Ethical Issues Surrounding Human Germline Genome Editing

这个为期36个月的项目将通过使用德尔福调查方法、个人和焦点小组访谈以及在北京、中国和华盛顿举行的研讨研讨会启发，对中国开发和使用CRISPR进行人类生殖系基因组编辑所带来的伦理问题及其对美国和全球科学同行的影响进行评估。该项目将提供关于中国对人类生殖系基因组编辑的伦理观点的第一手数据，并将公开提供，以及关于从业人员如何表征、捍卫和谈判民族差异的数据。来自该项目的数据预计将产生几份同行评议的出版物，并提供给各种审议机构，如美国国家医学院、美国国家科学院、英国皇家学会、世界卫生组织和中国科学院，以及其他地方、国家和跨国科学和医疗团体，为实地的政策和实践提供信息。通过这样做，这项工作有助于实现创建向公众提供信息的社会科学的目标。该项目将使广泛使用CRISPR进行人类应用、基础和应用研究的科学家以及伦理学家和政府官员参与，并将提供机会，对不同国家的道德做法和条例进行跨国讨论和比较分析。该项目将：(1)研究美国和中国科学家如何为人类胚胎研究开发CRISPR技术；(2)确定允许CRISPR研究在中国快速应用的条件(组织、文化和社会)和监管环境；(3)评估美国和中国政府对CRISPR研究涉及不同机构、参与者和资助机制的监管；(4)评估美国和中国科学家对CRISPR对人类生殖系基因组编辑伦理影响的理解和知识；(5)使用收集到的数据来评估该研究所在中国和美国的伦理影响；以及(6)提供短期和长期建议，以帮助为美国和国际上有关人类生殖系基因组编辑研究的决策提供信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并已通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This 36-month project will produce an assessment of the ethical issues posed by the development and use of CRISPR for human germline genome editing in China, and its impact on U.S. and global scientific peers, through the use of Delphi survey method, individual and focus group interviews, and deliberative workshop elicitation in Beijing, China, and Washington, DC. This project will provide first hand data on Chinese ethical perspectives on human germline genome editing that will be made publicly available, and data on how national differences are characterized, defended, and negotiated by practitioners. The data from this project are expected to produce several peer reviewed publications and feed into a variety of deliberative bodies on the ethical implications of human genome editing, such as the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, the UK Royal Society, the World Health Organization, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as other local, national, and transnational scientific and medical groups to inform policy and practice on the ground. In doing so, this work contributes to the goal of creating social science for informing public knowledge.The project will engage a broad range of scientists using CRISPR for human applications, in basic and applied research, as well as ethicists and government officials, and will provide opportunities for cross-country deliberations and comparative analyses of ethical practices and regulations in different country contexts. This project will: (1) examine how U.S. and Chinese scientists are developing CRISPR technologies for human embryo research; (2) identify the conditions (organizational, cultural, and social) and regulatory environment that allow the fast paced application of CRISPR research in China; (3) evaluate U.S. and Chinese government oversight of CRISPR research for human applications involving different institutions, actors, and funding mechanisms; (4) assess U.S. and Chinese scientists' understanding and knowledge about the ethical implications of CRISPR for human germline genome editing; (5) use the gathered data to assess the ethical implications of CRISPR in China and the United States; and (6) offer short and long-term recommendations to help inform U.S. and international policymaking regarding human germline genome editing research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.