At the recent Challenges for Society in the Genetic Information Age seminar, Prof Meslin was one of three visiting experts discussing concerns facing all researchers and policy makers.

Professor Eric Meslin

Prof Meslin said researchers should always first disclose any funding sponsors when presenting findings.

While he said some may think it is “unconventional” to lead with acknowledgements, he believes a description of the source of any funding is “more than just a disclosure to respond to conflict of interest claims”.

“It’s a description of what the field of bioethics and health policy is becoming”.

To illustrate the growing importance of bioethics, Prof Meslin outlined the work of the newly formed Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), created with a $30 million grant from the US National Institute of Health (NIH).

Prof Meslin said it took “a few cracks” to get the grant.

“But we built bioethics and health advocacy right into the guts of the translational science institute.

“We’re one of 38 institutions receiving these huge grants from the NIH, called the Clinical Translational Science Award.”

The NIH regards translational research as the ‘translation’ of scientific discoveries into practical applications that improve human health.

“The NIH realised its basic model was out of date, and the real action was moving from bench, to bedside and to the community,” Prof Meslin said.

He also believes the field of bioethical funding and policy is rapidly changing to keep up with the socio-political ramifications of new technologies.

He cited the example of James Watson appearing at the congressional table to request $3 billion in funding to sequence the human genome, three percent of which he wanted allocated to bioethics research.

According to Prof Meslin, a former bioethical advisor to ex-President Bill Clinton, “that was a big deal”.

“That was a policy statement; because there is political value, not just research value, in incorporating bioethics research.”

The West Australian Department of Health (DoH) is focusing on the new paradigm of health policy management and is liaising with the visiting bioethicists.

DoH Office of Population Health Genomics social research manager Caron Molster says a key challenge when developing bio-ethical policy is engaging the public in the policy development process, so that shared public values underpin the policy.

Prof Meslin said Perth can draw a lot from the emergence of this new emphasis on bioethics.

“[Indianapolis] is about the same size as Perth, has many similar resources and is a state capital in terms of legislative initiatives.

“Because this isn’t just a US phenomenon, anyone who pretends there isn’t a goal to commercialise IP is living, not only in a dream world, but at least a century ago.”

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