Innovating for Sustainable Agrifood Futures

Khara Grieger, PhD, Assistant Professor, Director of the GES Center at NC State | Profile

Nelson 4305 + Zoom | This talk highlights USDA/NIFA-funded GES research on the societal implications of genetic engineering and nanotechnology in food and agriculture, drawing on stakeholder perspectives to inform responsible innovation.

New and emerging technologies have the potential to deliver significant societal benefits and contribute to more sustainable futures. Genetic engineering in food and agriculture, for example, may enable the production of nutritious foods aligned with consumer preferences, support more environmentally sustainable protein production, and help develop crops that are resilient to a changing climate. Similarly, nanotechnology may improve the efficiency of agrochemical delivery through innovations such as nano-pesticides and nano-fertilizers and extend the shelf life of fresh-cut produce through nano-emulsion coatings.

At the same time, past experiences with novel food and agricultural technologies—such as first-generation genetic modification—highlight the importance of understanding and addressing societal concerns early in the research and development process. Integrating these perspectives can help identify potential risks, align technological development with stakeholder priorities, and support responsible innovation.

GES-centered research conducted through a USDA/NIFA-funded project examines the societal implications of genetic engineering and nanotechnology in the food and agriculture sectors. Drawing on stakeholder perspectives from case studies involving these technologies, the research highlights key societal considerations and offers recommendations for ensuring that emerging innovations contribute to sustainable agrifood futures.

These insights may be particularly valuable for researchers developing new food and agricultural technologies involving genetic engineering or nanotechnology, offering guidance on potential societal implications and stakeholder perspectives. The presentation concludes with reflections on future research directions that align with GES’s mission of integrating scientific knowledge and diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Related links:

• Horgan et al., Stakeholder perceptions of GE and nano-agrifoods, 2025
• Cimadori et al., Gene Edited Animals, 2025
• Lowry et al., Nanotech for precision delivery, 2024
• Grieger and Kuzma, Novel Plant Biotech, 2023
• Kuzma et al., Parameters and practices biotech, 2023
• Download seminar poster

Khara Grieger, PhD

Dr. Grieger is currently an Assistant Professor in Environmental Health & Risk Assessment and University Faculty Scholar at NC State. She is also the new Director of the GES Center. Her research focuses on risk analysis and risk governance of emerging technologies, including genetic engineering. Her work also focuses on extending and translating complex knowledge to diverse stakeholders to inform decisions. In addition to Directing the GES Center, she is a Project Director of USDA/NIFA funded grants, Associate Director for the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NC State, and Co-Director of the NSF-funded Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center. She has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles and 13 book chapters on risk governance and stakeholder engagement related to emerging technologies. She is an Editor for Environment Systems and Decisions, and serves on the board of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA). Before joining NC State, Dr. Grieger was a Senior Environmental Research Scientist at RTI International in the Health and Environmental Risk Analysis Program (2012–2019) and a Duke University Scholar (2017–2018). In those roles, she led independent research and provided technical support for federal agencies, including the FDA, EPA, NIOSH, and the U.S. Army. She obtained her PhD and MSc in Environmental Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark, where she lived and worked for nearly a decade.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305.

Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

The Ark and the Archive: Genetics, Manuscripts, and the Emerging Field of Biocodicology

Nelson 4305 + Zoom | What can genetics tell us about old books? This talk explores how next-generation sequencing and other biomolecular tools are opening exciting new frontiers in medieval manuscript studies.

Medieval parchment manuscripts have long been studied as repositories of textual and historical information, but they are equally remarkable as repositories of biological data. Biocodicology, or the study of books through the lens of the biological information they contain, is an emerging interdisciplinary field that brings together humanists, scientists, veterinarians, and conservation scientists to ask new questions of old cultural heritage artifacts. This talk introduces the field and traces its development, from early experiments confirming DNA survival in parchment to current collaborative work employing next-generation sequencing, palaeoproteomics, and microbiome analysis.

Drawing on nearly two decades of research into the genetic analysis of medieval manuscripts, I will discuss the considerable potential of biocodicological methods for addressing long standing humanistic questions, including localizing and dating manuscripts, reconstructing dispersed leaves from books, tracing the medieval parchment trade, and resolving debates about individual books, while also opening entirely new lines of inquiry into animal husbandry, breed development, and the history of human-animal interaction. The talk concludes by reflecting on both the opportunities and challenges in conducting this work.

Related links:

• Evaluating non-destructive sampling methods of parchment for genomic sequencing – Diaz, L.D., Scheible, M., Stinson, T.L. et al. npj Herit. Sci. , 2025
• The development of non-destructive sampling methods of parchment skins for genetic species identification – Scheible, M., Stinson, T. L. , et al. Plos One , 2024
• Download seminar poster

Timothy Stinson, PhD

Associate Professor at North Carolina State University | Profile

Timothy Stinson is Associate Professor of English and a University Faculty Scholar at North Carolina State University, where his research focuses on Middle English poetry, codicology, history of the book, and digital humanities. He is a leader in applying digital technologies to medieval studies, serving as co-founder and co-director of the Medieval Electronic Scholarly Alliance, director of the Society for Early English and Norse Electronic Texts, co-director of the Piers Plowman Electronic Archive, and is editor of The Siege of Jerusalem Electronic Archive.

Stinson has pioneered the use of DNA analysis to study medieval manuscripts, collaborating with colleagues in the biological sciences to analyze genetic material found in parchment. This innovative work has garnered international press coverage in outlets including the BBC’s The World Today, National Geographic, Science, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

His work has been supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Council on Information and Library Resources, and the Bibliographical Society of America. He has published in leading journals including Speculum, The Chaucer Review, Manuscript Studies, and The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305.

Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Carter Clinton, PhD, Assistant Professor at NC State University

GES Colloquium 3/10/2026 | Learn how burial soil genomics paired with descendant community partnership and bioethical data governance, can reconstruct buried histories and inform more equitable, socially accountable biomedical futures.

__ Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice.

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This talk will describe how applications of biotechnology, specifically DNA sequencing and computational genomics, are reshaping what we can learn about past communities while raising important questions about ethics, governance, and public trust. My lab develops non destructive approaches that recover DNA from burial soils, enabling research that minimizes disturbance of human remains and expands the scientific toolkit for studying historical populations. I will share what this technology can and cannot tell us about ancestry, health, and environmental context, and why careful interpretation matters when working with complex, sensitive samples.

Using the Hillsborough Legacy Project as a case study, I will show how we integrate burial soil genomics and archaeological evidence from a historically enslaved population with saliva derived DNA from local living descendants, paired with genealogical and health surveys and community interviews. I will demonstrate how this combined design strengthens inference by linking molecular signals to documented histories and lived experience, while also requiring explicit attention to bioethical practice, including consent, governance of data use, and responsible communication of results.

A central theme is how scientific innovation and social responsibility must be built together. I will discuss how descendant community partnership, consent, and data governance influence research design, what counts as evidence, and how results are communicated and used. The broader impacts extend beyond any single site. These methods can broaden representation in genomics, inform more equitable approaches to precision medicine, and provide communities with scientifically grounded narratives that complement archival records and oral histories. The talk will highlight how biotechnology interacts with society through questions of ownership, benefit sharing, and the risks of misinterpretation, and why interdisciplinary collaboration across biological sciences, social sciences, and the humanities is essential for responsible, high impact research.

Related links:

• Persistent human-associated microbial signatures in burial soils from the 17th and 18th century New York African burial ground , CK Clinton , FLC Jackson – ISME Communications , 2025
• Core issues, case studies, and the need for expanded Legacy African American genomics , F Jackson, CK Clinton , J Caldwell – Frontiers in Genetics , 2023
• www.carterclinton.com
• Download seminar poster

Carter Clinton, PhD

Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University | Profile

Dr. Carter Clinton is a genetic anthropologist, National Geographic Explorer, and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University, where he directs the Ancestry, Soil, Health, and Evolutionary Studies (ASHES) Lab. He earned his PhD in Biology at Howard University and completed postdoctoral training at Pennsylvania State University.

His research advances non-destructive genomics for historical populations, including work at the New York African Burial Ground that helped establish recovery and authentication of human ancient DNA (aDNA) from burial soils as an alternative to destructive skeletal sampling. The ASHES Lab applies these methods to newly documented burial sites in North Carolina, integrating soil derived human, microbial, plant, and animal aDNA using targeted and shotgun sequencing and unique bioinformatic pipelines (specific to highly fragmented, soil derived DNA) to connect molecular signatures with archaeological and archival context. With descendant community partnership, the lab compares human aDNA with genetic data from local living descendants, alongside health and genealogical surveys, and interviews, to support an evolutionary medicine framework that links ancestry, the environment, and social determinants of health to contemporary disease risk. Ethical stewardship, consent, data governance, and benefit sharing are embedded in each project.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305.

Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

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African Conversations: Insights of African stakeholders on biocontrol technologies for malaria control

Zoom ONLY | Insights from African stakeholders on the opportunities, concerns, and governance priorities shaping the future of gene drive technologies for malaria control

This presentation shares insights from the African Conversations Initiative, a multi-phase effort to integrate African stakeholder perspectives into the research and development of gene drive modified mosquitoes for malaria control and elimination. Engaging more than 500 participants across multiple countries, including researchers, regulators, policymakers, community and faith leaders, youth groups, civil society, and media, the initiative examines awareness, perceptions, perceived benefits, and major concerns surrounding emerging biocontrol technologies. It identifies critical scientific, regulatory, governance, and communication gaps that may hinder responsible research and future implementation, and highlights stakeholder-driven recommendations to strengthen local capacity, transparency, and context-specific evidence generation across African settings.

Related links:

• African Conversations Initiative
• Download seminar poster

Lina Finda, PhD

Director at African Conversations Initiative and Senior Researcher at Ifakara Health Institute | Profile

Lina Finda is a public health researcher and co-founder of the African Conversations Initiative, which convenes diverse African stakeholders to reflect on emerging health priorities and ensure that new technologies and innovations serve communities ethically, responsibly, and effectively. She is also a senior researcher at Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, where her work focuses on malaria transmission dynamics, particularly human-mosquito interactions, and the potential of innovative strategies to reduce and eliminate transmission. Lina holds an MPH, an MBA, and a PhD in Public Health, and her research focuses on inclusive stakeholder engagement to identify critical gaps and shape practical, community-driven solutions that advance health and wellbeing across Africa.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305.

Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

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Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Genome editing in corals

Zoom ONLY | An overview of the state of genome editing technology in corals and the ethical issues they elicit.

