Close Modal Center for Life Sciences The Center for Life Sciences brings together academia, industry, government, and the public to create a vision for—and a commitment to—making life sciences accessible and relevant for all. Image Breakthroughs in the life sciences are taking place at breathtaking speed. Enabled by new tools for cell and genome manipulation, drug screening and discovery, crop science, and patient therapies, both biomedicine and biotechnology are being transformed and reimagined, offering hope for humanity. But this rapid pace of change could come at a cost. People are being left behind and are increasingly distrustful of science. For life science breakthroughs to be trusted and accessible to all, we need learning experiences where everyone can come together to ask questions and share knowledge—whether as a scientific expert or an individual with a unique lived experience. Close Modal A Worldwide Audience The Center for Life Sciences was created in January 2022 to help the public understand, and be inspired by, advances in life sciences. Inaugural Director lnsoo Hyun, PhD, leads the Center, bringing together government, industry, academia, and the public to build mutual understanding. From public health issues such as COVID or our national mental health crisis, to biomedical sciences such as discoveries in cancer therapies, to basic sciences such as advances in cell biology, the Center enables people to understand, make good choices about, and engage with the life sciences.The Center creates programs not only for Museum visitors, but also for teachers, students, and a worldwide online audience. Dr. Hyun collaborates with a diverse Advisory Panel, drawn from the life sciences community, to deliver learning experiences locally and worldwide, including expert panels and lectures, town halls, online games and videos, exhibits and programs, K-12 curricula, community events, in-school programs, digital partnerships, and more. Image Placeholder for content by topic Meet the DirectorInsoo Hyun, PhD, is the inaugural director of the Center for Life Sciences at the Museum, bringing a wealth of academic and research experience to the role.His intellectual interests transcend stem cell ethics and policy to include emerging technologies in the life sciences and new strategies for community engagement in bioengineering. Since 2005, Dr. Hyun has been heavily involved with the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), helping draft its international research guidelines and serving twice as the chair of the ISSCR Ethics Committee. Dr. Hyun is also a member of NExTRAC, a federal advisory committee that provides recommendations to the NIH Director and a public forum for the discussion of the scientific, safety, and ethical issues associated with emerging biotechnologies.Dr. Hyun previously served as director of research ethics and a faculty member of the Center for Bioethics and senior lecturer on Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He was professor of bioethics and philosophy at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine for more than 18 years.Dr. Hyun received his BA and MA in Philosophy with Honors in Ethics in Society from Stanford University and his PhD in Philosophy from Brown University. He has been interviewed frequently on National Public Radio and has served on national commissions for the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC. He is the author of Bioethics and the Future of Stem Cell Research (Cambridge University Press, 2013). Explore the Centers for Public Science Learning Center for the Environment Center for Space Sciences
