This week at the Progress Educational Trust (11 February 2019)

The Progress Educational Trust (PET) is busy preparing for its next free -to-attend public event - 'Talking Genomics with Patients' - which will take place in Birmingham on the evening of Tuesday 5 March, facilitated by PET Trustee Dr Christine Patch.

The speaker panel at this event- which includes patients and parents Julie Bartlett, Claudia Beard and Dr Charles Steward - is made up entirely of people who have had, and/or whose family members have had, their whole genome sequenced in order to better understand and treat a condition of known or suspected genetic origin.

Find out more here, and email sstarr@progress.org.uk to book your free place(s).

If tweeting about the event, please use the hashtag #GenomicsConversation

This event forms part of the annual Genomics Conversation Week of Action, run by Health Education England and by its Genomics Education Programme. It also forms part of the wider Genomics Conversation programme, which involves the public and stakeholders in discussions about key issues in genomic medicine.

PET has just produced a film of its most recent Genomics Conversation event - 'Whose Genome Is It Anyway? Big Data and Your DNA' - which can be watched below. (Alternatively, the film can be watched on PET's YouTube channel here.)

Besides its 'Talking Genomics with Patients' event in Birmingham, PET has also got a packed programme of public events coming up coming up in Edinburgh and London. See below for details, and email sstarr@progress.org.uk to book places or make enquiries.

• Tuesday 19 March: 'Revolutionising Reproduction: The Future of Fertility Treatment'

  An afternoon symposium in Edinburgh about the rapidly moving boundaries of reproductive medicine and embryo research, supported by the Scottish Government.

  Confirmed speakers and chairs include Professor Evelyn Telfer, Dr Rod Mitchell, J Richard Smith, Professor Richard Anderson, Dr Norah Fogarty, Professor Bruce Whitelaw and Professor Scott Nelson.

  The symposium is in two parts, 'Creating Sperm And Eggs Outside the Body' and 'From Genome Editing to Womb Transplants'. If tweeting about it, please use the hashtag #FutureFertility

• Tuesday 19 March: 'Germline in the Sand: Where Should We Draw the Boundaries for Genome Editing?'

  A free-to-attend evening event in Edinburgh about the ethical and scientific boundaries of genome editing, supported by the Scottish Government.

  Confirmed speakers include Professor Bruce Whitelaw, Professor Neva Haites, Dr Calum MacKellar and Dr Sarah Chan. If tweeting about the event, please use the hashtag #FutureFertility

• Wednesday 3 April: 'How Can We Make Surrogacy Law Deliver?'

  A free-to-attend evening event in London about surrogacy, produced in partnership with the British Fertility Society and chaired by Dr Jane Stewart.

  Confirmed speakers include Professor Nick Hopkins, Sarah Jones, Elizabeth Isaacs QC, Dr Imogen Goold and Dr Kirsty Horsey.

  If tweeting about this event, please use the hashtag #PETsurrogacy

• Thursday 16 May: 'Testing Times: How Should We Use Genomic Data in Assisted Reproduction?'

  A free-to-attend evening event in London about genomics and reproduction, supported by Igenomix.