The Web of Legal Protections for Participants in Genomic Research

Case Western Reserve University’s Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine has published an article titled The Web of Legal Protections for Participants in Genomic Research authored by Georgia State University College of Law professors Leslie Wolf and Erin Fuse-Brown and alumni Ryan Kerr, Genevieve Razick, Gregory Tanner, Brett Duvall, Sakinah Jones, Jack Brackney, and Tatiana Posada. Mr. Kerr and Ms. Razick are both associates in AGG’s Healthcare and Life Sciences practice groups. The article provides a comprehensive review of federal and state laws regarding genomic research participant protections. The group’s research found that there are numerous gaps in the federal laws that provide protections to participants such as the Common Rule, HIPAA, and GINA. The article summarizes the significant number and variety of state laws that provide greater protections to participants than federal laws. These state laws tend to broaden the applicability of privacy or nondiscrimination standards or by providing important remedies for individuals harmed by breaches, thus providing more robust protections than the federal law. This research is useful to genomic researchers as identifying and explaining legal protections to prospective participants allows the participants to accurately weigh the risks of study enrollment. The article was published in the 29th volume of the Health Matrix. The article is available for download from the Health Matrix website.

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