Coral reefs worldwide are experiencing unprecedented losses. Rising sea surface temperatures, declining seawater pH, pollutants, and disease are among the many factors that have led to coral population decline. Given the varied nature of these threats, it is unlikely that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to conservation and restoration will be sufficient. Precision genomics, including genome modification and transgenics, affords new opportunities to develop tailored solutions to these problems. Genomic modification in corals has thus far been hindered by technical difficulties including logistical challenges associated with coral reproduction and the low success rate of traditional transgenic approaches more broadly. Our group has overcome both limitations by successfully spawning corals in captivity year over year, and by developing a novel, high- throughput, gene knock-in strategy which we have demonstrated in several cnidarians including corals. There are potentially transformative applications of this technology: coral transgenic lines could, eventually, be used to drive expression of beneficial gene products that confer tolerance to heat, disease, or other stressors. At the same time, with our bioethics collaborators we are examining the potential ethical, environmental, and policy implications of deploying this technology in corals to generate a framework to guide future stakeholders in its implementation.

• Warner Lab
• Download seminar poster >

Jake Warner, PhD

Associate Professor at UNC Wilmington | Profile

Dr. Warner’s lab seeks to understand early development of Stony corals, a long overlooked field of developmental biology. He uses a combination of single cell omics, imaging, and perturbations to derive the gene regulatory networks of early cell type specification in developing corals. His group recently published the first transgenic ‘knock-in’ coral (Warner et al 2025). His group has garnered significant recognition and is funded by the NSF, NIH and international organizations

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305.

Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Gene Drive Research Forum: Convening Evidence, Governance, and Dialogue Through a One Health Lens

Nelson 4305 + Zoom | Learn how GeneConvene’s Gene Drive Research Forum brings together cross-sector expertise and dialogue to strengthen decision-making and responsible governance for gene drive and related genetic biocontrol approaches.

This colloquium will introduce GeneConvene’s Gene Drive Research Forum as an interdisciplinary convening platform that strengthens responsible research and decision-making on gene drive and related genetic biocontrol approaches through a One Health lens. The presentation will show how GeneConvene—and the Forum in particular—integrates evidence from the life sciences, social sciences, ethics, and regulatory practice to inform governance and support meaningful dialogue among researchers, public health practitioners, environmental stakeholders, and communities. We will review the Forum’s core activities and share emerging lessons on translating complex evidence into accessible, context-sensitive insights that can inform policy and practice.

Related links:

• GeneConvene
• LinkedIn
• Download seminar poster

Mr. J. Royden Saah, MS

Senior Technical Expert at GeneConvene/Foundation for the National Institutes of Health | Profile

J. Royden Saah is a global health and biosafety leader with more than two decades of experience building pandemic preparedness, infectious disease response, and research-to-operations programs in the U.S. and internationally. He currently serves as a Senior Technical Expert at FNIH’s GeneConvene. He came to the foundation after coordinating the Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents program at Island Conservation, supporting a multi-institution, multinational network developing novel biotechnologies for vector and pest management. His prior roles include senior leadership at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health and international outbreak response deployments, including COVID-19 and the West African Ebola epidemic. He holds a BS in Zoology and an MS in Microbiology, both from North Carolina State University.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305.

Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

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Governing Genome Editing at the Boundaries: Empirical Insights from Human Health Applications

*Zoom* Only | Drawing on empirical research on human genome editing, this talk examines how ethical questions around enhancement, disease seriousness, and governance are negotiated in practice, with implications beyond human health.

This talk draws on empirical research on human genome editing to examine how ethical boundaries around enhancement, disease seriousness, and governance are understood and negotiated in practice. Focusing on how scientists, clinicians, and policy professionals make sense of emerging genome‑editing technologies, the presentation highlights tensions between categorical policy distinctions and the context‑sensitive judgments required under conditions of uncertainty and clinical urgency. Rather than treating ethical boundaries as fixed or purely normative, the findings illustrate how they are shaped through anticipatory reasoning, institutional constraints, and efforts to act responsibly in the face of incomplete knowledge. Although grounded in human health applications, this analysis offers insights relevant to broader debates about responsible innovation and the governance of genetic engineering across domains.

Related links:

• Incidental Enhancement: Addressing a Neglected Policy Issue in Human Genome Editing , NIH National Human Genome Research Institute project, R.J. Cadigan (PI)

• Download seminar poster

Jean Cadigan, PhD

Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Profile

Jean Cadigan, PhD, is a Professor of Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whose work focuses on the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging genomic technologies. A medical anthropologist, she conducts empirical research on how scientists, clinicians, policymakers, and publics understand and navigate ethical boundaries in areas such as human genome editing and genomic medicine. She recently led an NIH‑funded study, “Incidental Enhancement: Addressing a Neglected Policy Issue in Human Genome Editing,” which investigated how concerns about enhancement arise in the context of ostensibly therapeutic genome‑editing interventions. She is delighted to be affiliated with GES through PreMiEr’s Social and Ethical Implications (SEI) research focus.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305.

Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

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Catching up with the CRISPR Craze

Nelson 4305 + Zoom | Deploying and commercializing genome editing technologies: challenges, opportunities, and implications of disruptive technologies

The advent of CRISPR-based technologies has revolutionized our ability to manipulate the genetic content of organisms across the tree of life and democratized genome editing across the globe. Repurposed from obscure adaptive immune systems in bacteria, CRISPR molecular machines have been broadly deployed in academia and industry in the past 10 years to manipulate the genomes of organisms relevant to medicine, biotechnology, and agriculture. We now have access to a portable CRISPR toolbox enabling flexible editing from a single nucleotide to large-scale genome manipulation in organisms that span minimalistic viruses to large trees and their corresponding genome range and complexities. So far, most applications focus on the design of efficacious and safe gene and cell therapies to address human disease. Yet, there are un(der)-appreciated opportunities to deploy genome editing modalities for sustainable agriculture, to enhance crops (yield and traits), but also livestock, trees, and organisms used throughout the food supply chain. There is a path to next-generation therapies by 2030, sustainable agriculture by 2040, and breeding healthier forests by 2050. Besides the technical bottlenecks, it is also necessary to account for regulatory frameworks, intellectual property pursuit, public engagement, ethical deployment, consumer acceptance, and geopolitical issues impacting our practical ability to harness genome editing to address medical, agricultural, and environmental challenges that require such disruptive technologies.

Related links:

• CRISPR Lab – Publications
• CRISPR Lab – Research
• Download seminar poster

Rodolphe Barrangou, PhD

Distinguished Professor at NC State University | Profile

Rodolphe Barrangou, Ph.D., is the Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University. Rodolphe spent 9 years in R\&D and M\&A at Danisco and DuPont, and has been at NC State since 2013.

For his CRISPR work, Rodolphe received several international awards, including the 2016 Canada Gairdner International Award, the 2016 Harvard Medical School Warren Alpert Prize, the 2017 NAS Award in Molecular Biology, and the 2018 NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences. He has been elected into the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Dr. Barrangou earned a BS in Biological Sciences from Rene Descartes University, France, an MS in Biological Engineering from the University of Technology in Compiegne, France, an MS in Food Science from NC State, a PhD in Genomics from NC State, and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Barrangou is also the former Chairman of the Board of Caribou Biosciences (NASDAQ CRBU), a co-founder of Intellia Therapeutics (NASDAQ NTLA), Locus Biosciences, TreeCo, Ancilia Biosciences, and CRISPR Biotechnologies, an advisor to Inari Ag, Provaxus, the KiTua fund, and the Editor in Chief of the CRISPR Journal. At NC State, Professor Barrangou holds appointments and affiliations in a dozen departments, academic programs, and centers, supporting the land-grant mission of the University.

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The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Building Local Capacity for Innovative Mosquito Control: Lessons from SIT and Nanotechnology Research

ZOOM ONLY | Dr. Hamidou Maïga will share insights on how innovative mosquito control, including Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) and nanotechnology, is being used to combat vector-borne diseases.

Innovative and sustainable mosquito control approaches are urgently needed to address the growing challenge of vector-borne diseases in Africa. This presentation will showcase efforts to build local capacity for the development and implementation of advanced technologies, focusing on the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) and nanotechnology-based interventions. Drawing from ongoing research worldwide, we will discuss the optimization of mosquito mass-rearing, irradiation, and release systems to enhance the efficiency of SIT programs. In parallel, we will highlight promising findings from studies on chemically and green-synthesized silver nanoparticles, which demonstrated strong larvicidal activity against both susceptible and insecticide-resistant strains of Anopheles coluzzii. These results underline the potential of nanotechnology as an eco-friendly and effective complement to traditional control tools. The presentation will also address challenges in developing nanotechnology-based approaches as a potential tool to reduce the burden of mosquito-borne diseases across Africa.

Related links:

• Blog: Governing Emerging Technologies: A Lesson from Burkina Faso , Nourou Barry and Katie Barnhill, 9/5/25

• Download seminar poster

Hamidou Maïga, PhD

Medical Entomologist at the Institute de Recherche en Sciences de la Sante, Direction Regionale de l’Ouest (IRSS-DRO), Burkina Faso | LinkedIn | Google Scholar | X

Dr. Hamidou Maïga is a medical entomologist whose research focuses on innovative mosquito control strategies to combat vector-borne diseases. He specializes in the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), contributing to the development and optimization of mosquito mass-rearing, irradiation, and release systems to enhance the effectiveness of SIT-based programs. Dr. Maïga has also initiated pioneering work on the application of nanotechnology in mosquito control, exploring eco-friendly, plant-based nanoparticle formulations as sustainable alternatives to conventional insecticides. His broader research aims to strengthen local scientific capacity and promote environmentally sound, genetics- and plant-based approaches to vector management across Africa

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Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Navigating a socio-ecological inquiry

Scientific inquiry into the socio-ecological challenges of forced displacement, environmental degradation, and shifting land use requires an interdisciplinary and multi-scalar approach. This research examines the interplay between local ecological knowledge, environmental pressures, human migration, and the broader global economic and political systems that shape these processes.

What comes to mind when you think of Costa Rica? Volcanoes, toucans, and turquoise rivers?

My journey as an avian ecologist working in Costa Rica brought me to a complex dynamic between the natural beauty of the country and the xenophobia towards people from Nicaragua. Listening and learning from first and second-generation Nicaraguan immigrants living in Costa Rica has shaped my doctoral research. My research explores how displaced Nicaraguan migrants and Costa Ricans know their natural surroundings and how they build a relationship with the land through everyday practices. This inquiry has pushed me beyond the boundaries of traditional ecological research, requiring an interdisciplinary lens and an openness to multiple ways of knowing. It has also allowed me to articulate the importance of engaging with the philosophy of science to question how we produce knowledge, whose knowledge counts, and how scientific practice can evolve to be more inclusive and reflexive.

