Nanibaa’ Garrison, PhD, University of California, USA
Nanibaa’ Garrison (Navajo), PhD, is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has appointments in the Institute for Society and Genetics, the Institute for Precision Health, and the Division of General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research. She is a teaching faculty for the UCLA genetic counseling master’s program.
Dr Garrison earned her PhD in genetics at Stanford University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in bioethics at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and the Center for Integration of Research on Genetics & Ethics at Stanford University.
Dr Garrison’s research focuses on the ethical, social, and cultural implications of genetic and genomic research in Indigenous communities. Using community-based research approaches, she engages with tribal communities to develop policies and guidance for conducting responsible genomics research with Indigenous Peoples.
Bartha Maria Knoppers, PhD, AdE, OC, OQ, FRSC, FCAHS, McGill University, Canada
Bartha Maria Knoppers is Distinguished James McGill Professor Emerita and was the Canada Research Chair in Law and Medicine (2001-2024). Holder of 5 Honorary Degrees, she is the Founding Director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at McGill University.
She is internationally recognized for her outstanding contributions on the legal and ethical aspects of genetics, genomics and emerging biotechnologies as well as the rights of children.
She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) and was the Co-Chair of the Ethics and Governance Working Group for the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) until 2024.
Eric Meslin, PhD, FRSC, FCAHS, ICDD, University of Toronto, Canada
Dr Eric Meslin has had a diverse 35-year career bridging clinical, academic, government, and non-profit sectors. Trained in philosophy and bioethics from York University (BA) and Georgetown University (MA, PhD) the common focus of his work has been on ethical, social, and policy issues in health and science with an emphasis on genomics, global health, science policy, and human research.
Dr Meslin has held several academic appointments including at Indiana University where he was Founding Director of the IU Center for Bioethics; University of Western Australia where he was Visiting Professor-at-Large; and Université de Toulouse where he held the Pierre de Fermat Chair d’Excellence. He is a productive scholar with more than 125 peer reviewed papers, 40+ book chapters, and dozens of technical reports and other publications.
Dr Meslin has also held several administrative leadership positions, including as Bioethics Research Director of the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) program at the National Human Genome Research Institute during the early years of the Human Genome Project; Executive Director of the US National Bioethics Advisory Commission during the Clinton administration; and as President and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies. He has also been an advisor to and board member of many organizations including OECD, WHO, CDC, Genome Canada, ELXIR-Europe, UK Biobank, and Standards Council of Canada. He is currently Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Distinguished Research Scholar at the University of Miami, and Senior Fellow at the PHG Foundation University of Cambridge.
Among his many honors, Dr Meslin is an Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and the Hastings Center. In 2007 he was appointed a Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (Knight of the National Order of Merit) by the Government of France.
