Georgetown hosts forum to discuss government request of journals to redact scientific data

Public release date: 10-Feb-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
Georgetown University Medical Center

WASHINGTON Georgetown University hosts a panel discussion and open public forum about the recent request by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), which advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to two premier scientific journals that they redact key information from unpublished manuscripts describing "dual use research" science that could have both good and bad purposes. The research in question involves a mutated H5N1 virus that could be contagious among humans, unlike the H5N1 avian flu viruses found worldwide since 1997. Such research could help scientists better predict, prevent, and treat such infections, but in the wrong hands, the virus could be used as a biological weapon.

The panel discussion, "Censoring Research on Contagious H5N1 Influenza in 2012? A Panel Discussion on Global Public Health, Legal, and Policy Controversies" will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 15th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the New Research Building Auditorium on the campus of Georgetown University Medical Center. The panel is free and open to the public.

Panelists include:
John Kraemer, J.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of health systems administration
Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies
Georgetown University Medical Center
(global public health law)

Paul Cote, Ph.D., professor, department of microbiology and immunology
Georgetown University Medical Center
(virologist and lecturer on influenza)

Jody Lanard, M.D., psychiatrist, Princeton, NJ
(risk communication expert)

Kevin Fitzgerald, Ph.D., S.J. associate professor, department of oncology
Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. David P. Lauler Chair for Catholic Health Care Ethics
Georgetown University Medical Center
(bioethicist)

Col. John Jaycocks, M.D., (U.S. Army Ret.)
Chief Medical Officer
Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
(DTRA: dual use research)

Forum Moderator
Daniel Lucey M.D., M.P.H., adjunct professor, department of microbiology and immunology
Georgetown University Medical Center
(H5N1 research in Egypt and Indonesia)

The panel is sponsored by the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the School of Nursing & Health Studies both at Georgetown University Medical Center, the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law, and the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

###

Click here for directions and additional information.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Recently, two research teams one from the Netherlands and one from the United States announced that they had genetically modified an H5 influenza virus in an animal model in such a way that it could possibly spread through the air and infect humans.

Their work, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was submitted independently to the journals Nature and Science. The NSABB, which advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recommended that Science and Nature redact key information prior to publication out of concern that published details about the research methodology and results could become a blueprint for bioterrorism. Science and Nature have not made public their intent regarding the publications.

In January, the two research teams announced a voluntary moratorium on their H5N1 research to provide time for the scientific communities and governments to "find the best solutions for opportunities and challenges that stem from the work."

About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical Translation and Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. In fiscal year 2010-11, GUMC accounted for 85 percent of the university's sponsored research funding.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 10-Feb-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Karen Mallet
km463@georgetown.edu
Georgetown University Medical Center

WASHINGTON Georgetown University hosts a panel discussion and open public forum about the recent request by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), which advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to two premier scientific journals that they redact key information from unpublished manuscripts describing "dual use research" science that could have both good and bad purposes. The research in question involves a mutated H5N1 virus that could be contagious among humans, unlike the H5N1 avian flu viruses found worldwide since 1997. Such research could help scientists better predict, prevent, and treat such infections, but in the wrong hands, the virus could be used as a biological weapon.

The panel discussion, "Censoring Research on Contagious H5N1 Influenza in 2012? A Panel Discussion on Global Public Health, Legal, and Policy Controversies" will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 15th, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the New Research Building Auditorium on the campus of Georgetown University Medical Center. The panel is free and open to the public.

Panelists include:
John Kraemer, J.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of health systems administration
Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies
Georgetown University Medical Center
(global public health law)

Paul Cote, Ph.D., professor, department of microbiology and immunology
Georgetown University Medical Center
(virologist and lecturer on influenza)

Jody Lanard, M.D., psychiatrist, Princeton, NJ
(risk communication expert)

Kevin Fitzgerald, Ph.D., S.J. associate professor, department of oncology
Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. David P. Lauler Chair for Catholic Health Care Ethics
Georgetown University Medical Center
(bioethicist)

Col. John Jaycocks, M.D., (U.S. Army Ret.)
Chief Medical Officer
Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
(DTRA: dual use research)

Forum Moderator
Daniel Lucey M.D., M.P.H., adjunct professor, department of microbiology and immunology
Georgetown University Medical Center
(H5N1 research in Egypt and Indonesia)

The panel is sponsored by the Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the School of Nursing & Health Studies both at Georgetown University Medical Center, the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law, and the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

###

Click here for directions and additional information.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Recently, two research teams one from the Netherlands and one from the United States announced that they had genetically modified an H5 influenza virus in an animal model in such a way that it could possibly spread through the air and infect humans.

Their work, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was submitted independently to the journals Nature and Science. The NSABB, which advises the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), recommended that Science and Nature redact key information prior to publication out of concern that published details about the research methodology and results could become a blueprint for bioterrorism. Science and Nature have not made public their intent regarding the publications.

In January, the two research teams announced a voluntary moratorium on their H5N1 research to provide time for the scientific communities and governments to "find the best solutions for opportunities and challenges that stem from the work."

About Georgetown University Medical Center

Georgetown University Medical Center is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization (BGRO), which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical Translation and Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. In fiscal year 2010-11, GUMC accounted for 85 percent of the university's sponsored research funding.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-02/gumc-ghf020912.php

micron susan g komen kenyon martin kenyon martin big miracle slab city super bowl snacks