• Download seminar graphic

Susana Mateos

Graduate student at North Carolina State University | Profile

Susana grounds her work in community engagement and collaborative learning. She has worked with the Antioch University New England’s community engagement team since 2020, where they have engaged with over 200 environmental leaders through the North American Association of Environmental Education community. Susana is a PhD student in the Forestry and Environmental Resources department. In addition to her current formal education, she works on a collaborative project with the California State University Desert Studies Center and Bureau of Land Management, to engage off-highway vehicle users, land managers, and tribes across the Mojave Desert. Trained as an ecologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, she has been involved in avian conservation projects in southern California and Costa Rica. Her bird conservation path brought her to learning from the communities that live among the biodiversity she loves. While studying manakins at Parque Nacional Volcán Tenorio, she began engaging with a rural Costa Rican community, learning about their connections to the natural environment as first and second-generation migrants from Nicaragua. Using political ecology and ethnoecology as theoretical frameworks, she seeks to understand the complex socio-ecological dynamics (power relations, resource distribution and environmental justice) within the community.

__ Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

NC State's Justin Whitehill explores how cutting-edge research on fir genetics is helping Christmas tree growers tackle pests, pathogens, and climate challenges while strengthening a $2.5B industry.

A GIFT SEED is a newly funded USDA-NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant focused on accelerating genetic improvement of the most popular Fir (Abies spp.) Christmas tree species in North America. Fir account for 66%+ of the annual $2.5 billion US Christmas tree industry. The environmental impact of real versus artificial trees show a locally grown Christmas tree is the more sustainable choice as it can sequester carbon from the atmosphere. Optimization of Christmas tree farms as greenhouse gas sinks has potential to become a net-positive climate activity through incentivization of carbon offset programs. Planting genetically improved fir Christmas trees holds significant promise for the US Christmas tree industry to combat climate change and provide added value to farmers. Across the US, Christmas tree planting stock is derived from germplasm of unknown genetic origin. Therefore, the genetic value of extant planted materials cannot be determined using traditional tree breeding strategies. To address this concern, North Carolina has established a state-funded breeding program dedicated to genetic improvement of Fraser fir. The A GIFT SEED project aims is to extend genetic improvement capabilities, accelerate the domestication process, and deliver increased value to the US Christmas tree industry through a transdisciplinary, systems-based approach. The project is currently underway and expected to be completed in 2029. The project team is currently looking to hire undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and technical support to assist with the project. Here we present on the current state of Christmas tree genetics and genomic research activities with a focus on pest and pathogen resistance and development of tissue culture systems for evaluation of gene function in conifers. Related links:

• Transcriptome features of stone cell development in weevil-resistant and susceptible Sitka spruce, Whitehill et al., New Phytologist, 2023
• Download seminar poster

Dr. Justin Whitehill, PhD

Assistant Professor/Christmas Tree Genetics Program Director at North Carolina State University | Profile | LinkedIn Dr. Justin G. A. Whitehill is an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University. He leads the Christmas Tree Genetics program and co-Directs the Forest Biotechnology Group. He and his team are working to develop pest and pathogen resilient Christmas trees through genetic and genomic approaches. He also holds an appointment in the Genetics Faculty at NCSU. Dr. Whitehill’s research lab at NC State consists of six graduate students, two postdoctoral fellows, three research associates, one lab/project manager, and multiple undergraduate research assistants. He is a Goodnight Early Career Innovator and the project director for a $7.42 million USDA-NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative project aiming to bring genetic and genomic tools to the US Christmas tree industry. Ongoing research projects in the Whitehill lab focus on integrating traditional genetic improvement methods with advanced genomic sequencing technologies to accelerate conifer tree breeding programs. His team is tackling the most pressing issues facing Christmas tree production in the US including mortality induced by Phytophthora root rot disease, elongate hemlock scale, and browsing deer. Additionally, tissue culture techniques for elite Christmas tree germplasm are being developed to evaluate gene function and provide improved genetics more quickly to Christmas tree growers.

__ Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Farm animal welfare in the gene editing era: a challenge for regulations across the globe. A comparative study between the United States, the European Union and Switzerland

Bridging law, ethics, and biotechnology, this talk by Yale PhD candidate Ilaria Cimadori will evaluate how countries regulate the welfare implications of gene-edited livestock. Through a comparative legal analysis, it identifies both promising approaches and critical blind spots in global governance of agricultural breeding innovations.

This presentation examines how different legal systems (the United States, the European Union, and Switzerland) address farm animal welfare in the context of evolving breeding technologies and techniques, such as gene editing, from a legal and regulatory perspective. After outlining the welfare issues and concerns identified in scientific and ethical literature, it analyzes and compares the regulatory frameworks governing animal breeding, gene editing, and animal welfare in these jurisdictions. The goal is to assess the adequacy of those legal tools in protecting farm animals from negative welfare consequences associated with breeding goals, particularly to increase productivity. The presentation highlights the strengths and weaknesses of both legal and, where relevant, non-legal instruments, using the "ethical animal welfare" framework, which prioritizes animal well-being for its own sake, beyond suffering and economic considerations. The presentation concludes by identifying regulatory gaps and areas for improvement, offering insights into strengthening legal tools to better safeguard animal welfare amid rapid advancements in biotechnology and breeding practices.

Related links:

• The Protection of Selectively Bred and Gene Edited Farm Animals under EU Law - Cimadori I. Di Concetto A, Grieger K. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 2025.
• Parameters, practices, and preferences for regulatory review of emerging biotechnology products in food and agriculture - Kuzma, J., Grieger, K., Cimadori, I., et al. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2023.
• Download seminar poster

Ms. Ilaria Cimadori, MA

PhD Candidate at Yale University | Profile Ilaria is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate at Yale University, School of the Environment. Her current research examines the adequacy of laws and regulations in safeguarding farm animals from the impacts of breeding practices and gene editing, using a comparative legal approach. She is a fellow of the Law, Environment and Animal Program (LEAP) at Yale Law School. Ilaria holds an MA in Comparative International Relations from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy, specializing in the protection of animals in international law. During her master’s studies, she was awarded a scholarship to conduct research at Duke University, where she developed her dissertation on the protection of African elephants in international law. Passionate about advancing legal frameworks for animal protection, she aims to contribute to more effective regulations addressing the ethical challenges of evolving breeding technologies. __ Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

American Farming Culture and the History of Technology: Social and Cultural Considerations Surrounding Biotechnology in Rural Settings

Dr. Brinkman presents his recently published book, contending that farmers in the American Midwest embed social and cultural meanings in technology through performative use that impacts agricultural modernization, policy debates around genetically modified organisms, as well as how rural people interact with new technologies, including biotechnology.

Presenting a history of agriculture in the American Corn Belt, Dr. Brinkman argues that modernization occurred not only for economic reasons but also because of how farmers use technology as a part of their identity and culture. Histories of agriculture often fail to give agency to farmers in bringing about change and ignore how people embed technology with social meaning. This book, however, shows how farmers use technology to express their identities in unspoken ways and provides a framework for bridging the current rural-urban divide by presenting a fresh perspective on rural cultural practices. Focusing on German and Jeffersonian farmers in the 18th century and Corn Belt producers in the 1920s, the Cold War, and the recent period of globalization, this lecture traces how farmers formed their own versions of rural modernity. Rural people use technology to contest urban modernity and debunk yokel stereotypes, and women specifically employed technology to resist urban gender conceptions. This discussion shows how this performance of rural identity through technological use impacts a variety of current policy issues and business interests surrounding contemporary agriculture, from the controversy over genetically modified organisms and hog confinement facilities to the growth of wind energy and precision technologies. Inspired by the author’s own experience on his family’s farm, this lecture provides a novel and important approach to understanding how farmers’ culture has changed over time, and why machinery is such a potent part of their identity. This lecture will be of great interest to students and scholars of agricultural history, technology, and policy, rural studies, the history of science and technology, and the history of farming culture in the USA.

Related links:

• American Farming Culture and the History of Technology, Brinkman, 2024
• joshuabrinkman.com
• Joshua Brinkman on American Farming Culture and the History of Technology, Peoples & Things podcast, 2025
• Download seminar poster

Joshua Brinkman, PhD

Assistant Teaching Professor at North Carolina State University | Profile Dr. Joshua Brinkman is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) at North Carolina State University. He is a historian of technology and an STS scholar who focuses on the relationship between technology use and identity, as well as the impact of science and technology on policy and the legal system. His research explores the meaning of technology in rural culture, the interplay between technology and race and gender, and the impact of social and cultural constructs on business, law, and policy in the U.S. As a former practicing attorney, he is also interested in energy and climate policy and has written papers bringing STS and humanities perspectives to environmental law. His work also critically studies food, society, and the environment, including modernity in American agriculture and its interaction with the organic foods movement. His work on agriculture was inspired, in part, by visiting and working on his family’s farm. In his spare time, he performs as a jazz and blues musician on saxophone and clarinet in the Raleigh-Durham area. __ Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES SRA Panel: Is “risk” Risk?

Biltmore 2006 + Zoom | Leadership from the Society for Risk Analysis explores how ‘risk’ is understood and practiced across agencies and communities working with emerging technologies. Although formal and legal definitions of risk are widely invoked in policy and governance, the concept itself is deeply contingent on context and perspective. This panel brings together members of the Society for Risk Analysis – Research Triangle Regional Organization (SRA-RTO) to examine how diverse professional communities articulate and operationalize “risk” in practice. Drawing on experiences from federal agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as collaborations with Tribal leaders and other communities, panelists will reflect on the social, institutional, and epistemic dimensions of risk assessment. By situating emerging technologies within these varied frameworks, the discussion highlights the tensions between standardized definitions and lived realities, raising the question of whether “risk” can ever be a singular, shared concept.

Related links:

• Society for Risk Analysis
• Download seminar poster

Panelists

Members of the executive board of the Society for Risk Analysis – Research Triangle Regional Organization.

