23andMe Research Institute Appoints Privacy Advisory Board

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 23andMe Research Institute, a nonprofit medical research organization, today announced the formation of its Privacy Advisory Board. Composed of leading experts in health data privacy, data ethics, and consumer advocacy, the Board will provide strategic guidance on the protection of member information and the organization’s responsible stewardship of personal data.

"We have always been committed to giving individuals control over their data with choice and transparency," said Anne Wojcicki, Founder and CEO of 23andMe Research Institute. "The establishment of this board, with its deep and diverse expertise, reflects our dedication to ensuring our policies and practices reflect the highest standards of data protection and ethical use while we continue to pioneer genetic discovery."

The Privacy Advisory Board will advise 23andMe Research Institute on critical issues, including:

• Protection of member information and the responsible stewardship of personal data.
• Navigating evolving data privacy regulations.
• Assessing the privacy implications of new technologies and services.
  

Members of the 23andMe Research Institute Privacy Advisory Board include:

• Peggy Bodin, Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Privacy Counsel at HCA Healthcare. Bodin holds extensive experience in healthcare privacy and compliance across medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries. Bodin brings practical expertise navigating the European Data Protection Act, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Privacy Shield, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), FTC, Canadian PIPEDA, State Privacy and Breach Notification Laws, Employee Privacy Regulations, Safe Harbor Certification, Compliance, CISO Collaboration, Emergency Medical Treatment And Labor Act (EMTALA), Stark Laws, and the HITECH Act.
• Fred Cate, Distinguished Professor, C. Ben Dutton Professor of Law, and Adjunct Professor of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University; Executive Director of the Information Accountability Foundation; and co-founder and principal of Red Barn Strategy, a data strategy consulting firm. He has testified before numerous congressional committees and served on and chaired advisory groups for DHS, DOD, NSA, FTC, OECD, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, the UN, and other organizations.
• Jonathan Zittrain, the George Bemis Professor of International Law at Harvard Law School. He is also a Professor of Public Policy, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, a professor of computer science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, director of the Harvard Law School Library, and co-founder and director of Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society. Zittrain is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Board of Directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He has served on the Board of Advisors for Scientific American, as a Trustee of the Internet Society, and as a Forum Fellow of the World Economic Forum, which named him a Young Global Leader. He was the Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at the Federal Communications Commission, where he chaired the Open Internet Advisory Committee.

The formation of the Privacy Advisory Board reinforces 23andMe Research Institute’s proactive approach to data privacy. It will help ensure the organization continues to innovate responsibly, while safeguarding sensitive personal information, and prioritizing the trust of our members and the research community.

About 23andMe Research Institute

23andMe Research Institute is a nonprofit medical research organization that enables people everywhere to access their genetic information, learn about themselves and participate in the world's largest crowdsourced research initiative. The Institute aims to be the world's most significant contributor to scientific advancement, uniting people with the common goal of improving health and deepening our understanding of DNA — the code of life.

Media Contact:
Catherine Afarian
23andMe Research Institute
408.656.8872
catherine.afarian@23andme.com

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