About the Book
Ready or not, medical practice is changing. Advances in the field of genomics—the study of how our DNA is constructed and functions—have made it easier for physicians to diagnose, treat, and even predict today’s many pressing health concerns. With the emergence of genomic sequencing and DNA analysis, this is an exciting moment in science, medicine, and personal health.
But it’s also an uncertain time, one fraught with understandable and uncomfortable questions:
• Can we take advantage of genomic progress and avoid genomic discrimination?
• Can medicine be tailored to a patient’s unique DNA profile?
• How will DNA banks and electronic medical records affect our privacy and welfare?
• Should we screen our healthy child’s DNA?
• When is information too much information?
In Genomic Messages, George Annas, J.D., M.P.H., and Sherman Elias, M.D., a health lawyer/bioethicist and an obstetrician - gynecologist/geneticist, respectively, answer these and other pressing questions about genomics. Together, they detail the field’s past, present, and future, while laying out its myriad legal, medical, and ethical ramifications. They empower individuals and families with the knowledge to make better decisions about their short-term and long-term health.
About the Author
George Annas, J.D., M.P.H., is Warren Distinguished Professor at Boston University, chair of the Department of Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights at Boston University School of Public Health, and professor in the Boston University School of Medicine and School of Law. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is cofounder of Global Lawyers and Physicians,
and his research has focused on the rights of patients and the regulation of research on human subjects.
Sherman Elias, M.D., was professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology and clinical genetics, and the retired chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Elias served as president of the Society of Gynecologic Investigation, director of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and vice president for clinical practice of the American College of Medical Genetics. He chaired both the ethics and genetics committees of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. His research focused on reproductive genetics, including prenatal diagnosis using fetal cells and nucleic acids from maternal blood.