Feb. 12, 2021

The popular Boe Forum on Public Affairs at Augustana University will be held virtually this year.

The 24th annual forum from the Center for Western Studies will begin at 7:30 p.m. March 15 and highlight the topic of “Are We Ready? The Science, Ethics and Geopolitics of Genetic Engineering and Preventive Genomics.”

Keynote speakers Drs. Robert Green and Jamie Metzl will examine the relationship between genetics and health, the ability to predict and thereby prevent disease, and the geopolitics of genetic engineering and genomics.

The event was postponed from March 23, 2020, because of the ongoing pandemic.

University president Stephanie Herseth Sandlin will host the forum and moderate a question-and-answer session, which will feature questions from Augustana journalism and biology students, as well as graduate students in the Augustana-Sanford Genetic Counseling Program.

“Today’s scientists are studying how direct alteration of an organism’s DNA can eliminate undesirable characteristics, produce desirable traits and be utilized to prevent health conditions,” Augustana said in a statement.

“Preventive genomics can help discover treatment protocols for cancer, diabetes and other diseases before symptoms appear.”

As knowledge of gene coding grows, this information is becoming readable, writable and hackable. It has the power to eliminate diseases, create bountiful crops to feed an increasing population or even transform an entire ecosystem.

Metzl is a futurist who specializes in making revolutionary science understandable to the general public. He speaks regularly at some of the world’s most prestigious venues. His latest book, “Hacking Darwin: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Humanity,” explores the many ways genetic engineering is shaking the core foundations of our lives: sex, war, love and death.

Green is a physician-scientist and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and directs the Genomes2People Research Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Broad Institute. He is an internationally recognized leader in conducting research and developing policies to accelerate the implementation of genomic and precision medicine.

For information on how to access the virtual forum, click here.