Justice O'Connor will be the IADC Foundation Forum Speaker on Wed., Feb. 17, and Marchant will address the IADC's Toxic and Hazardous Substances Litigation Committee on Sunday, Feb. 14.
Marchant, author of Genetic Data in Toxic Tort Litigation (Journal of Law and Policy, 2006), will talk about developments in the use of genomic information in such lawsuits. Recent advances in the identification of polymorphisms, exposure to biomarkers, and other genetic data have the potential to transform causation determinations in toxic tort litigation, according to the IACD program. Genomic data are now increasingly offered into evidence to prove the idiosyncratic susceptibility of individual plaintiffs or as genetic biomarkers of toxic exposure. Objective and individualized causation data stand poised to replace assumptions, guesswork and ignorance in Daubert hearings and trial.
Marchant's research interests include the use of genetic information in environmental regulation, risk and the precautionary principle, legal aspects of personalized medicine, and regulation of emerging technologies such as nanotechnology, neuroscience and biotechnology. He teaches courses in Environmental Law, Law, Science & Technology, Genetics and the Law, Biotechnology: Science, Law and Policy, and Nanotechnology Law & Policy. In addition to being the Lincoln Professor of Emerging Technologies, Law and Ethics, Marchant is a professor in ASU's School of Life Sciences.