National Academies to Establish Human Gene Editing Guidelines

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced May 18 that the organizations are jointly launching an initiative to develop decision-making guidelines for human gene editing (http://bit.ly/1FXgR9g).

A 14-member advisory committee announced June 15th will guide the overall work of the initiative, which is intended to formulate guidelines for human gene editing research. Advisory committee members comprise professors and researchers with expertise in fields including biology, molecular and genetic medicine, bioethics, neuroscience, cancer research, and cellular and molecular pharmacology (http://bit.ly/1BdXOee). One of the committee members, Jennifer Doudna, PhD, has been recognized for her work on developing the CRISPR-Cas9 system for genome editing (http://bit.ly/1f1GwY5).

This fall the 2 academies will sponsor an international summit at which researchers and other experts in human gene editing will discuss scientific, policy, and ethical issues. The NAS and NAM will also appoint a multidisciplinary international committee to study the scientific foundation of human gene editing, as well as clinical, ethical, legal, and social issues. The committee will develop standards, guidelines, and recommended practices for using human gene editing in medicine and biomedical research.