Gregory Stock is a
biophysicistBiophysics is an interdisciplinary science that employs and develops theories and methods of the physical sciences for the investigation of biological systems . Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms...
, best-selling
authorAn author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created...
, biotech
entrepreneurAn entrepreneur is a person who has possession of an enterprise, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome. It is an ambitious leader who combines land, labor, and capital to often create and market new goods or services. ... The term is a loanword...
, and the former director of the Program on Medicine, Technology and Society at UCLA’s School of Medicine. His interests lie in the scientific and evolutionary as well as ethical, social and political implications of today's revolutions in the life sciences and in information technology and computers.
Education
He received an MBA from
Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School is a graduate business school in Boston, Massachusetts. The school offers a full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, as well as many . The School owns Harvard Business School Publishing, which publishes business books, online management tools for corporate learning, case...
in 1987, where he was a Baker Scholar and won the Freund-Porter Entrepreneurship award. Stock completed a
doctorateA doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession . The best-known example...
in biophysics from
Johns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Johns Hopkins also maintains full-time campuses elsewhere in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Italy, China, and Singapore...
in 1977, where he received a BS and MS in 1971.
Biotechnology and its impact on society
He has written extensively on the implications for society, medicine and business of the
human genome projectThe Human Genome Project was an international scientific research project with a primary goal to determine the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA and to identify and map the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional standpoint...
and associated developments in
molecular geneticsMolecular genetics is the field of biology that studies the structure and function of genes at a molecular level. The field studies how the genes are transferred from generation to generation. Molecular genetics employs the methods of genetics and molecular biology. It is so-called to...
and
bioinformaticsBioinformatics is the application of information technology to the field of molecular biology. The term bioinformatics was coined by Paulien Hogeweg in 1979 for the study of informatic processes in biotic systems...
. The Storefront Genome, the symposium he convened in January 2003 to consider the broad challenges that cheap, easy access to our genetic constitutions will bring drew wide media attention, and his 1998 look at the possibilities of manipulating the genetics of human embryos, the first major public discussion of this issue among distinguished scientists, opened a global debate on this then taboo topic.
He has dealt with topics relating to privacy issues in healthcare and genomics ; advances in reproductive biology and embryo screening ; future possibilities in human germline engineering and anti-aging interventions; and scenarios of future human evolution. Stock’s speeches, writings and positions reflect a vision of pragmatism if not enthusiasm about adapting to the profound and difficult shifts these new technologies will bring and avoiding unnecessary delay in the development of new therapeutics and medical and biological interventions emerging from progress in the life sciences.
Biotech entrepreneur
Stock is the CEO of Signum Biosciences. Signum Biosciences is a private biotechnology company dedicated to developing small-molecule therapeutics derived from its Signal Transduction Modulation (STM) platform to modulate signal transduction imbalances. Through research on protein networks that control biological systems, Signum is developing therapeutic candidates for
Alzheimer's diseaseAlzheimer's disease , also called Alzheimer disease, Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of dementia. This incurable, degenerative, and terminal disease was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was...
, Parkinson's, diabetes,
asthmaAsthma is a predisposition to chronic inflammation of the lungs in which the airways are reversibly narrowed. Asthma affects 7% of the population of the United States, and 300 million worldwide...
and certain skin conditions. Signum’s STM technology provides many opportunities for the development of novel consumer products and pharmaceutical candidates. Signum was founded on the science derived from basic research studying cellular signaling at the
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
laboratory of
Dr. Jeffry Stock
He sits on the editorial board of the
American Journal of BioethicsThe American Journal of Bioethics , founded in 1999, is a peer reviewed journal published by Taylor and Francis. The journal publishes 12 issues each year, and is available both in print and on the internet...
and is in the department of Pediatrics at the UCLA School of Medicine. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Napo Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in San Francisco. He sits on the California Advisory Committee on Stem Cells and Reproductive Cloning and serves as the associate director for the Bioagenda Institute and the Center for Life Science Studies at the University of California at Berkeley.
Dr. Stock has been an invited speaker to many academic, government and business conferences. He makes regular appearances on television and radio, and has appeared on
CNNCable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is an U.S. cable news network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first network to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television network in the United States...
, PBS, NPR and the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
in shows including
Talk of the NationTalk of the Nation is a talk radio program based in the United States, produced by National Public Radio, and is broadcast nationally from 2 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Its focus is current events and controversial issues....
,
Charlie RoseCharles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television interviewer and journalist.Emmy Award-winning Charlie Rose entered television journalism full-time in 1974, when he became the managing editor of the PBS series Bill Moyers' International Report...
