Tania Simoncelli facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tania Simoncelli
|
|
|---|---|
Simoncelli in 2014
|
|
| Alma mater | |
| Employer |
|
Tania Simoncelli is an important advisor who works at the Broad Institute, a big research center connected to MIT and Harvard. She helps guide their work in science. Before this, she worked for the U.S. government, helping with science and new ideas. She also worked at the Food and Drug Administration, which makes sure our food and medicines are safe. For many years, she was a science advisor for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The ACLU is an organization that works to protect people's rights. Tania advised them on new science and technology that could affect these rights.
In 2013, a science magazine called Nature named Tania Simoncelli one of "ten people who mattered this year." This was because of her important work with the ACLU. She helped lead a successful legal challenge against the idea of "patenting" human genes. In 2017, she became the Director of Policy for Science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is a group that uses technology to help solve big problems.
Tania Simoncelli has shared her knowledge on many science topics. These include personalized medicine (medical care designed for each person), gene patents, and how DNA information is stored. She also co-wrote a book called Genetic Justice: DNA Data Banks, Criminal Investigations, and Civil Liberties.
Contents
Education and Learning
Tania Simoncelli studied at Cornell University, where she earned her first degree in 1993. She focused on Biology and Society. Later, she earned a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Understanding Gene Patents
From 1982 to 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office allowed companies to get patents on isolated DNA sequences. A patent is like a special right that gives someone control over an invention. Tania Simoncelli believed that allowing patents on genes made it harder for scientists to discover new things and create new medicines.
The Myriad Genetics Case
From 2005 to 2009, Tania Simoncelli worked with an ACLU lawyer named Chris Hansen. They decided to take legal action against a company called Myriad Genetics. Myriad Genetics had patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. These genes are linked to a higher risk of breast cancer. Because Myriad had these patents, they were the only company that could offer tests for these genes in the United States.
Myriad Genetics charged about $3000 for their gene test. Tania Simoncelli explained that the company also "refused to update its test" even when new information about other gene changes was found by researchers in France. The main group that sued Myriad Genetics was the Association for Molecular Pathology.
The Court's Decision
In March 2010, a judge in New York ruled that Myriad's gene patents were not valid. Myriad Genetics disagreed and appealed this decision. The case then went to a higher court, which partly overturned the first ruling, saying that isolated DNA could be patented.
Finally, the case reached the highest court in the United States, the Supreme Court. On June 13, 2013, the Supreme Court made a unanimous decision. They ruled that simply isolating genes that are found naturally in the body does not make them patentable. This was a big win for scientists and patients. It meant that companies could not own patents on genes that exist in nature.
