Weaver Symposium Focuses on Impact of Human Genome Project

Just 50 years after Watson and Crick described the fundamental structure of DNA, the Human Genome Project completed a landmark achievement: identifying the sequence of nucleotides that form the genetic "blueprint" for human life.

While the Human Genome Project has opened new doors for science, it also stands to revolutionize how all modern social institutions – including the worlds of legal and healthcare – regard human beings. On April 19, the Glenn M. Weaver Institute for Law and Psychiatry Symposium, "Law, Ethics, Psychiatry and the Human Genome," will examine the impact of the Human Genome Project on the legal and mental health professions, focusing especially on the social and ethical challenges that professionals in the disciplines can expect to encounter in coming years.

Co-sponsored by the University of Cincinnati’s Glenn M. Weaver Institute for Law and Psychiatry and the College of Medicine, the symposium will feature presentations by physicians and legal scholars who will address a broad range of issues generated by the recent advances in human genetics. Issues include:

• What considerations should insurers, employers, and courts provide for the use of genetic information?
• Who should have access to personal genetic information? 
• Who owns and controls its use?
• How do genes influence behavior, particularly illegal behavior?
• How will this information affect law enforcement?

"Over the next two decades, advancing knowledge of human genetics will profoundly affect how psychiatrists understand mental processes," says Dr. Douglas Mossman, administrative director of the Weaver Institute. "The law often focuses on thoughts and decisions, so changes in how doctors and scientists regard minds and brains will likely influence the ways that the legal system understands people and what people do."

One highlight of the program will be a panel discussion, bringing together Dr. Alan Guttmacher, Deputy Director, National Human Genome Research Institute; Dr. J. Randolph Hillard, Associate Dean, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; Dr. John J. Hutton, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Professor Vernellia Randall, University of Dayton School of Law; and Professor Mark A. Rothstein, Director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville.

The full agenda for the symposium, which will be held in the Werner Recital Hall in UC's College-Conservatory of Music, includes:

8:00 a.m. Reception & Registration

8:30 a.m. Significance of Research on the Human Genome

• Louis D. Bilionis, Dean, University of Cincinnati College of Law
• Dr. Douglas Mossman, Administrative Director, Weaver Institute of Law and Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Law
• Dr. Glenn M. Weaver, Founder, Weaver Institute of Law and Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Law

8:45 a.m. After the Human Genome Project: What’s Next?

• Dr. Alan E. Guttmacher, Deputy Director, National Human Genome Research Institute

9:40 a.m. Break

9:55 a.m. The "Brave New World" of Psychiatric Diagnoses

• Dr. J. Randolph Hillard, Associate Dean, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

10:30 a.m. Ethics, Psychiatry and the Human Genome

• Dr. John J. Hutton, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

11:05 a.m. Break

11:20 a.m. Behavioral Genetics and Criminal Justice

• Professor Mark A. Rothstein, Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville

11:55 a.m. Dying While Black: Impact of Genetic Knowledge on the Black Community

• Professor Vernellia R. Randall, University of Dayton School of Law

12:30 p.m. Panel Discussion

• Moderator - Dean Louis D. Bilionis
• Participants - Dr. Guttmacher, Dr. Hillard, Dr. Hutton, Professor Randall, Professor Rothstein

1:00 p.m. Closing Remarks

Professional continuing education credit will be available:

Attorneys: Ohio has approved this program for 3.5 hours of CLE credit, including 2.5 hours of general, 0.5 hours of ethics, and 0.5 hours of professionalism. Kentucky has approved this program for 3.5 hours of general CLE credit.

Physicians: The University of Cincinnati designates this educational activity for a maximum of 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. Physicians should claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. The University of Cincinnati is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.

The UC Department of Psychiatry is an approved provider by the Ohio Psychological Association for mandatory continuing education under approval #311067501 until August 2008. The Department of Psychiatry maintains responsibility for this program. Ohio Licensed Psychologists who wish to obtain continuing education credits must complete the evaluation form and sign the attendance sheet, which is submitted to the OPA.

For more information or to register, call 513-556-0090, or fax to 513-556-1236.