Ron Green, director of the Dartmouth Ethics Institute, has been appointed to the new 19-member Human Embryo Research Panel at the National Institutes of Health.
The panel will attempt to determine ethical guidelines for federally funded research on human embryos, Green said.
"Before considering funding specific human embryo research proposals, the NIH must address the profound moral and ethical issues raised by the use of human embryos in research and must develop guidelines to govern the review and conduct of federally-funded research," said Dr. Harold Varmus, director of the NIH.
Members of the panel include ethicists, lawyers, scientists and university leaders.
Green said his goal on the panel is to determine long-term ethical guidelines for biomedical research.
"I'd like to produce basic principles that will promote science and make most citizens comfortable that their money is being used for this research," Green said.
Green said one of the issues the panel will explore is research in cloning.
"I believe, in general, this is an important area of research which will dramatically impact the area of medicine," Green said.
For example, cloning research will eventually lead to improved cell and organ transplants based on the patient's genetic make-up, Green said.
Green said the research will continue whether or not the NIH supports it.
But if the NIH supports this research, it will have the opportunity to review federally-funded research and establish "guidelines to protect humans," he said.
"I want to do what is needed to foster that research and bring it under review by the NIH," Green said.
The panel will address whether or not to permit the use of fetal ovarian tissue for fertility research, Green said. It will also recommend specific embryonic research guidelines to Varmus.
Green was appointed to this committee for his expertise in ethics, said Anne Thomas, spokeswoman for the NIH.
"Dr. Green is a noted scholar on religion and has written on a broad range of ethical topics," Thomas said.
"We were looking for people with expertise, thoughtful people who could work together and help us come to grips with guidelines relating to this difficult and weighty issue," she said.
Green said he has had considerable experience evaluating bioethical issues both at Dartmouth and on other NIH panels.
The Ethics Institute is responsible for fostering faculty research, teaching and stimulating discussion of ethical issues in the Dartmouth community, Green said.
Green said he thought his experience on previous NIH panels won him the panel position.
"I've served on various NIH study panels for grant proposals regarding the Human Genome Project," Green said.
