Illumina Ethics Advisory Board

Charmaine is Professor of African & African American Studies, Biology, Global Health, and Family Medicine & Community Health at Duke University. She directs the Duke Center on Genomics, Race, Identity, Difference and the Duke Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation. Charmaine is a human geneticist, genetic counselor, and bioethicist whose research focuses primarily on issues at the intersection of genetics and "race", with the goal of transforming ideologies, applications, and impacts of "race" and racism in research, healthcare, and society.

Clement is Professor of Epidemiology, Associate Director of Population Science and Director for Global Health Cancer Research at the Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, and member of the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He was foundation chair of the Nigerian National Health Research Ethics Committee, Principal Investigator of several NIH-funded genomics, cancer and bioethics research and training projects including the Indigene Study, a project for improvement of comprehension of informed consent for genomic ethics in African communities that incorporates an online database of words related to genomics in local African languages.

During her 35-year career in medicine, Freda has been on the frontlines of healthcare as a clinician, educator, researcher, and leader in the biopharmaceuticals and life sciences industries. Freda most recently served as Pfizer, Inc.’s Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President until the end of 2018 and as Chief Patient Officer and Executive Vice President during 2019. In these roles, Freda expanded outreach to patients, reshaped the focus on patient engagement and inclusion, improved health information and education, and amplified the voice of the patient within company culture and decision-making.

Glenn is a Deputy Dean and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the Faculty Director for the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics. An award-winning academic and lawyer, Glenn’s work has appeared in leading publications and his amicus briefs have been discussed by the United States Supreme Court. His current research focuses on big data, health information technologies, research ethics, reproductive technology, and health policy.

Les is a clinical and molecular geneticist and is the chief of the Medical Genomics and Metabolic Genetics Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Biesecker directs the ClinSeq project with goals to improve medical care for patients and provide generalized knowledge about genetic disease. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Nita is the Robinson O. Everett Professor of Law & Philosophy at Duke University, and the Director of Duke Science & Society Initiative. President Obama appointed Nita to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues in 2010 and she served until 2017. She is a leading scholar on the ethical, legal, and social implications of biosciences and emerging technologies, particularly those related to neuroscience and behavioral genetics.