Thomas Söderqvist The Institute for History, Philosophy and Ethics of Medicine of the University of Mainz is inviting to a symposium on “Remaking the Future of Health? In Search for Individual and Public Health in the Age of Genomics”, 29 – 30 June 2007. See more below:
Throughout the last decades, the rapid development of medical genomics brought about a novel understanding of health and disease often labelled as a paradigm shift in medical problem solving. However, medical genomics are not only of interest with regard to individual health but bear the potential to improve public health, too, because genome research has created a knowledge base that could be a venture point for innovative disease prevention. Evidently, the ‘genome paradigm’ and related predictive knowledge impact on the concept of medicine and significantly alter the style of medical decision making. Additionally, the medical genomics have started to significantly influence the ways in which we perceive and understand human life. The mutual interrelationship of biomedical innovation and the self-understanding of human beings have been historically shaped. Therefore, a socially acceptable, economically reasonable, and ethically justifiable integration of genetic knowledge into health care services must be grounded in a profound understanding of the fundamental social and ethical questions. This symposium aims at clarifying the scientific, cultural and normative issues emerging at the intersection of genomics and public health. International experts from diverse backgrounds will contribute to one of the most compelling discussions in genetic medicine. A major goal of the symposium is to link perspectives and approaches from social science, humanities to life sciences and biomedicine to promote the culture of interdisciplinary discourse.
Topics include:
- Historical and ethical aspects of genetics determinism
- History of genetics and molecular medicine
- Epistemological aspects of genomics
- Risk discourse and ethical dimensions of individualized medicine
- Cultural aspects of human genome research
- Concepts of health and disease
- History, concepts and perspectives of public health genetics
- Genetic information and autonomy
- Genetics and justice
Keynote speakers are D. Birnbacher (Düsseldorf), B. Egger (AOK public health insurance), H. Fangerau (Düsseldorf ), C. F. Gethmann (Europ. Acad. Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler), D. Gurwitz (Tel Aviv), W. Henn (Homburg/Saar), W. Höfling (Köln), İ. İlkılıç (Mainz), S. In der Smitten (DCCV), D. J. Kevles (Yale), H. Kliemt (Duisburg-Essen), R. Kollek (Hamburg), W. F. Kümmel (Mainz), D. Lanzerath (Bonn) T. Lemke (Frankfurt/Main), N. W. Paul (Mainz), P. Propping (Bonn), C. Rehmann-Sutter (Basel), A. Vieth (Münster), P. Weingart (Bielefeld, requested), Meike Wolf (Mainz)
Deadline for 250 word abstracts is 1 April 2007, to ilkilic@uni-mainz.de. For abstract format, see www.uni-mainz.de/FB/Medizin/Medhist/veranstaltungen/dokumente/abstract_submission_form.doc
For further info, see: www.uni-mainz.de/FB/Medizin/Medhist/veranstaltungen/dokumente/call_for_abstracts.pdf, or contact Dr. İlhan İlkılıç, Inst. f. GTE d. Medizin, Am Pulverturm 13, D-55131 Mainz, ilkilic@uni.mainz.de