,
Oprah WinfreyOprah Gail Winfrey is an American media personality, actress, television producer, literary critic and magazine publisher, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history...
, Biotech Nation and
Larry KingLawrence Harvey Zeiger , better known by his stage name Larry King, is an American television and radio host.He is recognized in the United States as one of the premier broadcast interviewers. King has conducted some 40,000 interviews with politicians, athletes, entertainers, and other newsmakers...
.
Public policy and activities
Stock was an early force in considering the implications of human germline engineering and human enhancement. Through the Program on Medicine, Technology and Society, which he founded at the UCLA School of Medicine, he organized an influential 1998 conference at UCLA: "Engineering the Human Germline," which included a panel of
James WatsonJames Watson is the name of:*James Watson , British film and television actor*James Watson , United States Senator from New York...
, French Anderson, Lee Hood and other major figures in the life sciences. The event, which attracted considerable media attention and opened up broad debate on what was then a largely taboo topic, was covered on the front page of the New York Times. Through another seminal UCLA conference, Milestones on Aging, he organized, Stock helped legitimize research to significantly extend human longevity. The
event led to a follow conference he co-hosted at
UC BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley is a public research university located in Berkeley, California, United States. The oldest of the ten major campuses affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley offers some 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines...
with Bruce Ames and Aubrey de Grey, who went on to found the
Methuselah FoundationThe Methuselah Foundation is a non-profit 501 volunteer organization co-founded by Aubrey de Grey and David Gobel, which is based in Springfield, Virginia, United States...
, an organization that has aggressively promoted research on life extension. The activity of the MTS Program was also critical in establishing UCLA’s Center on Society and Genetics, which actively explores broad policy issues in the genomics arena.
Stock is now primarily engaged in the development of new therapeutics at Signum Biosciences, a biotech company he co-founded in 2003, but he remains active in the policy arena through UCLA's MTS Program, which he still directs, and the BioAgenda Institute, which he is the associate director of, and through various public appearances and debates. Stock has presented diverse keynotes ranging from “The Coming Era of Personalized Medicine” at
MedcoMedco can refer to:*Medco Health Solutions, a U.S. pharmacy benefits management company*MedcoEnergi, an Indonesian energy company...
, “Trends in Health, Science and Nutrition” at the
American Dietetic AssociationThe American Dietetic Association is the United States' largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, with nearly 67,000 members. Approximately 75 % of ADA's members are registered dietitians and about 4 % are dietetic technicians, registered...
, "The Future of Genomics and Healthcare" at Johnson and Johnson, "The Coming Healthcare Revolution" at HIMS (Healthcare Information Management Society) and "The Evolution of the Biotech Revolution" at
Applied BiosystemsApplied Biosystems, Inc. is the original name of a pioneer biotechnology company founded in 1981 in Foster City, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area...
to "21st Century Opportunities and Challenges" at the
World Future SocietyThe World Future Society is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., founded in 1966. .The Society investigates how social, economic and technological developments are shaping the future...
, "Beauty, Health and Biotech: A Look Ahead" at Fashion Group International, "Redesigning Humans: Best Hope, Worst Fear" at the TED (Technology, Education and Design) Conference, and "From Pharmacogenomics to Genetic Design" at the World Transhumanist Society. He has also been involved with broadcast media through guest appearances on shows such as the PBS documentary "Religion and Ethics: The Challenge and Ethics of Strong Biotechnology," debates on NPR's Talk of the Nation and Charlie Rose, via an online multimedia documentary he produced with funding from the Greenwall and Sloan Foundations entitled "Human Germline Engineering: Implications for Science and Society"(www.germline.ucla.edu), and in an ARTE documentary examining key figures in Biotechnology.
Stock's expertise in biotechnology, genetics and public policy in the life sciences led to his appointment on the California Advisory Committee on Stem Cells and Reproductive Cloning, Dept. of Health Services, State of California.
Debates
Stock has always been a strong advocate for the aggressive implementation of new technology in the life sciences and he has publicly debated many leading figures in the bioethics community, including
Francis FukuyamaYoshihiro Francis Fukuyama is an American philosopher, political economist, and author.-Early life:Francis Fukuyama was born in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. His father, Yoshio Fukuyama, a second-generation Japanese-American, was trained as a minister in the Congregational Church and...
,
Jeremy RifkinJeremy Rifkin , founder and president of the and creator of the , is an American economist, writer, public speaker and activist who seeks to shape public policy in the United States and globally....
