In the years since the completion of the Human Genome Project, however, it has become obvious that in order to realize any translational goals for genomic research, a variety of public interests, perceptions, and voices must be engaged in conducting the science itself. In order to acquire the population samples and data that large scale genomics requires, the scientific community must leave the academic lab to negotiate with other social institutions — hospitals, public health agencies, communities, governments — that bring quite different agendas and interests to the table. As the scientific community has made its way across this crowded public square, ELSI researchers have accompanied them, to try to understand those agendas and interests, and what their implications might be for science policy.
