Career Focus: Genetics and Genomics Law
A career in genetics and genomics isn’t necessarily limited to the bench or clinic. Attorney Daniel Vorhaus has made a career practicing law in the areas of biotechnology and genomics among others. Mr. Vorhaus is a graduate of Duke University and was a Fullbright Scholar at Lancaster University where he received an MA with Honors in Genetics, Culture and Society. He received his JD from Harvard Law School and is currently practicing law at Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson. Dan is also ELSI Advisor to the Personal Genome Project and Editor of the widely-read and greatly respected Genomics Law Report.
HUGO Matters is pleased to share the following interview with Mr. Vorhaus. If you have any questions, please leave a comment!
HUGO Matters: How did you arrive at a career in law specializing in genomics and personalized medicine?
Dan Vorhaus: After I finished my undergraduate degrees, I studied with Ruth Chadwick in the UK, which is where I first tacked in earnest the ethical, legal and social issues – as well as the science – associated with human genetics. That was a fascinating time for me and I showed up at Harvard Law with a ton of excitement about becoming a genomics lawyer.
There wasn’t much of a curriculum there in genomics or biotechnology at that time (although that really changed a few years ago when the Petrie-Flom Center opened) but, fortunately for me, I ran into George Church who was just getting the Personal Genome Project up and running. For those that know George, he is tremendous at saying “yes,” even with near-total strangers. I asked if I could help out with the PGP, which struck me as a truly innovative model across a number of dimensions, and George not only said yes, he started handing me substantive projects right away. It was a bit of a crash course but the PGP presented so many interesting legal questions to consider – as it still does today – that it really accelerated my learning curve.
My other big break was coming to work for my current firm, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, here in Charlotte, NC. RBH has been unwavering in its support of my work over the past several years. In addition to continuing to support my work with the Personal Genome Project, they also encouraged me to develop our genomics and personalized medicine practice, which included the launch of the Genomics Law Report last spring. It has been a lot of work over the past few years, but the support from my colleagues at RBH has made it possible.
HUGO Matters: What do you think are the most interesting and important legal issues currently facing the field of genomics and personalized medicine?
Dan Vorhaus: One of my favorite aspects of this job is that it is so dynamic. The underlying science and technology evolves so rapidly that, at this point, law and policy have little hope of keeping pace. That’s created a patchwork quilt of law and regulations surrounding genomics and personalized medicine. A lot of what I do for clients, particularly the researchers, entrepreneurs, companies and investors that are at the leading edge of personal genomics, involves mapping out a development strategy that minimizes risk by both addressing existing laws and regulations and anticipating where new changes or complications are likely to arise. So the issues are really quite different depending on which client I’m working with in a given day.
That said, there are a few key challenges facing the field today. One is the intellectual property landscape in biotechnology, particularly within the personalized medicine space. There are ongoing legal and policy battles over the future of biotechnology patents, including the gene patents that are the subject of so much discussion in the Myriad Genetics litigation. There is also considerable uncertainty, at least in the United States, about when agencies such as the FDA are going to take a more active role in regulating personal genomics technologies, particularly the growing array of what are known as Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs).
More fundamentally, as personal genomics begins to play an integral role in the lives – not just the medical care, but the day-to-day lives – of more and more individuals, the issue of how to manage individualized genomic information safely and responsibly is going to come increasingly to the fore. The United States enacted the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) in 2008, and that was an important step in the right direction, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. I think most individuals, policymakers and regulators that are looking at personal genomics are still trying to figure out how to sensibly collect, store and communicate genomic information. That’s going to become an increasingly pressing issue as the cost of genomic sequencing continues to fall and more people gain access to personalized genomic information.
HUGO Matters: What advice would you give to students and young scientists interested in a career outside of the ivory tower?
Dan Vorhaus: Don’t be intimidated if you don’t immediately see the opportunity you’re looking for. With all of the social media tools out there now it’s easier than ever to network and explore until you find something that catches your eye. And if you have a lightly traveled (or completely novel) career path in mind, look for people that are good at saying “yes” and that are willing to let you take chances.
Also, if you do decide to explore the world outside of the “ivory tower,” you should be certain that you know how to find your way back for frequent visits. I spend a lot of time meeting with academics – as well as reading scientific journals – in my attempt to keep current with the basic science, which is important because that’s invariably what will serve as the basis for one or more new companies in a year or two. I think you can get away with being largely insulated if you intend to stay in academic, but it doesn’t work the other way. If you go out into the public or private sector it’s important to maintain close ties with what’s happening in academia.
Thank you for the interview, Dan! Please feel free to leave comments and questions following this post.
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[...] Focus: Genetics and Genomics Law (interview with @genomicslawyer ) http://www.hugo-international.org/blog/?p=130 « Előző | Következő »Berci — 2010. 02. 09. 21:41 [...]
This is the genetics ….This is the most important to have in our world the human genome organization………………..
Its amazing ,I hope to complaete with genetic world but unfortunately I can’t ..
this is the way to do any thing yes go ahead with the human genome ..
Kind Regards…
The interview with Mr. Vorhaus is really inspiring and showed the wider career opportunities in genetics. I am also a student of genetics. Keep us updated about various career prospects in this field.