Mar Vallès Poch earns her PhD with a dissertation on the ethical challenges of genomic medicine

On 3 July, Mar Vallès Poch successfully defended her doctoral dissertation, earning a PhD from Université Paris Cité and the University of Granada under an international cotutelle agreement.

Her dissertation, entitled Enjeux éthiques et responsabilités d’information dans les nouvelles dispositions du Plan France Médecine Génomique 2025 : une approche axée sur les Variants de Signification Incertaine, was supervised by Prof. Marie-France Mamzer (Université Paris Cité) and Prof. David Rodríguez-Arias (University of Granada).

The research explores the ethical challenges raised by the integration of genomic sequencing into clinical practice, focusing on the identification and management of variants of uncertain significance (VUS) in cancer genetics. Drawing on a literature review and a qualitative study conducted within the framework of the France Médecine Génomique 2025 Plan, the dissertation examines the communication of genetic uncertainty, healthcare professionals’ responsibilities for providing information, and the impact of this information on clinical decision-making. The findings highlight the need to rethink current information and consent models in order to incorporate a more dynamic and relational understanding of uncertainty in genomic medicine.