In this essay, we illustrate this thesis through an analytic summary of the research presented at the 2011 ELSI Congress, an international meeting of genomics and society researchers. The Congress1 was supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), and hosted by the Center for Genomics and Society at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of six Centers of Excellence in ELSI Research.2 It was the third such conference since the ELSI program was established in 1990.3 Featuring current and recent ELSI research, the Congress provided a slice-of-time perspective through which to consider a set of pivotal factors that characterize genomic research today, and that promise to increase in significance as genomic research and practice continue to evolve.