• Nick Loschin, PhD Student in Interdisciplinary Risk Sciences (Applied Ecology) and AgBioFEWS Fellow, NC State
• Jill Furgurson, PhD Student in Forestry and Environmental Resources, STS scholar, and AgBioFEWS Fellow, NC State
• Madison Horgan, PhD Student in Environmental Engineering and member of the Interdisciplinary Risk Sciences team, NC State
• Paul Schlosser, Biologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Katie Barnhill, Associate Director of Programs & Engagement at the GES Center, NC State

__ Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Adapting the Responsible Innovation Framework for Gene Editing in African Agriculture

Former GES Fellows join us to discuss whether the Responsible Innovation framework can support genome-edited agriculture in Africa, given governance challenges, international pressures, and food sovereignty priorities.

The application of genome editing (GEd) in African agriculture is increasingly promoted as a response to urgent food security challenges, yet its broader social acceptance remains uncertain. The Responsible Innovation (RI) framework, developed largely in European contexts, emphasizes inclusive and anticipatory processes. This paper examines whether RI, in its current form, is applicable in Africa or whether significant adaptation is required to reflect local realities. Specifically, we assess whether the framework’s principles of anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion, and responsiveness can withstand the realities of Africa’s GEd agricultural contexts: the dominance of international funding, the outsized influence of foreign institutions, and institutional weaknesses in regulation that leave executive arms of government with disproportionate authority. We also examine the role of diverse stakeholders, including international investors, donors, and scientists, in shaping GEd trajectories in Africa, in relation to the positioning of local consumers. These reflections are further situated within urgent debates on food sovereignty and the responsibilities of African governments in providing governance guidance. While recognizing that RI is not intended as a tool for encouraging acceptance, we also consider whether its processes might nevertheless contribute to the legitimacy and social acceptability of GEd technology in Africa.

Related links:

• How hunger drives conversations on agricultural technologies: an analysis of the rhetoric of pro-GMO advocates on selected Ghanaian media platforms, Gakpo et al., Journal of Science Communication, 2025
• The evolution of media reportage on GMOs in Ghana following approval of first GM crop, Gakpo et al., _GM Crops & Food, _2024
• Download seminar poster

Ms. Emma Davies

Contributing Editor at NC Sea Grant | Profile Emma Davies is a graduate student in the M.A. in Liberal Studies Program at NC State University. She holds a B.A. in Communication (specializing in journalism). Emma is an environmental and agricultural journalist with about six years of experience in the field. She is a winner of many journalism awards, including the 2025 Science Storytelling Showcase, 2024 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ)/Alltech Young Global Leader award, the 2022 Ghana Journalists Association Business/Economics Reporter of the Year, and Aquaculture Journalist of the Year awards. Emma is also an INFAS Food Systems Fellow. Her research lies at the intersection of science and communication, with a focus on translating complex scientific knowledge into accessible narratives that inform policy, enhance public understanding, and contribute to sustainable food systems.

Joseph Opoku Gakpo, PhD

CEO of HavAfric | Profile Joseph Opoku Gakpo, Ph.D., is an agricultural communications scholar and food systems policy analyst. He holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Education & Human Sciences (Concentration in Extension) from North Carolina State University. He additionally holds an M.A. in Liberal Studies, an M.A. in Communication Studies, and a BSc. in Agricultural Biotechnology. He is a 2016 Global Leadership Fellow of Cornell University’s Alliance for Science Program and a 2020 AgBioFEWS Fellow. Joseph teaches communication methods in agriculture, and his academic research examines how humans interact with technology. Specifically, his interdisciplinary research explores strategies for communicating agricultural biotechnologies and mechanisms for trust building. As a food systems policy analyst, he analyzes and advises on policies that shape the governance of food in Africa. He is a big believer in the age-old saying that “if hunger was only a production problem, we would have solved it by now.” He thus conducts research and facilitates stakeholder engagements that promote integrated approaches to tackling Africa’s complex food system challenges. Currently, Gakpo serves as CEO of HavAfric – a start up that is pioneering a new, bottom-up model for the deployment of biotech crops in Africa, guided by the principles of Responsible Innovation.

__ Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Societal and Ethical Implications in Research of Microbiome Engineering in the Built Environment

What do people think about using genetically engineered microbes in their homes to prevent mold or reduce pathogens in their kitchen sink? To what extent does the public support introducing microbiomes into hospital sinks to reduce hospital-acquired infections? What are some societal and ethical implications of these emerging technologies? In her talk, Dr. Landreville will present research that addresses these questions using data from public opinion surveys, qualitative interviews, and home observations. She will also discuss the responsible research and innovation framework, principles, and practices that PreMiEr (Precision Microbiome Engineering Research) employs in its research. The goal of her presentation is to provide the audience with knowledge about the extent to which the public thinks about the health of their indoor environments as related to microbes and the extent to which the public is willing to consider microbiome engineering and genetically engineered microbes to improve the health of their homes, hospitals, and other indoor spaces. Related links:

• Natural vs. genetically engineered microbiomes: understanding public attitudes for indoor applications and pathways for future engagement
• Taking the temperature of the United States public regarding microbiome engineering
• Societal and Ethical Implications of Microbiome Engineering of the Built Environment Workshop 2024
• Societal and Ethical Implications of Microbiome Engineering of the Built Environment Symposium 2025
• Precision Microbiome Engineering Research Center
• Download seminar graphic

Dr. Kristen Landreville, PhD

Senior Research Scholar at NC State University | Profile Kristen D. Landreville, PhD, is a Senior Research Scholar at North Carolina State University, where she leads social science and public engagement research as part of the Societal and Ethical Implications (SEI) Core in the PreMiEr Engineering Research Center. She collaborates with teams across five universities to investigate public understanding of microbiomes of the built environment, such as fungal mold in households along coastal towns. Broadly, Kristen is a social scientist with experience in both quantitative and qualitative research methods. She uses her expertise in communication, media, psychology, and political science to study public attitudes and behaviors surrounding science, the environment, health, and risk.

Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Zoom Only | Final Colloquium of the semester! Dr. Anastasia Bodnar will present an overview of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology’s recently published report, outlining key recommendations to accelerate biotechnology in the United States.

• Download seminar flyer
• Charting the Future of Biotechnology, NSCEB Final Report, 2025.

Anastasia Bodnar, PhD

Senior Policy Advisor for the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) | LinkedIn Dr. Anastasia Bodnar has over 20 years of U.S. military and federal government experience in science policy and science communication, including in regulatory policy, risk management, and public health. She currently leads policy development on agriculture and biotechnology product regulation as a Senior Policy Advisor for the NSCEB. Previously, she held several roles at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including as the Biotechnology and Bioeconomy Coordinator for the Department. Anastasia began her career in the U.S. Army, focusing on public health and integrated pest management, and entered civilian service as a Presidential Management Fellow at the National Institutes of Health. She has a PhD in plant genetics with a minor in sustainable agriculture from Iowa State University and a BS in biology from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Abstract

While the United States is the home of modern biotechnology, our lead in research and development, innovation, and production of the most cutting-edge biotechnology breakthroughs is slipping. China is pulling ahead, and falling behind in this critical sector puts our economic, food, energy, infrastructure, and national security at risk. In its comprehensive report to Congress, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology assesses that time is running out to retain and cement our global leadership in biotechnology. We are falling behind fast, and catching back up won’t be an option. This report outlines an action plan to maintain our advantage in this critical domain, but only if we act now. The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, and we’re featuring a mostly student-led seminar series. Students will be taking the lead in identifying, inviting, and hosting most of the speakers, providing a great opportunity for them to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Withers 331. Your presence makes a big difference in creating a supportive environment for our students. Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Withers 331 + Zoom | Former GES Sr. Research Scholar Todd Kuiken returns from Washington, DC to explore the convergence of artificial intelligence with the biological sciences and the public policy issues addressing potential benefits and associated biosafety and biosecurity concerns.

• Download seminar flyer
• Recommended reading: Biosecurity in the Age of AI, NASEM

Todd Kuiken, PhD

Science & Technology Policy Analyst in the U.S. Congressional Research Service | Profile | LinkedIn Dr. Todd Kuiken has spent more than a decade analyzing and designing new research and governance strategies to proactively address the opportunities, risks and policy options associated with emerging science and disruptive technologies. He has advised, negotiated, and communicated with key federal, state, industry, academic, and nongovernmental stakeholders to help identify disruption points and policy gaps across a variety of emerging technologies enabling decision makers and broader publics to anticipate and govern emerging technologies. His current role as an analyst with the U.S. Congressional Research Service is to provide independent, non-partisan, comprehensive research and analysis for Congress on all legislative and oversight issues related to biotechnologies, artificial intelligence, fusion, biosafety, biosecurity, and the broader debates around public policy as it relates to science and technology. Prior to joining CRS, he spent five years as a senior research scholar at North Carolina State University’s Genetic Engineering & Society Center and eight years prior to that working as a senior research associate with the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program.

Abstract

Artificial intelligence technologies, methodologies, and applications can, and have been, used throughout the biological sciences, including in engineering biology. This has enabled research and development (R&D) advances across multiple application areas and industries. For example, AI can be used to analyze genomic data (e.g., DNA sequences) to determine the genetic basis of a particular trait and potentially uncover genetic markers linked with those traits. It has also been used in combination with biological design tools to aid in characterizing proteins and for designing new chemical structures, including for drug discovery. AI can also be used across the scientific R&D process, including the design of laboratory experiments, protocols to run certain laboratory equipment, and other “de-skilling” aspects of scientific research. The convergence of AI and other technologies associated with biology can lower technical and knowledge barriers and increase the number of actors with certain capabilities. These capabilities have potential for beneficial uses while at the same time raising certain biosafety and biosecurity concerns. This talk will explore these capabilities and governance options to address both the potential benefits and risks; including recent U.S. Congressional and Executive Branch activities. The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, and we’re featuring a mostly student-led seminar series. Students will be taking the lead in identifying, inviting, and hosting most of the speakers, providing a great opportunity for them to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Withers 331. Your presence makes a big difference in creating a supportive environment for our students. Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Zoom Only | How can we use genetics to manage wild populations, and how do the bioengineers working on these projects predict their impact?

• Download seminar flyer
• Johnson, M.L., Hay, B.A. & Maselko, M. Altering traits and fates of wild populations with Mendelian DNA sequence modifying Allele Sails. Nat Commun 15, 6665 (2024).

Michelle Johnson

Research Technician at Caltech | LinkedIn Michelle Johnson (he/him) is a research technician working with Dr. Bruce Hay at Caltech. The lab is interested in using genetic technologies to control the composition and fate of wild populations. Specifically, they work on designing and characterizing novel gene drive systems in different species. Michelle is a computational biologist and spends most of his time designing models, writing software, and describing the effect of novel gene drive systems on various populations. He is especially interested in how the inclusion and exclusion of certain model features can impact results. Michelle graduated from Harvey Mudd College with a BS in Mathematical & Computational Biology in 2023 and has worked with Bruce Hay since then.

