The Biennial ELSI Congress

Since its creation in 1990, NHGRI’s Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) Research Program has supported a large body of empirical, analytical and conceptual research to anticipate and address the ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics. ELSI research addresses the new and sometimes unexpected ways that genomics interacts with many aspects of daily life, from how healthcare is designed and delivered to the ways individuals, families and communities understand such basic concepts as belonging and what it means to be human.

The ELSI Research Program has fostered a large, diverse, multi-disciplinary community of researchers addressing a wide range of topics; however, there is no single society or conference that encompasses the field. To address this need, the NHGRI currently sponsors a biennial meeting to bring together those with an interest in the ELSI of genomic research, known as the ELSI Congress. Typically, these meetings accommodate 300 to 400 attendees and involve a mix of plenary presentations and concurrent peer reviewed platform, panel and poster presentations. Recent ELSI Congresses have been in a virtual or hybrid format. Researchers, scholars, practitioners, trainees, policymakers, journalists, and the general public are invited to share and explore the latest ELSI research.