My name is Maiya Karsan, and I am a U2 student at Ï㽶ÊÓƵ. I am majoring in sociology, and I am double minoring in social entrepreneurship and history.
I am passionate about social justice, therefore I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to intern at the Canadian Centre for Applied Research in Cancer Control (ARCC). The ARCC is a Canadian research centre that strives to improve cancer control and the delivery of care through policy, education, and ethics research. One topic that the ARCC wants to explore is the ethical implications of heritable genome editing (HGE). HGE is the process in which embryos are modified so that a permanent change is made to the human germline. On one hand, HGE could be beneficial, as it could eliminate horrible diseases for future generations. However, there are also notable safety, societal, and ethical risks associated with HGE. Due to its controversy, there is currently a moratorium on HGE. Although it is currently prohibited, HGE will most likely be implemented in some countries in the near future. For that reason, it is crucial that we are prepared with an ethical framework to proceed.
This summer, I worked alongside my boss to develop a framework that offers recommendations on how to ethically move forward with HGE. We applied virtue ethics - which emphasizes virtuous character as central - to HGE. We used virtue ethics to guide the international community when making decisions, such as reflecting upon motives and potential outcomes of using new HGE technologies.
In order to create this framework, I had to fulfill numerous tasks. First, I skimmed through various news articles, publications, and a novel, called Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting, by Shannon Vallor to familiarize myself with the material. Then, I reread what I found relevant and summarized those articles. I gathered all the information I learned and brainstormed different ways in which we could structure the publication. Throughout the summer, I met with my supervisors and co-workers every few weeks to give 10-to-20-minute PowerPoint presentations to update them on the progress I was making.
When I started my internship, there were no more seats available on the second floor where the other student interns worked. My supervisor instead offered me a desk on the third floor. At first, this was challenging because no one else on the floor was my age. However, over time, I began introducing myself to other people on the floor and they all were friendly and welcoming. Moreover, during the department meetings, I introduced myself to the other student interns, and I made an effort to build relationships with them. As the summer progressed and I developed new friendships, I became more motivated, passionate, and excited to work.
My highlight of the summer was conversing with my co-workers who all had completely different backgrounds. Each one came from a different academic discipline, such as economics, biology, and computer science, and they were from different parts of the world including Bangladesh and Iran. Listening to their opinions and feedback on the work I was doing enriched my experience and exposed me to new perspectives which resulted in a more thorough and developed project.
Although I am not receiving academic credit for my internship, I know that my experience at the ARCC will positively contribute to the rest of my university experience. Engaging in conversations with people with such ranging and diverse opinions broadened my scope and taught me to be receptive to various viewpoints. At McGill, people will always have differing opinions, and it is important that I am able to both think from the other person’s perspective, but also stay true to my own beliefs.
In addition to building my social skills, I improved my writing skills, and learned to condense immense amounts of information in a neat, concise, and coherent presentation. I was allotted a 10-to-20-minute time slot to present, yet I had dozens of pages of information that I needed to summarize. At university, especially in the Faculty of Arts, there is a lot of reading, and a lot of notetaking. Having the ability to condense that knowledge into a short essay is a necessary skill to have - one that I struggled to acquire before this summer.
Lastly, I would like to thank Ms. Issid for her generous support. These funds will help me contribute to rent and tuition next year. Because I received funding, I was able to confidently accept the internship, I learned valuable skills this summer, and it opened new doors for me in the future. Thank you again, I really appreciate it.
