Alex McKeown

Project Officer

Main areas of work are:

I co-ordinate the EuroGenGuide project, a three year project funded by the European Commission which aims to improve and provide information about genetic testing and research in Europe. The EuroGenGuide is being run in collaboration with representatives of twelve partner organisations from around Europe, all of whom bring different expertise and areas of specialist knowledge to the project.

The EuroGenGuide is aimed at patients and members of the public, and doctors and researchers alike. With the intention of enabling people to make an informed decision about taking a genetic test, or donating DNA samples for use in genetic research programs, the EuroGenGuide will serve as a comprehensive resource for anybody who has an interest in these areas of work.

The guide will be backed up by an interactive website where clinicians, patients and members of the public can keep up to date with recent news and developments in the field of genetics from around Europe, and discuss and share issues of relevance via the website forum.

In the interests of helping to increase the scale of research for the development of treatments for genetic disorders, the EuroGenGuide will provide public information, and professional practice guidelines for the following areas:

• Informed consent
• DNA / Bio banking
• Access and benefit sharing
• Gender perspectives in genetic testing and research
• Ethnic minority perspectives in genetic testing and research

The project will be complete at the end of 2009, by which time I hope it will be a useful resource for anybody in Europe with an interest in the field.  EuroGenGuide is now online, and you can find out more about the project by visiting the website at: www.eurogenguide.eu and www.eurogenguide.org.uk

If you would like any further information about the EuroGenGuide, please email me at

Email: alexgig.org.uk