Content Experts’ Response

What role do experts see for public involvement in development and regulation? And how do we ensure public involvement? How is information dissemination being handled?

Dr. Berry’s Response

Roberta M. Berry, J.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Public Policy

Director, Law, Science and Technology Program

Georgia Institute of Technology

Roberta M. Berry is Associate Professor and Director, Law, Science & Technology Program. Her research focuses on the legal, ethical, and policy implications of life sciences research and biotechnologies. Prof. Berry is writing a book on the ethical and policy implications of genetic engineering of human beings. She has published a co-edited interdisciplinary book on health care law, ethics and policy, and a number of articles focusing primarily on the implications of genetic knowledge and technologies.

What is the status of development in the private sector, what technology is currently in use? What are the current benefits and problems we are aware of with current nanotech? Products on the market? What accidents/ problems have we already seen with nanotech?

Dr. Tillery’s Response

Stephen Helms Tillery

Assistant Professor, Harrington Department of Bioengineering

Assistant Professor of Kinesiology

Arizona State University

Dr. Helms Tillery works on cortical neuroprosthetics. He and his team created a system in which to train primates to control external devised using brain signals. Professor Helms Tillery endeavors both to understand the intricacies of neural control of real arm movement, and to address crucial bioengineering issues in the design of neuro-electronic hybrid systems.

What is different about these technologies that make them different from a regulatory standpoint? What are the risks inherent in these technologies that are not susceptible to regulatory controls used for other technologies?

Dr. Mehlman’s Response

Maxwell J. Mehlman, J.D., is Arthur E. Petersilge Professor of Law and Director of the Law-Medicine Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Law. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1975, and holds two bachelor's degrees, one from Reed College and one from Oxford University, which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. After law school he practiced law with Arnold & Porter in Washington D.C., where he specialized in federal regulation of medical technology. Professor Mehlman writes and lectures on a number of issues in health law and bioethics, including the just allocation of scarce resources; ethical, legal and social implications of new discoveries in human genetics; assuring the quality of medical care; and the role of the health professional under managed care.

What wastes are generated from nanomaterials? Can they be recycled or removed from the environment and from the body once introduced? What is the lifecycle of these nanomaterials?

Dr. Kulinowski’s Response