What do key professionals need to know about the ethical, legal, and social ramifications of the genome project? How can these needs best be met? The success of the National Institutes of Health's program on the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of human genome research requires effective teaching strategies with members of professions who are better positioned than others to improve the qualify of public discourse and to examine critically the iedeas and norms that will shape public policy on future social uses of genetic information. Over a period of two and one-half years, the proposed University of Virginia project will draw on the resources of the University of Virginia and national experts to address these issues. Working with two professional groups--appellate judges, and journalists--an educational program will be developed that will be broad enough to satisfy the common needs of the two professional groups, yet tailored to meet the specific demands of their differing professions. The project team of core faculty, with the assistance of advisors from these professional groups, will develop an educational program that goes beyond prior projects by asking the participants to co-evaluate -- through their own assessments of their needs and through their questions and critiques -- educational materials as well as the pedagogical methods themselves. The Virginia ELSI Project seeks to: 1) engage 50 professionals (and a panel of advisors) in an effort to develop both written materials and teaching methods that deepen understanding of selected scientific, medical, legal, cultural, historical, and ethical implications of genome research; 2) prepare participants to use genetic information critically and wisely in their respective professions; 3) encourage the participants actively to evaluate the content, pedagogy, and usefulness of learning experiences both as they encounter the material and, later, after they have had time to incorporate it into their professional lives; and 4) create and distribute educational products, including: a) an integrated text, designed for use among these and other professions and the general public, that is built upon previous biological sciences educational programs but broadened to weave in the medical, legal, and cultural issues surrounding the newly acquired genetic information; b) a casebook, incorporating cases developed for and refined during the course with commentaries from different professional perspectives; and c) a teaching manual drawn from participant narratives and evaluations of the project with appropriate recommendations for each professional group.
