Past Coffee Talks

Arri Eisen, PhD
The Implications of Jesse Gelsinger's Death in a Gene Therapy Trial
This coffee talk focused on the implications of Jesse Gelsinger's death in a gene therapy trial, including:the pending lawsuit against a bioethicist for recommending such treatment to the Gelsingers (click here for more information), the investigations, the effects on public policy and nationwide monitoring of such experimental treatments and the science involved. For notes on the talk, click here.

Howard Kusher, Robertson Distinguishsed Professor of Science and Society
Researchers Caught in the Middle of Conflict
This coffee talk focused on the case of Dr. Howard Frumkin and Edwin Carder. For notes from the talk, click here.

Pat Marsteller, PhD
Dangerous Ideas
This coffee talk focused on three questions: Do scientists have a special responsibility to the public when there is potential for misuse of their data in setting policy, by journalists, or by other agents? If there is possibility for misinterpretation, does this change the way results should be presented? Does discovery carry with it the implicit responsibility for what is done with its results? For notes from the talk, click here.

Nick Fotion, PhD
Medical Testing Abroad
The social, political and economic conditions for medical testing in the third world are radically different from those in the United States. This coffee talk focused on testing AZT, a drug used for AIDS therapy, in Africa. For notes from the talk, click here.