Abstract

Population-scale genome modification can alter the composition or fate of wild populations. Synthetic gene drives provide one set of tools, but their use is complicated by scientific, regulatory, and social issues associated with transgene persistence and flow. We have proposed an alternative approach, called an Allele Sail. It consists of a genome editor (the Wind), which is inherited in a Mendelian fashion. This editor introduces DNA sequence edits (the Sail), which experiences an arithmetic, Super-Mendelian increase in frequency. Through modeling, we demonstrate this system’s ability to bring about both population modification and suppression. A relatively simple system, Allele Sails may prove useful since the spread and persistence of the transgenic component can be limited. We outline contexts where Allele Sails could be useful and briefly discuss the modeling field and perspectives on modeling for risk assessment.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes. GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, and we’re featuring a mostly student-led seminar series. Students will be taking the lead in identifying, inviting, and hosting most of the speakers, providing a great opportunity for them to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Withers 331. Your presence makes a big difference in creating a supportive environment for our students. Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Withers 331 + Zoom | Using a practice-centered approach to analyze the rise and implications of environmental accounting.

• Download seminar flyer

Ritwick Ghosh, PhD

Assistant Professor of Environmental Governance at NC State University | Profile | LinkedIn Dr. Ritwick Ghosh is an Assistant Professor in Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University. Ritwick studies and teaches environmental governance, with expertise in the role of markets in advancing sustainable land practices. Ritwick is a deeply interdisciplinary scholar and contributes to the fields of political ecology and science and technology studies. Before joining NCSU, Ritwick held positions at the University of Denver, New York University, and Arizona State University. Ritwick received his Masters and PhD from Cornell University.

Abstract

Environmental accounting is increasingly a central theme in the sustainability discourse. Whether in the form of cost-benefit analysis, carbon disclosures, or economic valuation of nature, accounting is presented as a critical step toward improving policy processes and public accountability. Yet, this rise in environmental accounting has also sparked a critical debate within political ecology and science and technology studies (STS) on what is being counted and how accounting tools are reshaping environmental institutions. In this presentation, I draw on my past work on environmental market policies in the US and India to outline a practice-based approach to the study of environmental accounting. I hope to show that there is an important performative dimension to the accounting impulse. Measurement and quantification may enhance transparency, but at the same time, ever more elaborate forms of quantification also serve to delay, distract, and limit progressive environmental actions.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes. GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, and we’re featuring a mostly student-led seminar series. Students will be taking the lead in identifying, inviting, and hosting most of the speakers, providing a great opportunity for them to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Withers 331. Your presence makes a big difference in creating a supportive environment for our students. Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Withers 331 + Zoom | An overview and analysis of my experience at the 2025 The Spirit of Asilomar and the Future of Biotechnology Summit

• Download seminar flyer

Katie Barnhill, PhD

Associate Director of Programs and Engagement, GES Center, NC State University | Profile | LinkedIn Dr. Katie Barnhill is the Associate Director of Programs and Engagement for the Genetic Engineering and Society Center. As an interdisciplinary social scientist, Katie integrates experience and training in environmental science, policy, and governance with the critical tools of science, technology, and society studies. She uses these tools to organize, facilitate, and empirically study stakeholder engagement activities such as workshops to create justice-oriented and inclusive decision-making spaces about the potential use of biotechnology tools that may be released into shared environments.

Abstract

Since the 1975 Asilomar Conference, where experts gathered to discuss what to do about then-new production of recombinant DNA molecules, much ink has been spilled about the successes, failures, and disruptions (or not) of the summit itself. 50 years after the now-famous Asilomar Conference, science historians organized a follow up summit, providing “an opportunity to reconvene and look towards the future, [but] the summit’s aim [was] to grapple with the past — aware of its accomplishments, limitations, and failures — so as to better engage with the issues of the present.” So, how did it go? For this presentation, I will reflect on my experience at the summit as a participant and fundamentally pose the question, is the Spirit of Asilomar still haunting biotechnology? Related links:

• The Spirit of Asilomar and the Future of Biotechnology Summit

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium meets weekly on Tuesdays from 12-1 pm via Zoom, with national/international guests joining us remotely, and local in-person guests every other week in Withers 331.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

This short, interactive workshop will explore why and how to use storytelling to communicate your research and give you a chance to practice and receive feedback.

• Download seminar flyer
• Download presentation slides

Jory Weintraub, PhD

Director of Science Engagement in the Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs at NC State University | Profile Jory Weintraub is the Director of Science Engagement in the Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs (OUIP) and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Communication. Previous positions have included co-PI and Director of Professional Development and Training for the NSF-funded Center for Advancing Research Impact in Society, Science Communication Director and Senior Lecturing Fellow with Duke University’s Initiative for Science and Society, and Director of Education and Outreach at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center. He serves on the advisory board of the Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine and previously served on the board of directors of Science Communicators of North Carolina. He has a BS in biochemistry/cell biology from the University of California, San Diego, and a Ph.D. in immunology from UNC Chapel Hill, and received an NSF postdoctoral fellowship in STEM education/outreach. His professional interests include STEM outreach, science communication, societal impacts of research and diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM.

Abstract

Once upon a time, in labs and lecture halls far, far away, scientists were trained to avoid stories, anecdotes, and “making it personal” when talking about their work. However empirical evidence demonstrates that these approaches can be the most effective ways to communicate research to non-experts. This short, interactive workshop will examine the elements of a compelling story, explore how our brains respond to storytelling, and introduce a simple, fun template for telling the story of your science in just three sentences. Participants will have the opportunity to practice science storytelling and give/receive feedback, and as a result they will improve their science communication skills and live happily ever after—the end.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium meets weekly on Tuesdays from 12-1 pm via Zoom, with national/international guests joining us remotely, and local in-person guests every other week in Withers 331.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Withers 331 + Zoom | Download seminar flyer

Lirong Xiang, PhD

Assistant Professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at NC State University | Profile | XR Lab Dr. Xiang is the Principal Investigator of the Automation and Robotics Lab in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at North Carolina State University and affiliated with N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She received her Ph.D. degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering from Iowa State University and her B.S. degree in Biosystems Engineering from Zhejiang University. Dr. Xiang works on agricultural robotics, 2D & 3D computer vision, and machine learning. During her Ph.D. program, she has developed robotic and automated systems for both indoor and in-field plant phenotyping applications.

Abstract

This presentation highlights the use of AI and robotics in precision agriculture, focusing on automated tomato disease phenotyping and downy mildew detection in cucurbits. By leveraging AI-driven image analysis and robotic systems, the approach enables early, accurate disease detection and targeted interventions, improving crop yield and sustainability. Related links:

• Zhang, Z., He, W., Wu, F., Quesada, L., & Xiang, L. (2024). Development of a bionic hexapod robot with adaptive gait and clearance for enhanced agricultural field scouting. Frontiers in Robotics and AI (2024)

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium meets weekly on Tuesdays from 12-1 pm via Zoom, with national/international guests joining us remotely, and local in-person guests every other week in Withers 331.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Withers 331 + Zoom | Dr. Choudoir explores the role of soil microbiomes in sustainable agriculture and why their conservation is essential for environmental and social justice.

• Download seminar flyer

Mallory Choudoir, PhD

Assistant Professor & Soil Microbiome Extension Specialist at NC State University | Profile | Lab Dr. Mallory Choudoir is an Assistant Professor & Soil Microbiome Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. She is a soil microbial ecologist and evolutionary biologist who explores the interaction between plants, microbes, and soil in agroecosystems. She completed her PhD work at Cornell University as well as postdoctoral positions at the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She also worked as an industry research scientist at a Boston-based biotech company. Her applied research program at NC State aims to evaluate, innovate, and expand microbial solutions for sustainable agriculture. She is an active member of the Microbes and Social Equity Working Group (MSE), and her research values align with social, environmental, and climate justice.

Abstract

Environmental microbial communities carry out ecosystem functions critical for maintaining and enhancing plant, animal, human, and planetary health. For example, vibrant and productive food systems are fundamentally rooted in soils and soil microbiomes. Climate change, intensive agriculture practices, and the increasing demands of food systems threaten soil microbiome biodiversity and their important ecosystem functions. We are increasingly aware that disruption and degradation of microbiomes amplifies social inequity. Therefore, social and environmental justice must be prioritized while innovating microbial solutions to support sustainability goals. The concept of microbiome stewardship recognizes the importance of microbes in sustaining human and ecosystem health and emphasizes the need to conserve and protect them collectively at the societal level. Dr. Choudoir will discuss their vision for centering soil microbes in sustainable agriculture and building a research and engagement program that aligns with environmental and climate justice. Related links:

• Choudoir MJ, Eggleston EM. 2022. Reciprocal Inclusion of Microbiomes and Environmental Justice Contributes Solutions to Global Environmental Health Challenges. mSystems 7:e01462-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01462-21.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes. GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, and we’re featuring a mostly student-led seminar series. Students will be taking the lead in identifying, inviting, and hosting most of the speakers, providing a great opportunity for them to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Withers 331. Your presence makes a big difference in creating a supportive environment for our students. Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as videos on Panopto and on our GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Withers 331 + Zoom | Historical examination of the societal concerns, current ideas and practices, and disciplines that created the context in the early 20th century for the enthusiastic engagement of geneticists in the eugenics movement.

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William Kimler, PhD

Associate Professor of History at NC State University | Profile William (Will) Kimler is an Associate Professor of History at NC State University. His research investigates the history of evolutionary theories and arguments, with an emphasis on the interactions among evolutionists, ecologists, geneticists, and animal behaviorists. Dr. Kimler holds a Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University, with an interdisciplinary focus on the role of ecology and genetics in evolutionary theory from Darwin to the Evolutionary Synthesis of the 1940s. That period encompasses the origins of modern genetics, the rapid development of new disciplines within biology, and the incorporation of biological expertise and technologies into social concerns and practices, including eugenics. As a long-time director and mentor of the undergraduate interdisciplinary Thomas Jefferson Scholars program, bridging agricultural sciences and the humanities, that experience has drawn his work more toward the cultural applications of biological concepts.

