The final agenda and speaker lineup for the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing have been announced. The summit will be held on March 6-8 in-person at the Francis Crick Institute, London, and virtually, and is being hosted jointly by the Royal Society; the U.K. Academy of Medical Sciences; the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and U.S. National Academy of Medicine; and the World Academy of Sciences. 

Building on previous events held in Washington, D.C. (2015) and Hong Kong (2018), the London meeting will continue the global dialogue on the scientific, ethical, and governance issues surrounding somatic and germline human genome editing. Featuring speakers and participants from at least 20 countries, major themes for discussion include recent developments in clinical trials and genome editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9, as well as equitable access to somatic genome editing therapies. 

The full agenda is available at https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2023/03/2023-human-genome-editing-summit/. 

Highlights include sessions on: 

Day 1 

• Regulation in China following 2018 clinical use of heritable human germline editing – Yaojin Peng, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Joy Zhang, University of Kent  
• International equity for access to gene therapies – Jantina De Vries, University of Cape Town; Natacha Salomé Lima, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) and Universidad de Buenos Aires; and Ping Yan, Dalian University of Technology  
• The lived experience of genetic editing treatment for sickle cell disease – Victoria Gray, recipient of gene editing treatment for sickle cell 

Day 2  

• Accessibility and price of somatic genome editing clinical applications – Claire Booth, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, GOSH; Mike McCune, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Steve Pearson, Institute for Clinical and Economic Review 
• Prenatal somatic cell editing for severe early onset genetic disease – Tippi Mackenzie, University of California, San Francisco 
• Increasing capacity for diagnosing, manufacturing treatments, and treating genetic diseases – Sofonias Kifle Tessema, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention  
  
  Day 3 

• Are there compelling reasons for heritable human genome editing? – Ephrat Levy-Lahad, Shaare Zedek Medical Center; César Palacios-González, University of Oxford; and Tina Rulli, University of California, Davis 
• Update on Science and Techniques for Editing of Gametes – Amander Clark, University of California, Los Angeles; Katsuhiko Hayashi, Kyushu University; Kyle Orwig, University of Pittsburgh; and Mitinori Saitou, Kyoto University 
• How to enforce research policies and ethical principles for human genome editing – María de Jesús Medina Arellano, National Autonomous University of Mexico; Yaojin Peng, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Leigh Turner, University of California, Irvine  

Details: 

Visit the summit website for complete agenda and to register to attend online. 

Journalists who wish to attend the summit in person MUST CONTACT the Royal Society press office in advance. 

The Francis Crick Institute is located at 1 Midland Road, London NW1 1AT  

To request more information, please contact: 

Alex Matthews-King
Press Office
The Royal Society
press@royalsociety.org
+44 (0)207 451 2510 

Molly Galvin
Office of News and Public Information
U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
news@nas.edu
+1 202-334-2138 

Gaby Richter
Media and News Officer
U.K. Academy of Medical Sciences
gaby.richter@acmedsci.ac.uk
+44 7944 023132