This is the last in a four-part series about the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy.
In an effort to support the University’s push toward an interdisciplinary and integrative approach to educate its students, the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy introduced a FOCUS program this year that addresses the role of genomic sciences in today’s society. IGSP’s FOCUS program “The Genome Revolution and its Impact on Science, Health and Society” is meant as a stepping stone to higher-level education, IGSP Director Huntington Willard said.
“The implications of the Genome Revolution are so important, so broad and so encompassing that they touch all aspects of life as we know it, bridging both the science and the social views and policies to emerge from that science,” Willard said.
Lauren Dame, School of Law professor and associate director of the Center for Genome Ethics, Law and Policy, believes that the study of the policy behind this science is simply a natural outgrowth. “Whether you are a physician or not, you need to know about the ethics and other issues,” she said. “It’s time to start thinking about them now.”
Dame teaches a FOCUS course entitled “The Human Genome and the Law” that looks at the ethical, legal and policy issues associated with genomic science and how our laws influence the development, use and commercialization of it.
Willard, who also teaches one of the courses in the program, said the FOCUS program has two main goals. The first was to engage Duke freshmen from the start in genomics, and the second was to establish a strong connection between IGSP and the campus, especially among undergraduates.
“This was a big challenge for me—to convince those outside of the Medical Center, and especially at the undergraduate level, that the IGSP was relevant to them and was willing to invest significant energy on behalf of the larger Duke scene,” Willard said.
The other courses range from biology and medicine to computer science and programming to English and popular culture, as well as a required Writing 20 course. Like all other FOCUS programs, there is a weekly dinner at which students can discuss any issues in the Genome Revolution.
“[The FOCUS program] fits perfectly with the mission of the University,” said Angela O’Rand, FOCUS faculty director and professor of sociology. “It integrates research and classroom teaching and gives more exposure to faculty research and their expertise that students don’t normally see.”
The FOCUS course has been extremely popular, both faculty and students said. Not only was it the second most requested FOCUS program, next to “Exploring the Mind,” but there is a pool of faculty waiting to rotate in, said FOCUS Program Coordinator Amy Feistel, who also leads the discussion dinner seminar.
“It is just fantastic,” said freshman Mark Jelley, one of the FOCUS students who plans to pursue biochemistry and genetics. “I came to Duke from South Africa as pro-genome, but now I can see the drawbacks and other views. Seeing a balanced perspectives is new for me.”
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the program is that the students are being awarded the opportunity to have their DNA sequenced by The Institute for Genomic Research, one of the facilities in Maryland owned by Craig Venter, who is most famous for having privately sequenced the human genome. Although it has not yet been decided which genes will be analyzed, they will be ones of no medical importance. This activity was designed to only illustrate patterns of diversity in genes. Approximately half of the students in the program donated their samples in a strictly anonymous and voluntary manner “without coercion,” Willard said.
One student who said he participated in this activity did not have any hesitation. “In the future we will be doing it all the time. It’s such a powerful tool,” he said. “We should get used to it. I’m sure it’s just the first of many in a lifetime.”
The students in the biology class will examine the particular variations detected and learn how the genome is organized, what patterns of variation exist and what one can tell about possible traits linked to the sequences. Students in the computer science class will explore the sequences with various software programs written to analyze genome patterns.
“I am really excited to see the results,” said another student who donated a DNA sample. “These connections are great and it’s a once in a lifetime chance to have these people sequence our DNA for us.”
This exercise will encourage students to consider to what extent health predictions can be made from a genetic sequence, how the rights of the individual need to be protected and if this information could be useful to the individual and his family.
“Some of the students are excited; others are nervous,” Willard said. “This is the Genome Revolution in action, bridging both genome science and its societal implications.”
During the last weekend in October, the FOCUS group will visit Washington, D.C., to see how it all ties together. Students will attend a Capitol Hill briefing and meet those who developed a Genetic Non-Discrimination Bill, despite its defeat. They will also meet Barbara Culliton, editor-in-chief of Nature Medicine and Washington bureau chief for Nature Publishing, Inc., and Hamilton Smith, the 1978 Nobel Prize winner in medicine. Smith is attributed with the preparation of the DNA library for the sequences obtained from the Human Genome Project completed at the TIGR institute. The faculty is also trying to arrange a sequencing demonstration for the students at TIGR.
“I am really looking forward to this trip, not only because of how it relates to our classes but it is an exciting time to be in D.C.,” said freshman Jennifer Soung, a pre-med FOCUS student. “With the election coming up, it will be interesting to see how everyone reacts to what we are learning about.”
IGSP and FOCUS coordinators expect to see this program continue in the future. “We are just so excited and wildly enthusiastic about it,” Feistel said. “It’s fantastic how engaged the students are and how willing they are to expand their horizons.”
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