Investigating the Ethics of Polygenic Risk Scores: Short Course on ELSI Research at the Cutting Edge

co-sponsored by the Center for Research on Ethical, Legal & Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic & Behavioral Genetics


Polygenic risk scores (PRS) are being used increasingly to investigate neurologic and psychiatric disorders, as well as phenotypes such as intelligence and educational attainment. The widespread use of these scores raises a number of ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI). In this short course, participants will learn about: the science underlying this new research, the ELSI questions that arise in the context of such research (e.g., informed consent, results disclosure, communication of uncertainty, application to influence behavioral change, stigma, policy implications), and the types of research approaches that could be used to address ELSI-related questions arising from use of PRS.

Contact Information: Ruth Ottman, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology (in Neurology and the Sergievsky Center)
Deputy Director, Center for Research on Ethical, Legal & Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic & Behavioral Genetics
Columbia University