That’s a wrap on the GDO’s 6th Annual Conference, hosted by Prof. Yann Joly and Dr. Lingqiao Song at the Centre of Genomics and Policy!

We were honoured to welcome Prof. Mark Rothstein (Institute for Clinical and Translational Science, UC Irvine) as our keynote speaker, who gave an enriching presentation on the “Past, Present, and Future of Genetic Non-discrimination Ethics and Law”.

Over the two days, collaborators from India, Ukraine, Lebanon, China, Australia, Japan, the US, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Singapore shared new empirical findings, emerging policy challenges, and cross-jurisdictional perspectives on genetic discrimination, AI governance, and their impacts. This breadth of perspectives made for a truly rich and engaging discussion.

We concluded by outlining our priorities for 2026 and discussing an action plan for continued collaborative work within the GDO network. Importantly, this was also the first GDO annual meeting to be open to an academic audience. With collaborators in over 30 countries worldwide and over 105,000 visits to our website in 2025, it was time to begin sharing our important work on genetic discrimination research more broadly with the community.

Thank you to everyone who attended!

We look forward to advancing this collaborative work on genetic discrimination in the year ahead.

We are thrilled to share that the GDO’s 6th Annual Conference will be held virtually on December 10 and 11, 2025!
This year, we will explore a range of topics related to Genetic Discrimination. If you are interested in presenting, please reach out to the GDO team.

Australia takes a historic step with the Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2025, banning insurers from using genetic test results. This landmark reform ensures genetic privacy and fair access to life insurance for all Australians. Read the draft here.