The use of student-derived data in the laboratory classroom is an appealing way to increase student engagement,
but brings with it a number of ethical concerns, principally that such exercises may reveal aspects of students?
genetics which affect their personal identity. We will summarize our approach to using student DNA samples in
two laboratory exercises, one using mitochondrial DNA sequence data and another using RFLPs to genotype SNPs
associated with lactase persistence. These multi-week laboratory exercises are units of a general education
laboratory course called BSCI150: Beyond Race: Human Biological Diversity, at the University of Maryland, College
Park. Overall, past students were enthusiastic to participate in these exercises, with many choosing ?analysis of
their own DNA? as their favorite aspect of the course. During this workshop, we will walk participants through our
effort to balance the novelty of allowing each student to analyze their own DNA with necessary ethical
considerations such as informed consent, opt out procedures, and data privacy within each exercise. We will also
share the unexpected outcomes, including how this unit structure became an impactful way to facilitate student
discussion of research ethics, and the troubleshooting necessary for any participants who would like to use these
units in their own courses.
Keywords: bioethics, personal data, DNA sequencing, informed consent
University of Maryland (2024)
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
