UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Novel scientific discoveries and technological advances often challenge society’s previously held assumptions, and present new questions that might have not been considered. Given the exponential scientific and technological progress of our current times, new and disruptive realities like this present themselves with near-constant frequency.
Against this rapidly evolving backdrop, our foundational institutions are being forced to confront many new legal questions, according to Jennifer Wagner, assistant professor of Law, Policy and Engineering at Penn State. One subset of these has arisen at the intersection of biological data, privacy, and digital information technology.
Wagner is a multidisciplinary expert deeply engaged with these particular questions. Her research focuses on the international human right to science, including human-centered design and matters of nondiscrimination, privacy, and equity with genetic/omic and mobile/digital health technologies. Wagner has published more than 60 journal articles, and her work has been cited by the Supreme Court of the United States.
In the latest episode of the Tracking Traits podcast, Wagner explains some of the legal challenges presented by the rapid acceleration of science, and argues the importance of anticipating potential consequences of new and emergent technologies before they are widely adopted in society, so that serious negative consequences might be avoided before a crisis occurs.
Wagner also emphasizes the importance of taking a multi-disciplinary approach to these kinds of complex issues.
“The research that I do really transcends any kind of departmental description or boundary,” Wagner said. “It could be described as ELSI research — ethical, legal and social implications research — or I'm calling it ‘anthro-engineering.’”
Wagner was interviewed about her research for the podcast by Penn State Forensic Science program undergraduate Emma Sieminski. Their conversation touched on several overlapping topics, including the need to address biases and discrimination in the research process, new challenges related to the rapidly developing field of precision medicine, and some of the processes involved in law-making around these kinds of issues.
“Making New Laws for New Scientific Discoveries” is available on all major podcast platforms. The Tracking Traits podcast is a production of the Center for Human Evolution and Diversity, and features Penn State undergrads interviewing researchers about their work and personal passions. New episodes are released monthly.
The Center for Human Evolution and Diversity is housed within the Department of Anthropology in Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts, with support from the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.