ASHG News

GINA’s 10th Anniversary and the Future of Genetic Privacy

Written by Nascent Transcript writer Allison McCague August 2018 May 21 of this year marked the tenth anniversary of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), a landmark piece of legislation that Senator Ted Kennedy—one of the sponsors of the bill—called “the first civil rights bill of the new century of the life sciences.” GINA’s passage was the... Read More

Advancing Evidence-Based Genetic Testing

Advancing Evidence-Based Genetic Testing

In 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) invited comments on its intention to exempt a list of class II devices from premarket notification requirements, including tests assessing genetic health risks. ASHG responded to this request for comment by outlining its support for regulation that brings scientifically valid, evidence-based tests to market, and expressing... Read More

11 Organizations Urge Cautious but Proactive Approach to Gene Editing

For Immediate Release Thursday, August 3, 2017 12:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time Media Contact: Nalini Padmanabhan ASHG Communications Manager 301.634.7346 press@ashg.org Medical, Research, and Counseling Groups Issue Statement on Germline Genome Editing BETHESDA, MD – An international group of 11 organizations with genetics expertise has issued a policy statement on germline genome editing in humans,... Read More

Encouraging Responsible Genome Editing Research

Encouraging Responsible Genome Editing Research

In 2017, ASHG and 10 international organizations published a position statement on human germline genome editing in The American Journal of Human Genetics. The statement recommended against genome editing culminating in human pregnancy, supported publicly funded in vitro research into its potential clinical applications, and outlined scientific and societal steps necessary before implementation of such... Read More