Research with Dual Use Potential. Presentation Nancy Connell, Yousra Sobeih and Alastair Hay

Transcription

1 Research with Dual Use Potential Presentation Nancy Connell, Yousra Sobeih and Alastair Hay

2 Research with Dual Use Potential Goal: To have a better understanding of the concept of dual use Objective: To be able to identify research with dual use potential

3 Dual Use Research: Where the results have the potential to benefit as well as harm *Information Note: Conference on Dual Use Research of Concern (Life Sciences) Switzerland, Feb Potential risks posed by accidents or deliberate misuse of life sciences research **Responsible Life Sciences Research for Global Health Security: A Guidance Report, WHO 2010

4 Group Work Read Listeria factsheet & try to answer: (10 min) Your research team is studying Listeria monocytogenes for wide research purposes. To study listeria host range, most likely you will use: A. Human Clinical Cases B. Experimental Animals

5 Listeria

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7 Group Work (5 min) Within your group discuss: What do you think of this piece of research? Will it be helpful in studying the disease?

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10 Group Work (2 min) Within your group discuss: Was this responsible media reporting?

11 *Types of Risks Knowledge or techniques could help to create novel pathogens with unique properties or create entirely new classes of threat agents Research could have unintended consequences Research results can be published in easily accessible journals and on the internet and could be misused. * Source: PowerPoint Presentation, Research with Dual-Use Potential Session by John Clements, Educational Institute on Responsible Research with infectious Diseases, Aqaba, Jordon

12 *Examples of Risks ** Reconstructing 1918 Influenza Virus (A H1N1 pandemic virus, known as the Spanish Flu virus) Concerns: Escape from laboratories Deliberate misuse to cause harm Research-related laboratory accidents Soldiers from Fort Riley, Kansas, ill with Spanish influenza at a hospital ward at Camp Funston. en.wikipedia.org/ * Source: Responsible life sciences research for global health security: A guidance document, 2010, World Health Organization (WHO) ** Source: Tumpey TM et al. Characterization of the reconstructed 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic virus. Science, 2005, 310:77 80

13 *Examples of Risks **Increasing the virulence of mousepox (As part of an experiment to create a contraceptive vaccine for mice as a means of pest control) Concerns: Genetic manipulation results Similar experiments on orthopox viruses (such as smallpox) This work provided information that could be used to make the smallpox vaccine less or ineffective *Source: Responsible life sciences research for global health security: A guidance document, 2010, World Health Organization (WHO) ** Jackson RJ et al. Expression of mouse interleukin-4 by a recombinant ectromelia virus suppresses cytolytic lymphocyte responses and overcomes genetic resistance to mousepox. Journal of Virology, 2001, 75: *Source: Responsible life sciences research for global health security: A guidance document, 2010, World Health Organization (WHO)

14 Research benefits vs. the risks of its misuse

15 Group Work (10 min) Are there some experiments that you would not do because the results could be misused? What are they? Create a definition of dual use and present to all

16 Group Work (10 min) What should stop a scientist from doing research where the risk is greater than the benefits? Is it ethics, regulations, or

17 * Researcher Responsibility All who participate in biomedical research have a moral & ethical obligation to consider the implications of possible malicious use of their findings (Frida Kuhlau, Kathinka Evers, Stefan Eriksson and Anna T. Hoglund: Ethical Competence in Dual Use Life Science Research. Applied Biosafty, Vol. 17 no.3, P.g

18 Research with Dual Use Potential Goal: To have a better understanding of the concept of dual use Objective: To be able to identify research with dual use potential

19 Thank you