Hilgartner tapped as study section member with Center for Scientific Review

Hilgartner

Stephen Hilgartner, chair and associate professor of science and technology studies, has been chosen to serve as a member of the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Human Genetics Study Section with the Center for Scientific Review. Membership on a study section represents an opportunity for participants to contribute to national biomedical research.

The Center for Scientific Review is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and serves as the gateway for grant applications. Study section members review submitted applications, make recommendations on these applications and survey the status of research in their fields of science. The position helps ensure the quality of the NIH peer review process.

"The technological and social changes surrounding human genetics and genomics are moving with breathtaking speed," Hilgartner said. "The NIH is wise to support social and ethical research in this area. I am very pleased to be able to serve in this way."

Hilgartner's term begins immediately and will end June 30, 2013.

Members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific disciplines as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.

Hilgartner studies the social dimensions and politics of contemporary and emerging science and technology, especially in the life sciences. His research focuses on situations in which scientific knowledge is implicated in establishing, contesting and maintaining social order -- a theme he has examined in studies of expertise, property formation, risk disputes and biotechnology. His book on science advice, "Science on Stage: Expert Advice as Public Drama," won the 2002 Rachel Carson Prize from the Society for Social Studies of Science.