Jorge Contreras, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, has been awarded a URC Faculty Research Grant to conduct interviews and other research for a book tracing the development of the Myriad Genetics “gene patenting” case. The case, which was brought by the ACLU against local biotech firm Myriad, the holder of patents on the BRCA1/2 genes for breast and ovarian cancer, was decided by the Supreme Court in 2013, and redefined the rules for patenting human DNA. The case and surrounding controversy involved a large cast of characters including healthcare activists, public interest lawyers, venture capitalists, genetic researchers, Nobel laureates, and quite a few patent lawyers. Additional funding for the project has been provided by a DaVinci Fellowship grant from the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property at George Mason University.