Mayo Clinic Wins Grant to Study Ethics of Sharing Genetic Test Results with Relatives

ROCHESTER, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A team of researchers, Gloria Petersen, Ph.D., of Mayo Clinic, Barbara Koenig, Ph.D., of the University of California, San Francisco, and Susan Wolf, J.D., of the University of Minnesota, have received a five-year, $2.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute to study the ethical and legal implications of providing genetic research results, such as DNA test results, from tissue donated to research bio banks to relatives of the donor.

VIDEO ALERT: Additional audio and video resources, including excerpts from an interview with Dr. Gloria Petersen describing the research, are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog.

“Substantial debate surrounds the question of whether researchers have an ethical obligation to return individual research results to genetic relatives of patients, especially when the patient has died, and incidental findings have potential health or reproductive importance for kin,” says Dr. Petersen, the Purvis and Roberta Tabor Professor at Mayo Clinic. “Establishing best practices for navigating this issue is becoming increasingly important as bio banks all over the world are archiving genetic data and making those data available for secondary analyses, often years after the DNA was donated.”

The study will examine family preferences, produce a detailed analysis of the legal and ethical issues involved, and offer recommendations for best practices.

Other Mayo Clinic study team members include Noralane Lindor, M.D., Robert McWilliams, M.D., Wesley Petersen, Ph.D., Carmen Radecki Breitkopf, Ph.D., and Ashley VanDenboom.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.com and www.mayoclinic.org/news.



CONTACT:

Mayo Clinic
Joe Dangor
507-284-5005 (days)
507-284-2511 (evenings)
Email: [email protected]

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Minnesota

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Practice Management  Health  Genetics  Hospitals  Research  Science

MEDIA:

Logo
 Logo