Human genetics research has an ethically fraught past, with a legacy of discrimination featuring racism, classism, ableism, and exploitation. At the same time, the last decade has seen the rapid and unprecedented development of technologies capable of mapping, modeling, and manipulating genomes. Despite this troubled history and uncertain future, most graduate training programs do not provide students with the tools to evaluate the broader impacts of research on society. We believe the future of scientific education is to train students to look at the broader impacts of research on society and their roles within this scientific structure.
We taught our course as a 3-week pilot course in spring 2022 and expanded it to a 10-week course in spring 2023.
We provide the full curriculum for our 2023 course, including readings, slides, and thoughtfully designed active learning activities. To get a better sense of what this course entails, you can read through an extended description of our course.
If instead you're interested in the curriculum for our shorter pilot course, you can find that as well.
For any questions, comments, or concerns, you can contact us at rpatel7[at]stanford.edu or raungar[at]stanford.edu.
For additional resources related to education on genetics, ethics, and society, see: