mehlman, this group undertakes ethical, legal, and science policy studies of issues raised by research attempting to apply genetic knowledge to improve upon non-pathological human traits such as intelligence, aging, altruism, or athletic performance.

This research group is comprised of two funded grants.

Controlling Human Aging: Alternative Rationales & Implications

The overall goal of this project is to better understand those implications. The project is based on the belief that definitions matter in sound science policy development and ethical analysis, and that clarifying the practical consequences of different accounts of what it means to “control human aging” can help all concerned steer science and clinical practice more responsibly into the future. 

Genetic Enhancment Research

The specific aim of this project is to analyze existing research rules to determine whether and in what ways they would provide protection for humans subjects in enhancement research.