The Permanent Senate Commission on Genetic Research is a DFG expert committee. It sees itself as an advisory body to the academic community as well as to policymakers, authorities and the public at large on current issues in genetic research including genetic engineering and its applications. One of the Commission’s main responsibilities is active public relations work.

Among the plethora of pending problems, the Commission prioritises those fields where work on research policy is required, where there are deficits in debate and where developments in genetic research come to the fore that raise scientific, ethical, legal and social questions.

Current topics include the following:

• Reducing Bureaucracy in Genetic Engineering Activities
• Genome editing technologies in plant breeding
• Human genome editing (germline editing, somatic gene therapy)
• Dealing with highly pathogenic organisms and toxins (Dual Use Research of Concern)
• Stem cell research and organoids
• Human-animal chimeras
• Synthetic biology

Recommendations and opinions

The Senate Commission raises awareness among the academic community of the need for conscientious action at the interface between academic freedom and academic responsibility, advocating open social and political discourse. To this end, it publishes recommendations and statements:

Further recommendations and statements

Members

The members of the Senate Commission are academics from various disciplines within the life sciences and medicine as well as the fields of ethics and law. The permanent guests represent various other academic organisations in Germany.

• Members of the Senate Commission

Further Information

• Condensed overview of information provided by the Senate Commission (in German only)
• Handling Security-Related Research
• Information provided by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina: Green Genetic Engineering