Administrators have nearly decided who they will hire as director of the Center for Genome Ethics, Law and Policy.
Since October, a search committee has been considering applications for the position. Dr. Jeremy Sugarman, chair of the search and director for the Center for the Study of Medical Ethics and Humanities, said the committee has submitted a list of candidates to Provost Peter Lange.
Lange said the search was heating up and that he hopes to make a decision in the next few weeks with the input of Dr. Sandy Williams, dean of the School of Medicine.
GELP--perhaps the most interdisciplinary element of the University's $200-million genomics initiative--will serve as a center of discussion for ethical, legal and policy questions inherent in the mapping and research of the human genome.
The field of bioethics has gained prominence in the study of genomics--at companies as well as at universities--as many scientists and policymakers consider the ethical questions of stem cell research, the legal questions of who owns human genetic material and the policy questions of human cloning.
Elizabeth Kiss, director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics, said that over the past few months, the center has been planning courses and programming.
"GELP is all about collaborative projects, making [the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy] truly distinctive" she said. "Our goal is that ethics not be peripheral, but that ethics be involved in a number of initiatives."
GELP is already planning events, such as an April symposium on commercialization and genomics.
Kiss said that not only would faculty members consider genomic issues in an academic sense, but also look at ethical questions at Duke as the genomics initiative progresses.
"I think a university like Duke has a civic responsibility to take these issues seriously," Kiss said.
Dr. Ellen Clayton, professor of pediatrics and law at Vanderbilt University, is the director of the university's Genetics and Health Policy Center.
She said one of the jobs of such centers is to change ideas and misconceptions about genomics. Clayton, Trinity '74, said she was a finalist for the position, but Duke would not confirm the names of the candidates.
"Having a realistic view about what genetics does and does not tell us has been a critical issue," she said.
"Recognizing the public responses are within our control. We can change the way we approach issues of biological difference. I think that's what our job ought to be."
GELP is one of five centers that comprise the genomics institute. Currently, only the Center for Human Genetics has a permanent director--Dr. Margaret Pericak-Vance, a renowned Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease researcher.
Williams and Lange have said the GELP position will likely be filled this semester, along with the director of the Center for Bioinformatics and Biological Computation.
Williams said director searches for the two remaining centers, the Center for Human Disease Models and the Center for Genome Technology will take place next year, after the selection of a director for the whole genomics institute.
Last fall, administrators tried to recruit Dr. Rusty Williams, a Chiron Corp. executive, to take the IGSP position, but he declined due to family reasons. That search is also ongoing.
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