Genethics Forum

About the Forum

The Genethics Forum is a national forum for health professionals and colleagues from the social sciences, law, and the humanities who work with – or are interested in – the practical ethical and legal issues that arise in day-to-day clinical and research practice in genetics and genomics. Established in the early 2000s following a Wellcome-funded workshop the Forum has since met regularly at centres across the UK in response to strong demand for a space to consider challenging cases, share experience, and develop good practice.

The Forum provides an opportunity for clinicians from any specialty, as well as laboratory scientists, social scientists, ethicists and others to present and explore difficult ethical issues encountered in their work with patients, families, and research participants. Meetings are relatively informal and case-based, encouraging open, critical reflection among participants from different centres, professions, and disciplines.

Meeting Format

We aim to hold three meetings each year: typically two in-person meetings hosted at different UK centres and one virtual meeting. Each meeting usually includes:

Short case or issue presentations from clinical, laboratory, or research teams

A plenary talk on a topical ethical, social, or legal theme (for example, consent, confidentiality, data sharing, family communication, or the use of genomic data in research and policy)

Facilitated multidisciplinary discussion, drawing on expertise from social science and bioethics as well as clinical practice

Over time, the Forum has acted as a catalyst for the development of professional guidance (for example, on consent and confidentiality in genomic medicine), for research grants and publications, and has informed wider policy discussions in genomics and healthcare.

 Aims of the Forum

• To help those utilising genetic and genomic medicine to identify and reflect on ethical, legal, and social issues arising in their everyday practice
• To support healthcare professionals in developing skills for recognising and addressing ethical problems
• To provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of cases and empirical work from services and research groups around the country
• To encourage the sharing of good practice and learning across clinical, laboratory, and research settings
• To help services and research teams develop ways of ensuring that ethical, legal, and social considerations inform day-to-day practice
• To contribute to the development of professional guidance and policy in genomic medicine

Who is it for?

The Forum is open to anyone working with, or interested in, genetic and genomic medicine, including clinicians, genetic counsellors, nurses, and laboratory scientists, as well as social scientists, ethicists, and lawyers with an interest in the ethical, social, and legal dimensions of genomic medicine and research.

Past meetings

The Forum has held around 75 meetings to date. 

For a list of past meetings, including plenary titles, please click here.

Slides from selected plenaries can be provided on request.

Next Meeting

Please find details of upcoming meetings below.

There is a small charge for attendance at both our virtual and in-person meetings to cover associated costs; lunch and refreshments are often included for in-person meetings.

• Virtual meeting: Tuesday 2nd June 2026

• Birmingham: Thursday 17th September 2026

• Liverpool: Thursday 28th January 2027

For further information, to register for a meeting, or to discuss a case, please contact:
genethics.forum@gmail.com

Further links 

Genethics Forum - Ethox Centre