Abstract

The enthusiasm and participation of early 20th-century geneticists in the eugenics movement is well known, but the narrative is often presented as if the science itself created eugenics. While not downplaying the influential role of many leading geneticists in promoting interest in and applications of eugenic practices, this talk reframes the origins of eugenics, prior to Mendelian genetics. This reframing provides a model for understanding how a volatile combination of societal concerns, prevailing ideas and practices, and multiple disciplines can emerge. Recognizing this broader, interactive context clarifies that “science” and “public” are not truly separate and, together, can become a pre-adapted condition in which a new science can find acceptance for its sweeping, optimistic claims of technological solutions.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium meets weekly on Tuesdays from 12-1 pm in Withers 331 and via Zoom.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Navigating Consumer Perceptions for Emerging Ag Tech: Considerations for Outreach, Engagement, and Communication

How agricultural science communication can move beyond traditional, deficit models to engage diverse audiences through dialogue-based strategies aligned with Cooperative Extension’s founding mission.

• Download seminar flyer

Katie Sanders, PhD

Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist at NC State University | Profile Catherine (Katie) Sanders, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist at NC State University. Her research bridges science communication and identity-based frameworks to enhance culturally responsive engagement with stakeholders across the food system. Dr. Sanders holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication from the University of Georgia, with a focus on science communication and program evaluation. She has earned recognition for her innovative contributions to food systems communication and rural health initiatives, receiving two consecutive awards for Article of the Year from the Journal of Applied Communications. Her emerging research inquiry investigates consumer perceptions of gene-editing technologies in plants and livestock and aims to enhance Cooperative Extension’s capacity for effective, diverse, and equitable engagement around agricultural innovations.

Abstract

The discipline of agricultural science communication has long relied on linear and deficit models of communication when marketing new innovations. However, these models are limited in their efficacy for reaching diverse audiences and run contrary to the original mission of Cooperative Extension, one of the first agricultural science communication institutions. During this talk, Sanders will provide an overview of the tradition of agricultural science communication and describe the inflection point the discipline faces today to reach diverse audiences in an information-dense environment. Sanders will also outline her approach to implementing agricultural science communication research strategies for emerging agricultural technologies with specific reference to her work as an Extension Specialist at NC State. Additionally, she will detail her recent research and programmatic efforts to incorporate dialogue-based engagement strategies into agricultural communication, moving away from the traditional deficit approaches. By combining epistemological, historical, and methodological perspectives, Sanders develops new methods of agricultural science communication and hopes to foster dialogue about future directions from this interdisciplinary gathering. Related links:

• Sanders, C. E., Lamm, K. W., & Ramsey, E. (2024). Identifying key competencies for extension communication: A Delphi analysis to guide program development. Journal of Applied Communications, 108(3). https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2537
• Sanders, C. E., Gibson, K. E., & Lamm, A. J. (2022). Perceived government control and its influence on climate change knowledge perceptions: Applications for effective communication. Journal of Applied Communications, 106(3). https://doi.org/10.4148/1051-0834.2441
• Sanders, C. E., Gibson, K. E., & Lamm, A. J. (2022). Rural broadband and precision agriculture: A frame analysis of United States federal policy outreach under the Biden administration. Sustainability, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010460
• Gibson, K. E., Sanders, C. E., & Lamm, A. J. (2021). News source use and social media engagement: Examining their effects on origin of COVID-19 beliefs when mediated by critical thinking style. SAGE Open, 11(4), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211061324
• Sanders, C. E., Mayfield-Smith, K. A., & Lamm, A. J. (2021). Exploring Twitter discourse around the use of artificial intelligence to advance agricultural sustainability. Sustainability, 13, 12033. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112033

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium meets weekly on Tuesdays from 12-1 pm via Zoom, with national/international guests joining us remotely, and local in-person guests every other week in Withers 331.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Zoom | Genetic-based approaches offer promising solutions for malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Clear regulations and public acceptance are essential for their success.

• Download seminar flyer

Moussa Savadogo, PhD

Senior Research Fellow at the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) | Profile Dr. Moussa Savadogo is an environmental biosafety expert from Burkina Faso with extensive experience in regulatory capacity building and stakeholder engagement. He served for 15 years as a Principal Programme Officer at the African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD), where he led the environmental component of regulatory capacity building in Agricultural Biotechnology (ABNE) and Integrated Vector Management (IVM). After retiring from AUDA-NEPAD, Dr. Savadogo continued to support the organization as a Technical Consultant with WITS Health Consortium (Pty) Ltd in Johannesburg. In this role, he contributed to building regulatory capacity and engaging high-level stakeholders on genetically based vector control strategies aimed at eliminating malaria and other vector-borne diseases. Dr. Savadogo recently joined the African Institute for Development Policy (AFIDEP) as a Senior Research Fellow. In this capacity, he provides policy advisory services to African Union Member States on innovative vector control strategies, including gene drives for malaria elimination and Wolbachia endosymbiont mosquitoes for dengue control. Earlier in his career, Dr. Savadogo worked as a scientist at Burkina Faso’s National Centre of Research and Technology (CNRST) and as a regulator at the National Biosafety Agency (ANB). His career reflects a commitment to advancing biosafety and sustainable solutions for pressing public health challenges in Africa.

Abstract

Malaria continues to be the most devastating disease in sub-Saharan Africa, where a child dies from the infection every one to two minutes. According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Malaria Report, progress has alarmingly stalled in the WHO African Region, which accounts for approximately 95% of global malaria morbidity and mortality. It is increasingly evident that no single strategy will suffice to eliminate malaria by 2030, as outlined in the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030 (GTS). Contributing factors—such as mosquito resistance to insecticides, parasite resistance to antimalarial drugs, shifting mosquito behaviors, global warming, armed conflicts, and inadequate funding—compound the challenge. Additionally, dengue cases continue to rise. In response, there is an urgent need to explore innovative tools, including genetically modified mosquitoes equipped with engineered gene drives, as recommended by the African Union High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET). Though progress is underway in several African countries, significant ethical and environmental concerns persist. A favorable regulatory environment is therefore critical to enable responsible research and development of these tools. Key enabling factors include (i) strong political commitment at national and regional levels, (ii) functional regulatory systems, (iii) strengthened health research capacities, (iv) public acceptance of genetic-based technologies, and (v) enhanced regional and multilateral collaboration.

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Katie Barnhill and Nourou Barry, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium meets weekly on Tuesdays from 12-1 pm via Zoom, with national/international guests joining us remotely, and local in-person guests every other week in Withers 331.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Hybrid | GES 508 students apply the Responsible Research and Innovation framework to a hypothetical gene therapy project for cat sterilization supporting New Zealand’s Predator Free 2050 goal. Final GES Colloquium of the semester!

Abstract

Join us for a student-led presentation exploring the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework developed by Stilgoe et al. in a hypothetical scenario. New Zealand has been working towards becoming predator-free to protect its native ecosystem, establishing the ambitious Predator Free 2050 project. At the same time, a team of biologists has been developing a shot that can sterilize cats without the need for costly and time-consuming surgeries, through the usage of a gene therapy that increases Anti-Müllerian hormone levels. Students will explore a hypothetical scenario where this shot is used to help New Zealand work towards its goal of eliminating predators by controlling cat populations. They will frame this scenario through the lens of Responsible Research and Innovation and discuss how this project could be carried out with Anticipation, Reflexivity, Inclusion, and Responsiveness in mind. Using this lens, they will look at the science behind the project, the potential of a sterilization mandate, unexpected ecological side effects, and the logistics needed for such a project. They will conclude on both how this theoretical project should proceed and if the Responsible Research and Innovation framework was a good guiding principle for this project.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward and Katie Barnhill, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Joeva Sean Rock, PhD

Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Stony Brook University | Profile Dr. Joeva Sean Rock is an assistant professor of anthropology at Stony Brook University. Her research utilizes ethnographic methods and interdisciplinary collaborations to examine agricultural biotechnologies, the politics of development, and food sovereignty on the African continent. Dr. Rock’s research has been supported by Fulbright, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, and the British Academy. She is the author of We Are Not Starving: The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Ghana (Michigan State University Press, 2022), and was the recipient of the 2019 Boahen-Wilks Outstanding Scholarly Article in Ghana Studies Prize.

Abstract

In this talk, I will present findings from my book, We Are Not Starving: The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Ghana (Michigan State Press 2022). In the early 2000s, Ghana was one of the first countries targeted by a group of US donors and agribusiness corporations with an ambitious plan to develop genetically engineered (GE) crops for African farmers. The collective believed that GE crops would serve to sustainably increase yields and spark a “new” Green Revolution on the continent. Soon after the project began in Ghana, a nationwide food sovereignty movement emerged in opposition. Today, despite impressive efforts and investments by proponents, the domestic development of GE crops has mostly stalled, with one exception. Why, after years of preparation, millions of dollars of funding, and multiple policy reforms, did these megaprojects effectively come to a halt? One of the first ethnographies to take on the question of GE crops in the African context, We Are Not Starving, blends archival analysis, interviews, and participant observation with Ghanaian scientists, farmers, activists, and officials. The book argues that at its core, disagreement over GE crops in Ghana has little to do with agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability, and much more to do with debates over political and food sovereignty. By approaching food as a (contested) cultural object rather than a simple item for production and consumption, the book provides broad insight into the social realities of development and climate change, genetic engineering, and US foreign aid. Related links:

• We Are Not Starving: The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Ghana
• Bridging the gap? Public-private partnerships and genetically modified crop development for smallholder farmers in Africa
• Beyond the Genome: Genetically modified crops in Africa and the implications for Genome Editing
• The Complex Choreography of Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa
• The scientific narrative around new food technologies needs to change
• Download seminar poster

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward and Katie Barnhill, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

An exploration of AI’s role in managing organization-public relationships during crises, highlighting innovative applications and the challenges of implementation.

Yang (Alice) Cheng, PhD

Associate Professor and University Faculty Scholar in Communications, NC State University | Profile | ResearchGate | LinkedIn | Google Scholar Dr. Cheng is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and an Adjunct Professor at the Poole College of Management, NCSU. She has taught various courses, including strategic management, research methods, introduction to public relations, and crisis communication. Dr. Cheng has demonstrated a long-term commitment to research involving global public relations management, social media and artificial intelligence, and crisis communication. She has published more than 150 journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters, which have been widely cited over 3,800 times. Her work has appeared in leading journals such as New Media & Society, American Behavioral Scientist, Social Science Computer Review, Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Public Relations Research, Journal of Product & Brand Management, Telematics and Informatics, Mass Communication & Society, International Journal of Communication, Public Relations Review, and Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management. Recently, Dr. Cheng co-edited a book on AI and strategic communication, and she has extensively served as a guest speaker or keynote speaker at international institutions such as MIT, the University of Technology Sydney, Peking University, Zhejiang University, and Fudan University.