,
Leon KassLeon Richard Kass is an American physician, scientist, educator, and public intellectual, best known as proponent of liberal education via the "Great Books," as an opponent of human cloning and euthanasia, as a critic of unrestrained technological progress and embryo research, and for his...
,
George AnnasGeorge J. Annas is the Edward R. Utley Professor of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights, Chairman of Department of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights, at the Boston University School of Public Health. He holds a degree in economics from Harvard College and law from Harvard Law School and an...
, Dan Callahan,
Bill McKibbenBill McKibben is an American environmentalist and writer who frequently writes about global warming and alternative energy and advocates for more localized economies. Beginning in the summer of 2006, he led the organization of the largest demonstrations against global warming in American history...
,
Michael SandelMichael J. Sandel is a political philosopher and a professor at Harvard University. He is best known for his critique of Rawls' Theory of Justice in his Liberalism and the Limits of Justice .-Education:...
,
William HurlbutWilliam Hurlbut may refer to:* William B. Hurlbut, Consulting Professor in the Neuroscience Institute at Stanford University* William J. Hurlbut , screenplay writer for Bride of Frankenstein and other films...
and Nigel Cameron. In these appearances, he has consistently argued against restrictions on life science research including funding bans on stem cell research, moratoriums on cloning, overly protective pharmaceutical regulatory controls, and efforts to constrain anti-aging research. A fellow of the World Technology Council and
World Academy of Art and ScienceThe World Academy of Art and Science is an international non-governmental scientific organization, an informal and non-official world network of individual fellows elected for distinguished accomplishments in the fields of natural and social sciences, arts and the humanities...
, Stock's argues in favor of the positive benefits of new technology has on human life and the role it will play on our future.
Books
Dr. Stock has written works on the impact and significance of recent advances in technology and the life sciences, and several bestsellers on values and ethics. His Book of Questions series, which consists of four eclectic collections of provocative situational dilemmas, was designed to generate discussion and thought about value-laden issues. The series has sold more than three million copies in total, been translated into 17 languages, and spawned a host of imitations. The original Book of Questions was number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller's list for 8 weeks.
His books on technology, public policy and future human evolution are:
- Metaman
Metaman is the name given by the author Gregory Stock to the concept of a superorganism comprising mankind and his technology. Stock developed the concept in his 1993 book Metaman: The Merging of Humans and Machines into a Global Superorganism .While many people have had ideas about a global brain,...
:The Merging of Humans and Machines into a Global Superorganism.(1993).
- Engineering the Human Germline: An Exploration of the Science and Ethics of Altering the Genes We Pass to Our Children (2000, Oxford University Press) (Co-editor with John Campbell).
- Redesigning Humans: Our Inevitable Genetic Future (2002)
Redesigning humans won the Kistler Award
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kistler_Prize for science writing. Stock has also written numerous articles and papers on these topics.
- The Book of Questions (1987) ISBN 9780894803208http://research.arc2.ucla.edu/pmts/books.htm
- Business, Politics, and Ethics: The Book of Questions (1991, Workman. NY.)
- Love and Sex: The Book of Questions. (1989, Workman. NY.)
- The Kids' Book of Questions. (1988, Workman. NY.)
Stock currently serves on the editorial Board of Rejuvination Science, the International Journal of Bioethics, the
Journal of Evolution and TechnologyThe Journal of Evolution and Technology is the peer-reviewed, electronic, academic journal of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, which publishes comtemporary foresight into long-term developments in science, technology and philosophy....
, and the
American Journal of BioethicsThe American Journal of Bioethics , founded in 1999, is a peer reviewed journal published by Taylor and Francis. The journal publishes 12 issues each year, and is available both in print and on the internet...
.
