Date: 15 and 16 October 2025
Venue: Helmholtz München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Gebäude 3522 Konferenzzentrum,
Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85764 Neuherberg
Registration: Participation is free of charge for conference participants. ELSA-Symposium participants who only join for the symposium pay 50 € (full) and 25 € (junior PhD student).
Embryo models meet genome engineering: A dialogue on ethics and innovation
Recent advances in three-dimensional tissue culture and matrix interactions have led to the development of increasingly authentic models of human physiology, enabling researchers to study inherited and acquired diseases. This trend is evident in various somatic organoids, including neuro-organoids, and has also been applied to embryo models, which are now reaching advanced developmental stages.
Genome editing tools have been widely used in organoid research to interfere with disease-associated pathways or repair inborn genetic mutations, raising only few ethical concerns. However, when applied to human embryo models, these techniques spark more intense ethical discussions.
At this year's conference, we aim to initiate a dialogue on these critical issues and are honored to welcome Jacob Hanna, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, as our keynote speaker for Wednesday evening.
During the ELSA Symposium on Thursday morning, Dr. Hanna will join us to explore the latest advancements in the rapidly growing field of embryo models. We will also examine the emerging concept of human-on-a-chip models, which serve as in vitro avatars for patient-specific studies. This raises fundamental questions about the characteristics that render in vitro models entities with some form of human moral status.
While this symposium will not provide comprehensive answers to these complex questions, we expect it to be a thought-provoking starting point for a broader debate on the ethics and implications of embryo modeling and genome engineering.