Andy Greenfield

Andy led a programme of research in developmental genetics at the MRC’s Mammalian Genetics Unit at Harwell for 25 years. His research focussed on the contribution that genetic variation makes to disease processes during development, with a focus on sex determination and related embryonic and fetal conditions. 

Andy has significant experience and expertise in policy, regulation and ethical governance in the area of emerging technologies in the life sciences. From 2009 to 2018, he was a board member of the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) and chaired its Licence Committee for several years. In 2014 and 2016, he chaired two expert panels that considered the safety and efficacy of mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRT) - also known as mitochondrial donation. He was a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) from 2014 to 2020 and in 2016 chaired its working group that considered the ethics of genome editing in a variety of contexts. He has also contributed to a 2024 NCOB report on  the governance of human stem cell-based embryo models. In 2019-2020, he was a member of the National Academies International Commission that considered possible clinical uses of heritable human genome editing and also a member of the ISSCR working party that updated its guidelines on heritable genome editing and MRT. In 2019, he was awarded the Patrick Steptoe Medal of the British Fertility Society in recognition of his contributions to reproductive medicine.

Since 2020, he has been a member of the Regulatory Horizons Council, an expert committee that advises the UK Government on the regulation of emerging technologies in diverse sectors. He is a member of the Board of the Human Tissue Authority (since 2022). He also chairs a subcommittee of the Food Standard Agency’s advisory committee, the ACNFP, charged with developing an assessment framework for precision bred (genome-edited) organisms for food and feed purposes. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

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