Boards
Selected public appearances
Civil Liberties Research Center Keynote: Genomics and our Rights (Alberta);
Joint Investment Conference: Genomics and the Human Future (Marrakech); PBS: Religion and Ethics -
The Challenge of Strong Biotechnology ;
World Future Society Keynote: New Approaches to Healthcare ;
Contract Magazine: Design and Life - A dialogue with architect
Lauren Rottet;
BioAgenda East Great Debate with Nigel Cameron: Should Human Germline Engineering be Banned?;
Therapeutic Insights: Exploring the Disconnect between Unmet Needs and Pharma Investment: Keck Graduate Institute: The Rights of Redesigned Humans;
Fashion Group International: Beauty, Health & Biotech - A look Ahead; Women’s Technology Council, The Ethics of Human Enhancement;
Wheaton College: Genomics, Science Fiction and Ethics Collide;
The Ethics of Life Extension: A debate with Daniel Callahan, Canada;
American Dietetic Assoc Keynote: Trends in Health and Nutrition;
Medco Keynote: The Era of Personalized Medicine[19];
Applied Biosystems: The Evolution of the Biotech Revolution[;
Auburn: Genomic Medicine & Ethical Constraints;
Forest Technology: Regenerative Medicine -A Look Ahead;
BioAgenda Institute: Chimeras and Synthetic Life;
Ernst and Young: From AI to Global Brain—the Merging of Human and Machine;
Foundation for the Future: Challenges of the Next Millennium;
NPR: Genetics and the Future of Medicine; World Transhumanist Society Keynote: From Pharmacogenomics to Genetic Design (Caracas);
Festival dei due Mondi: Biotechnology and the Human Future (Spoleto);
Price Waterhouse Cooper Showcase: A New Path Towards Therapeutic and Pharmaceutical Development;
FTI Annual Convention: Biotechnology and the Human Future;
BioAgenda Institute: Coming Biotech Challenges;
Center for Public Policy: Germline Research Policy Options;
Princeton Univ: Stem Cell Research and the Human Future;
Economist Conference Keynote: The Future of Pharmaceuticals (Athens);
Royal Society: A Look at Our Reproductive Future (London);
TEDMED: Afflicted by the FDA—The Future & Pharma Regulation;
NPR: Human Error and Technology; Harvard Medical School: Genetics and Society – Coming Challenges;
Harvard Business School: The Economic Impacts of Biotech;
GlaxoSmithKline Keynote: Risk Assessment and Genomics;
UC Irvine Schneiderman Lecture: From Regenerative Medicine to Genetic Design;
NPR Point-Counterpoint on Human Enhancement with Michael Sandel ;
University of Texas LBJ Lecture: Genetics, Biomedicine and Healthcare;
Can You Really Extend Your Life?
Selected articles
- Full List Available on Ucla Website
- Germinal Choice Technology and the Future of Human Reproduction - BioMedicine Online (March 2005)
- ‘Redesigning Humans’: Taking Charge of Our Own Heredity, review - The Lancet
The Lancet is a peer-reviewed general medical journal, published weekly.One of the world's best-known and most respected general medical journals, with editorial offices in London and New York, The Lancet was founded in 1823 by Thomas Wakley, who named it after the surgical instrument called a...
(April 2002)
- ‘Redesigning Humans’: Taking Charge of Our Own Heredity review - New York Times (August 25,2002)
- EMBO Reports - EMBO
For the scientific organisation, see European Molecular Biology Organization.Embo is a village in the Highland Council Area in Scotland and the former/postal county of Sutherland, about 2 miles NNE of Dornoch....
(2002)
- Talking Stock - Spiked
Spiked is a British Internet magazine focusing on politics, culture and society. The magazine’s mission statement is that they wish to “make history” and to stand up for the principles of “liberty, enlightenment, experimentation and excellence”.The magazine describes itself as:...an independent...
(June 25, 2002)
- Profile - Wall Street Journal (June 13, 2002)
- GENETIC ENGINEERING:Toward a New Human Species?, review - Science
Science 80 was a general science magazine published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science . It was intended to "bridge the distance between science and citizen", aimed at a technically literate audience who may not work professionally in the sciences...
(June 2002)
- Our shiny happy clone future - Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online magazine, with content updated each weekday. American liberal politics is its major focus, but it covers a range of issues. Reviews and articles about music, books and films are also a prominent feature of the site....
(April 2002)
- Bio-Luddites square up to friends of Frankenstein - The Times Higher Education Supplement
Times Higher Education , formerly The Times Higher Education Supplement , is a magazine based in London reporting specifically on news and other issues related to higher education.-Publication history:...
(May 17, 2002)
- Homo perfectus - Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California since 1881. It is distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States...
Review of Books (Sunday, May 5, 2002)
- Visions of the future - Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company...
(May 2002)
- The Remastered Race - Wired
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since March 1993, that reports on how technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
(April 2002)
- Cloning Research Commentary - Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California since 1881. It is distributed throughout the Western United States. It is the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States and the fourth-most widely distributed newspaper in the United States...
(December 2, 2001)
- Human Germline Engineering:Best Hope or Worst Fear? Germline
In biology and genetics, the germline of a mature or developing individual is the line of germ cells that have genetic material that may be passed to a child.For example, sex cells such as the sperm or the egg, are part of the germline...
External links