Details on Penn's Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (PCSBI) Meeting

Here's the email sent by Penn President and Chair, Dr. Amy Gutmann:

Dear Penn Students, Faculty, and Staff:

I am writing to invite you to attend the second meeting of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, which I have the privilege of chairing, on September 13-14, 2010, on Penn's campus. Our 13-member commission continues to examine the issue of synthetic biology, a field that President Obama has asked us to consider in response to recent major breakthroughs in the field. The commission comprises experts from a variety of perspectives and includes Penn's own Anita Allen, J.D., Ph.D., Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and Philosophy and Senior Fellow in the Department of Bioethics in the School of Medicine.

The meeting next week will include testimony from experts in biology, genetics, ethics, law, public policy, and related fields, including three Penn faculty members: Arthur L. Caplan, Ph.D., Emmanuel and Robert Hart Director of the Center for Bioethics and Sydney D. Caplan Professor of Bioethics; Jonathan D. Moreno, Ph.D., David and Lyn Silfen University Professor of Philosophy, Medical Ethics, and History and Sociology of Science; and David B. Weiner, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. The testimony heard at this meeting will help to lay the groundwork for the Bioethics Commission's report to President Obama later this year.

The meeting will be held at the Inn at Penn (3600 Sansom Street) and The Agora at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (202 S. 36th St.), and all are welcome to attend. You may view a live webcast during the meeting at http://www.bioethics.gov/meetings. Highlights and a link to the full agenda can be found on the Penn website: http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/latestnews/081910-2.html. No RSVP is necessary.

I hope you can join me at this important and informative event, which will help ensure that our nation's vital and innovative work in science and technology is conducted in a socially and ethically responsible manner.

Sincerely,
Amy Gutmann