Theoretically, officials could obtain a wide range of genetic information on almost every citizen of the United States from these tiny samples, known as Guthrie cards. As its principal investigator, Gostin heads a team of scholars, including Professor Patricia King and Dean Judith Areen from the Law Center, and Professors James Hodge and Nancy Kass from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Hygiene. Professor Robert Oakley, director of the Law Center library, is also a member of the advisory committee. In addition to scholarship and public service activities, Gostin is a talented educator. He regularly teaches health and legal reasoning, a first-year elective.
Topics covered in the class include health care, bioethics, and epidemiology.
In discussions, students explore volatile issues such as the rights people have at death and mandatory notification of partners of HIV-positive individuals. Gostin constantly encourages students to think more deeply about these topics. It evolved from concern about the moral, legal, and social implications of innovations in the life sciences and in health care. She served on the first national bioethics commission established to study and make recommendations to protect human subjects of medical research, an experience that proved indelible. King's fascination with bioethics and her insights into the field have placed her at the heart of public policy development in this area.