Event Date: February 17, 2021
THE GENE Screening Event Explores the Genetic Revolution Transforming Medical Science
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Heather Woolridge
Join WITF for a free documentary screening and panel discussion around THE GENE: AN INTIMATE HISTORY Wednesday, February 17 at 7pm. Powerful personal stories and stunning breakthroughs reveal the historical search for the human genome and the promise of modern research. Based on Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee’s best-seller on how genes impact heredity, disease and behavior and presented by Ken Burns. Watch clips from the film and afterwards join Transforming Health reporter Brett Sholtis along with regional experts for a robust conversation about the documentary. The event is supported by Capital BlueCross.
Panelists include:
James Broach, PhD — Director, Penn State Institute for Personalized Medicine
Sara Gerke — Current Research Fellow, Medicine, Artificial Intelligence, and Law, at Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School. She will join the Penn State Dickinson Law faculty this July as Assistant Professor of Law.
Jennifer McCormick, PhD — Associate Professor of Humanities, Penn State College of Medicine
About THE GENE
The film highlights a critical moment for the scientific community, as geneticists around the world wrestle with the ethical implications of new technologies that offer both promise and peril. “These revolutionary discoveries highlight the awesome responsibility we have to make wise decisions, not just for people alive today, but for generations to come,” said Dr. Mukherjee, assistant professor of medicine at the Department of Medicine (Oncology), Columbia University and staff cancer physician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “At this pivotal moment when scientists find themselves in a new era in which they’re able to control and change the human genome, THE GENE offers a nuanced understanding of how we arrived at this point and how genetics will continue to influence our fates.”
WITF will also host a second screening and panel discussions February 24 for faculty, students, and medical staff at Penn State College of Medicine.
Supported by:
