Sara L. (Sally) Tobin

Research Interests

Tobin is a Senior Research Scholar in the Program for Genomics, Ethics, and Society at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics. She obtained her Ph.D. in Developmental Biology from the University of Washington and did postdoctoral research in Genetics at the University of California, Berkeley and in Biochemistry at the University of California, San Francisco. She became a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1983, where she established her independent research laboratory and taught basic genetics, recombinant DNA, molecular diagnosis, and ethical issues to first year medical students. Her research contributions have been published in prestigious journals such as Cell, Nature, Genes & Development, Neuron, and Journal of Cell Biology. In 1996 she moved to the Program for Genomics, Ethics, and Society at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, where she has participated in Working Groups on genetic testing for susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer and to Alzheimer disease.

Projects

With her collaborator, graphic designer Ann Boughton, Tobin has completed the production of three educational multimedia CD-ROM discs about the genetic revolution in medical care sparked by the rapid advances in our knowledge about the human genome. One is currently commercially available through Twisted Ladder Media, and is entitled: "The New Genetics: Medicine and the Human Genome. Molecular Concepts, Applications, and Ramifications." The features and content of this interactive educational program are listed at the website: http://www.twistedladdermedia.com.

In addition, Tobin and Boughton have collaborated on educational websites on inherited risk of breast cancer and on hereditary colorectal cancer with the Stanford Cancer Genetics Clinic. With the University of Louisville, the Hastings Center in New York, and the University of Michigan, Tobin has also been involved in development and delivery of a curriculum about the special issues that are raised in the course of genetics research.

Tobin is a member of the Benchside Consultation Team for the Center for the Integration of Research on Genetics and Ethics, and she evaluates clinical protocols for ethical issues for the General Clinical Research Center. She is currently embarking on a new project to develop educational units for undergraduates that integrate genetics, genomics, and ethical and societal issues.

Currently, Tobin coordinates the Stanford Responsible Conduct of Research Course and co-organizes a graduate course on ethical issues in genetic testing.