Abstract

In our discussion on “AI and Crisis Communication,” we will explore the intersection of AI with contingent organization-public relationships (COPR), a concept introduced by Dr. Cheng. We’ll delve into her latest research on AI modeling and its impact on relationship management during crises. Additionally, we’ll examine AI’s applications in crisis communication, highlighting both the innovative ways it can be employed and the challenges organizations face in its implementation. Join us to gain insights into how AI can enhance crisis communication strategies while navigating the complexities it presents.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward and Katie Barnhill, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GE American Chestnut: Counting Chestnuts Before They Ripen

Hybrid | Explore the scientific, ethical, and environmental issues which have impacted research, release, and deregulation of a transgenic American chestnut.

Sara Fern Fitzsimmons, MS

Chief Conservation Officer at The American Chestnut Foundation / Penn State University | Profile

Sara Fern Fitzsimmons has worked at Penn State University with The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) since 2003, assisting chestnut growers and researchers throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Born and raised in southern West Virginia (Hinton), Sara studied Biology at Drew University in Madison, NJ. She then received a Master’s degree in forest ecology and resource management from Duke University’s Nicholas School, enriched by statistics and tree improvement courses at NCSU. After a short stint as an editorial assistant at All About Beer Magazine, Sara returned to the forestry field, where she has been ever since. Sara hopes her research and professional work will facilitate long-term conservation and restoration of native tree species at risk from exotic pests and diseases.

Abstract

The Darling 58 (D58) transgenic American chestnut was poised to be a transformational product for forest health, one that could hold the key to a suite of forest health issues. For conservationists, landowners, and tree enthusiasts across the US, the excitement was palpable as the project seemingly neared deregulation with government agencies. But in the short span of a few months across 2023, a suite of scientific, ecological, and ethical concerns unraveled much of that promise, as everything that was “known” about D58 was called into question. Early reports about field performance started surfacing in early 2023, with variability in blight tolerance, growth deficiencies, and increased mortality rates casting doubts on D58’s competence for long-term restoration. That performance was further compromised when scientists visited a field trial showcasing “canker blowouts” in Indiana, suggesting that D58 trees may “silence” the transgene when challenged too long with disease. Shortly after that, a “switched at birth” scenario was verified, revealing that Darling 58 (D58) was, in fact, Darling 54 (D54), and uncovered the potential for negative ecological consequences. Finally, the involvement of a for-profit entity raised financial and ethical dilemmas, sparking suspicions of conflicts of interest and prioritizing profit over ecological integrity. Questions about transparency and accountability were brought to the forefront, as public trust in the use of genetically modified organisms for forest health could hang in the balance with the next steps taken on the transgenic American chestnut project.

Related links:

• What happened to Darling 58?
• Chestnut Restoration and Tribal Sovereignty
• When Biotechnology Goes “Wild”: GE Chestnut Trees
• The politics of genetic technoscience for conservation: The case of blight-resistant American chestnut
• Biotechnology, the American Chestnut, and Public Engagement

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward and Katie Barnhill, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Zoom Only | An artist-led interdisciplinary experiment with risky science led to boundary-challenging conclusions about what responsibility looks like in responsible research.

Erika Szymanski, PhD

Associate Professor of Rhetoric of Science at Colorado State University | Profile Dr. Erika Szymanski is an associate professor of rhetoric of science in the English department and the microbiome cluster, and an affiliate faculty member in the Cell and Molecular Biology program, at Colorado State University. Her research concerns words as scientific construction tools, human-microbe working relations, and multispecies questions raised by contemporary microbial biotechnologies. Her teaching interests include disciplinary and popular science writing, posthumanist theory, and humanities scholars' roles in interdisciplinary teams.

Dr. Szymanski currently leads an NSF CAREER project called “microbiomish”, about how metaphors shape experimental approaches in microbiome science and possibilities for microbe-human coworking. She is also the US PI on a collaborative UKRI-NSF project called Future Organisms with colleagues in Edinburgh and Tokyo, about responsible research and innovation (RRI), synthetic genomics, and reimagining what "responsible research" means in more-than-human terms. Her other ongoing research involves rethinking genetic code metaphors to account for the interdependence of structural and textual information in engineering biology, the roles of microorganisms in emerging bioeconomies, and more-than-human science policy.

Abstract

Crossing Kingdoms was an experiment in (ir)responsible research. Responsible research and innovation—often abbreviated RRI—is a common framework for science governance across Europe, the UK, and elsewhere. While RRI can be expansive, it’s routinely implemented as a checklist of actions—often delegated to an early-career social scientist, who may effectively be tasked with responsibilizing a scientific project that they didn’t design and in which they have little influence.

Crossing Kingdoms was about pushing back on the notion that social scientists know how to be responsible or to make others responsible, and about questioning the responsibility of defining responsible research in such narrow terms. This artist-led research began with dangerous science—a protein from a snake virus that fuses cell membranes—and a curiosity-driven question: what place do “kingdom-crossing” yeast-mammalian fusion cells have in the world beyond the lab? The ensuing collaboration raised questions that challenged the conservativeness of how RRI is implemented: is art a good reason to do risky science? What is a good reason? How can art-science-social science research be organized for the benefit and mutual learning of all participants? What counts as an outcome? (How) do scientists and artists encourage social scientists to be responsible? Are we really crossing kingdoms, or just juxtaposing them, and why does that matter?

Since its end, the experiment has led to further projects that wouldn’t have happened otherwise: synthetic biology applications of viral protein-driven fusion in synthetic biology, artistic research into the moral value of hybrid cells, and social scientific approaches to responsibility in terms of spaces for counter-normative research trajectories. Our conclusions suggest the value of response-able research, and of doing STS with scientists rather than on or for them. Related links:

• Szymanski, E. et al. (2020). Crossing Kingdoms: How Can Art Open Up New Ways of Thinking About Science? FBOE
• The Tissue Culture & Art Project: Crossing Kingdoms
• The Edinburgh Hub for Responsible Innovation: Building alternative practices for RRI in Japan and the UK
• The Edinburgh Hub for Responsible Innovation: Future Organisms
• Download seminar poster

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward and Katie Barnhill, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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Hybrid | This talk covers our recent efforts to engineer the saltwater microbe Vibrio natriegens to break down PET plastics and eat the breakdown products.

Nathan Crook, PhD

Assistant Professor at NC State University | Profile Dr. Crook received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2009, and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014, developing new ways to engineer yeast. He pursued postdoctoral studies in Pathology and Immunology at Washington University in Saint Louis School Medicine from 2014-2017, studying approaches to engineer probiotic microbes. Dr. Crook joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NCSU in January 2018, and one focus of his group is to engineer bacteria to remediate plastic waste. In 2023, his graduate student, Tianyu Li, published a report demonstrating that the seawater microbe Vibrio natriegens could be engineered to break down PET plastics. This work was highlighted by WUNC and CBS 17, and has served as a catalyst for several follow-on projects.

Abstract

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a highly recyclable plastic material that has been extensively used and manufactured. Like other plastics, PET resists natural degradation and, therefore accumulates in the natural environment. Several recycling strategies have been applied to manage waste PET, but these tend to result in downcycled products that eventually end up in landfills. This accumulation of landfilled PET waste contributes to the formation of microplastics by being broken down into small pieces that pose a serious threat to marine life and ecosystems, and potentially to human health. To address this issue, our project leverages synthetic biology and metabolic engineering to develop a whole-cell biocatalyst capable of degrading and assimilating waste PET in seawater environments. Specifically, we focus on using the fast-growing, nonpathogenic, moderate halophile Vibrio natriegens to construct this biocatalyst. Our talk will highlight two main processes we implemented in our bacterium: PET depolymerization and metabolism of PET breakdown products. We hope that these efforts will inspire bio-based processes for capture and upcycling of plastic waste, thereby preventing its accumulation in the environment.

Related links:

• Tiny Organisms, Transformative Outcomes
• LinkedIn
• Google Scholar
• Crook Lab
• Download seminar poster

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward and Katie Barnhill, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Zoom Only | Gene Drive Mosquitoes for Malaria Control is a short documentary film beautifully shot in Uganda, exploring Ugandan stakeholders’ hopes for gene drive mosquitoes – a radical new tool potentially offering a way to eliminate or change the mosquitoes that cause malaria.

Sarah Hartley, PhD

Professor of Technology Governance at the University of Exeter | Profile Sarah Hartley is a Professor of Technology Governance at the University of Exeter and a Co-Director of the Centre for Doctoral Training in Environmental Intelligence. She is a qualitative social scientist studying efforts to make technology governance more inclusive of a broader range of voices and values through case studies involving global health, sustainable agriculture, and conservation. Current research is focused on gene drive governance, and she has several projects funded by the British Academy and Wellcome exploring engagement, collaboration, and knowledge co-production in gene drive development and risk assessment in Africa, North America, Australia, and Europe. She has recently begun an innovative programme of film-making to stimulate debate on emerging gene drive and AI technologies. She has a PhD in Politics and Environmental Studies (University of Toronto).

Abstract

Gene Drive Mosquitoes for Malaria Control is a beautifully shot documentary filmed in Uganda, exploring the hopes of Ugandan stakeholders for gene drive mosquitoes—a groundbreaking tool that could potentially eliminate or alter the mosquitoes responsible for spreading malaria. Uganda is among the first countries in the world to prepare for field trials of gene drive mosquitoes, with much at stake. Malaria remains one of the most serious public health challenges in Uganda, heavily impacting its people and healthcare system. It is a leading cause of illness and death, particularly affecting children under five and pregnant women. The film is grounded in social science research from the University of Exeter in the UK and Makerere University in Uganda, highlighting the complexities of governing gene drive technology. Related links:

• Gene Drive Governance
• Gene drive mosquitoes designed to eliminate malaria – but governance is complex, new film shows
• Download seminar poster

The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward and Katie Barnhill, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Exploring Experts’ Uncertainties in Gene Drive Technology for Agricultural Pest Control in the U.S.: A Qualitative Study

Zoom Only | This qualitative study investigates the uncertainties and diverse perspectives of experts regarding the potential use of gene drive technology for agricultural pest control in the U.S., focusing on policy preferences and governance considerations to highlight the need for informed decision-making and strategic planning.

