Radio Show Tackles Ethics of Genome Sequencing

The radio show Lake Effect on Milwaukee Public Radio, tackles the ethics of genomic sequencing.

The show includes Kimberly Strong, an assistant professor of bioethics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, which, as reported by our sister publication Clinical Sequencing News was one of the first institutions to use genome sequencing to diagnose a rare disease and has since expanded its clinical sequencing program.

Strong highlights what she views as the three main ethical issues around sequencing: patient privacy, what information the consumer wants to know or not know, and the impact on family members or anyone else that may learn the results.

Genome sequencing "isn't some sort of rare or unusual treatment or unusual test that lots of people might not have any interaction with at all," Strong says on the show. "This is something that's personal for everyone — so I think that makes it, in itself, a very interesting thing to engage with."