"Brand-Name Genes" Talk With Attorney Lee Carl Bromberg And Dr. Robert Klitzman

Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University presents Brand-Name Genes, with Attorney Lee Carl Bromberg and Dr. Robert Klitzman;  moderated by Dominick Ianno. Thursday, April 19, 6:30-8:00 pm. Admission is free and open to all. 

Biotechnology in genetics is reaching heights that the average person can barely imagine. But what are the effects of this unstoppable science on individuals, the economy, and our society as a whole? If we cannot abate the speed of innovation, how can we better control it or at least mitigate the negative consequences? Attorney Lee Carl Bromberg reveals the tactic of companies patenting genetic code, while Dr. Robert Klitzman, author of Am I My Genes?: Confronting Fate and Family Secrets in the Age of Genetic Testing, shares the stories of real people whose lives were forever changed by genetic testing.Dominick Ianno, Ford Hall Forum President and Pfizer's Director of Public Affairs, US Northeast, leads us through a discussion of the revolutionary and sometimes frightening future of genetics.

A book signing by Dr. Klitzman will follow the presentation.

Further background information on the participants:

Lee Carl Bromberg is a trial attorney who concentrates in the area of Intellectual Property/Information Technology. He has successfully handled a wide range of patent infringement actions, as well as trademark, copyright, trade secret and unfair competition cases in high technology areas. Bromberg has been named a World’s Leading Patent Litigator by IAM Patent Litigation 250, and has been recognized as a Chambers USA “Leaders in their Field” lawyer for 2007–2012. He has been named among the top 100 lawyers in Massachusetts, listed in The Best Lawyers in America for intellectual property, and named as a “Super Lawyer” in the field of intellectual property. He has received one of the highest peer review ratings from Martindale Hubbell, based on a survey of other lawyers and judges. Bromberg's patent infringement practice on behalf of numerous national companies has involved a wide array of technologies, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and recombinant DNA. He has served as a court-appointed discovery master in patent litigation, has testified as an expert witness on patent litigation, and led the Task Force that obtained implementation of local patent rules in the Massachusettsfederal court. Bromberg has previously served as Clinical Associate Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law and as the President of the Boston Patent Law Association. He is currently a Fellow of the Boston Bar Foundation and a board member of the Ford Hall Forum.

Dr. Robert Klitzman, Author & Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Mailman School of Public Health, is the Director of the Masters of Bioethics Program; the Director of the Ethics, Policy and Human Rights Core of the HIV Center; a member of the Division of Psychiatry, Law and Ethics; and co-founded and for five years co-directed the Center for Bioethics. Klitzman has written seven books, and numerous articles drawing on multi-disciplinary methods to examine ethical, psychological and social issues in a variety of contexts in medicine and psychiatry. Specifically, he has examined decision-making concerning HIV disclosure, genetic testing, reproductive choices among individuals at risk for genetic disorders, Institutional Review Boards, and other topics.

Dominick Ianno, Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University President, the current Director of Public Affairs, US Northeast, in Pfizer’s Global Sites Public Affairs group. Ianno began his Pfizer career in January 2008, joining the company in a newly-created position as Director of Public Affairs in Worldwide Public Affairs and Policy, where he managed media outreach strategy for the company’s interests on state policy and legislative issues throughout the Northeast. Prior to joining Pfizer, Ianno served four years as a Vice President at Gray Media in Boston, providing political and business counsel to a wide range of business, education, and political clients. He is a past Executive Director of the Massachusetts Republican Party and worked as a research and media operative for several statewide Republican campaigns in Massachusetts. Ianno was named one of Politics and Campaigns “Top 100 Massachusetts Influencers” in June 2010.

The forum is at Suffolk University Law School, McLaughlin Moot Court Room, 120 Tremont St., Boston.  Wheelchair accessible and conveniently located near the Park St. MBTA Station.  For more information, contact Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University: 617-557-2007, www.fordhallforum.org.

Event info and text provided by Mary Curtin Productions and Suffolk University.