Nourou Barry, PhD

Anthropologist and Postdoctoral Scholar at the GES Center at NC State University | Profile

Dr. Nourou Barry is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center, at NC State University. His prior work in Burkina Faso with the Target Malaria consortium focused on developing robust stakeholder engagement strategies in gene drive research. His extensive academic background, culminating in a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Nazi BONI University in Bobo-Dioulasso in 2020, reflects a commitment to exploring the intersection of science, stakeholder engagement, and the social and ethical dimensions of innovative technologies.

At NC State, Dr. Barry’s research at the GES Center primarily focuses on understanding the factors that influence public and stakeholder attitudes toward the acceptance or rejection of genetically engineered technologies and organisms. Additionally, his work with the Sciences and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center involves the comprehensive organization of engagement activities. He is committed to empirically studying and analyzing these initiatives using a methodological approach that ensures academic rigor and precision.

Prior to joining NC State, Dr. Barry held faculty positions at Nazi BONI University and worked as a research associate at the Institute of Health Sciences Research in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. His contributions continue to shape the discourse on the responsible development and application of innovative technologies.

Abstract

Genetic engineering technologies have created new possibilities for controlling agricultural pests, particularly through gene drives to suppress or replace pest populations. However, using these tools raises concerns about their effects on species, ecosystems, as well as broader socioeconomic and cultural risks. Currently, limited research delves into experts’ perspectives on the uncertainties and policy challenges associated with these advancing technologies. In this study, a qualitative approach was employed to conduct in-depth interviews with 25 experts across various disciplines involved in gene drive technologies. The aim was to gain insights into their perspectives on these technologies, particularly in relation to agricultural pest control. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically using the NVivo 14 software. Experts have highlighted diverse uncertainties regarding Gene Drive technology across technical, ecological, regulatory, and social and governance dimensions. Despite these challenges, experts stress the need for ongoing research, emphasizing the importance of safeguards to guarantee effectiveness and a proactive approach to tackle uncertainties effectively. Understanding experts’ uncertainties about gene drive technologies for agricultural pest control is vital for mitigating risks, ensuring regulatory compliance, engaging stakeholders effectively, and fostering innovation. Addressing these uncertainties enables the development of responsible and sustainable pest control strategies that align with societal needs and values while promoting informed decision-making and ethical use of these technologies.

Keywords: Gene drive, Uncertainties, Agricultural pest control, Experts, United States

Related links:

• LinkedIn
• Download seminar poster

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward and Katie Barnhill, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Hybrid | Jason Delborne spent the 2023-24 academic year as an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in Washington, DC, working at the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office

Jason Delborne, PhD

Professor at NC State University | Profile Jason joined NC State in 2013 as a GES cluster faculty member and is tenured in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. His research focuses on stakeholder and public engagement surrounding emerging environmental biotechnologies, such as the genetically engineered American chestnut tree and genetic biocontrol for invasive species. He spent the 2023-24 academic year as an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow in Washington, DC, where he worked at the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. This will be Jason’s final semester at NC State, as he will begin a new faculty position in science and technology policy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Public Affairs in January 2025.

Abstract

AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships (STPF) provide opportunities to scientists and engineers to learn first-hand about policymaking and contribute their knowledge and analytical skills in the policy realm. Fellows serve yearlong assignments in the federal government and represent a broad range of backgrounds, disciplines, and career stages. Each year, STPF adds to a growing corps nearly 4,000 strong of policy-savvy leaders working across academia, government, nonprofits, and industry to serve the nation and citizens around the world. As an executive branch fellow, Jason Delborne spent the 2023-24 academic year on scholarly reassignment to the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office. In this capacity, he learned about the practice of science and technology policy within an agency that exercised “soft power” to convene and coordinate federal research and development efforts on nanotechnology. In particular, he focused on the National Nanotechnology Initiative’s explicit goal of “responsible development,” organizing a workshop to reinvigorate a network of social scientists attending to nanotechnology. Jason will reflect on his experience and answer questions about the fellowship as a potential career path for graduate students in the social, natural, and physical sciences.

Related links:

• Science & Technology Policy Fellowships
• National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO)
• Download seminar poster

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward and Katie Barnhill, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Investigating the societal and ethical implications of synthetic cells

Barbara Herr Harthorn, PhD, Research Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara

Profile | DOWNLOAD SEMINAR POSTER

This talk introduces 3 ongoing NSF-funded collaborative interdisciplinary projects investigating US public and expert views on bottom-up synthetic cells using a responsible research and innovation framework.

Abstract

Based on three collaborative interdisciplinary research projects on bottom synthetic cells in development in the US on which she is PI, this paper presents an overview of findings on diverse publics’ perceptions of the benefits and risks of new syn cells and some of the main drivers of these views. The research uses a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodological toolkit based on semi-structured interviews, a large representative national survey, and public deliberations. Professor Harthorn examines the range and nuances of public views on these in-the-making science and engineering innovations and promises of enchanted futures, evolution-defying bioengineered life, and economic benefits. In spite of enduring techno-optimism, U.S. publics’ concerns center on the role of such technologies in accelerating economic and social inequalities and injustice. The project also explores public perceived boundaries between living/nonliving, perceived characteristics of life, and other factors that differentiate syn cell perceptions from those of other emerging technologies. The implications of these findings for technological governance and participatory democracy will be discussed.

Speaker Bio

Barbara Herr Harthorn is Professor Emerita and Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. She is a medical, cultural, and psychological anthropologist whose research for the past 2 decades has focused on risk perception and public deliberation on societal and ethical aspects of new technologies, including nanotechnologies, fracking, and, currently, synthetic biology/synthetic cells. She served as founding Director and PI of the NSF national center, NSEC: Center for Nanotechnology in Society at the University of California at Santa Barbara (CNS-UCSB) from 2005-2017. In the CNS, she led international, interdisciplinary teams using mixed social science research methods to study risk and benefit perception regarding new technologies among experts and lay publics in the US and abroad. Since 2019, she has been conducting research on public and expert perceptions of synthetic biology and bottom-up synthetic cells within a responsible research and innovation framework. Dr. Harthorn’s publications include The Social Life of Nanotechnology (2012, Routledge, with John Mohr) and Risk, Culture & Health Inequality: Shifting Perceptions of Danger and Blame (2003, Greenwood/Praeger, with Laury Oaks) and numerous chapters, reports, and articles in risk analysis, social science, science and technology studies, science policy, environmental science, and nanoscience journals. She has given invited expert testimony on science in society issues to the US Congressional National Nanotechnology Caucus, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), the NAS, the US National Nanotechnology Initiative, the US Multi-Agency group on Synthetic Biology, and the European Commission, among many others. Her past work included over a decade of research on Latina/o farmworker health and risk perceptions in California. She is an elected Fellow of the American Anthropological Association, the Society for Applied Anthropology, and the AAAS.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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While aquaculture biotechnology has the potential to improve the sustainability of aquaculture, its realization will depend upon enabling public policy.

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Abstract

Aquaculture products are important to human nutrition, especially in developing countries. To meet growing global demand, aquaculture must improve production systems and farmed stocks, the latter using both selective breeding and gene technology. Fishes are excellent systems for gene technology, and numerous transgenic and gene-edited lines have been developed. While there has been considerable R&D, there has been little penetration of the marketplace. The reasons for this will be considered, with a case study focusing on the development and regulatory oversight of the AquAdvantage Atlantic salmon, the first genetically modified animal approved for use as food globally. Two gene-edited marine fishes have been approved for sale in Japan. Will other animal products of gene technology be approved? To realize the benefits of animal biotechnology, we will need not just innovation, but also enabling regulation creating a pathway to the market, and engagement with the private and NGO sectors and the public.

Related links:

• Heritable Genetic Modification in Food Animals, NASEM
• SAAA Animal Biotechnology Resources: https://www.isaaa.org/kc/proceedings/animalbiotechnology
• Hallerman, E., J. Bredlau, L.S. Camargo, et al. 2024. Enabling regulatory policy globally will promote realization of the potential of animal biotechnology. CABI Agriculture and Life Sciences, 5: 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43170-024-00221-6. PDF

Speaker Bio

Eric Hallerman is a recently retired Professor of Fish Conservation at Virginia Tech University and is currently serving as the Chair of the ad hoc committee appointed by the National Academies to explore heritable genetic modifications of food animals. His research has included conservation genetics of fishes and mollusks, aquaculture genetics, and aquaculture biotechnology and policy. He has done research on gene transfer in fish, effective confinement of aquaculture species, ecological risk assessment for genetically modified fish, and related public policies. He has done such work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and several NGOs. He has served on several committees of the National Academy of Sciences with mandates in these areas and organized several international workshops on animal biotechnology policy.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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Profile | @StevenHeine4 How psychological biases of essentialism distort the ways people understand genetics, eugenics, and GMO products.

Abstract

People the world over are essentialist thinkers – they are attracted to the idea that hidden essences make things as they are. And because genetic concepts remind people of essences, they tend to think of genes in ways similar to essences. That is, people tend to think about genetic causes as immutable, deterministic, natural, and they create homogenous and discrete groups. I will discuss the results of a number of psychological experiments that reveals how people’s essentialist biases distort the way that they understand genetic causes. In particular, I’ll discuss the relationships between essentialist thinking, eugenic beliefs, and attitudes towards GMO products.

Related links:

• DNA Is Not Destiny: The Remarkable, Completely Misunderstood Relationship between You and Your Genes, Steven Heine

Speaker Bio

Steven J. Heine is a Professor of Social and Cultural Psychology and a Distinguished University Scholar at the University of British Columbia. After receiving his PhD from the University of British Columbia in 1996, he had visiting positions at Kyoto University and Tokyo University, and was on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania before returning to British Columbia. Heine has published several dozen journal articles in such periodicals as Science, Nature, and Behavioral and Brain Sciences He has authored the best-selling textbook in its field, entitled “Cultural Psychology,” and has written a trade book called “DNA is not Destiny.” Heine has received numerous international awards and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Heine’s research focuses on a few topics that converge on how people come to understand themselves and their worlds. One of his main projects, which is the topic of his presentation, focuses on genetic essentialism, which explores how people make sense of genetic ideas. Quite typically, people have an overly fatalistic understanding about how genes influence their lives. For example, he finds that when people learn that genes relate to their risk for obesity they subsequently tend to eat more junk food, as they feel that their weight is beyond their control. He has explored how people’s essentialist views of genetics affects their support for eugenics and GMO products.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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Anna Krome-Lukens, PhD, Teaching Associate Professor, Public Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill

Profile | Download seminar poster In North Carolina, social reformers and welfare officials relied on eugenics ideology as they built the welfare state before the New Deal, with lasting effects for our contemporary definitions of citizenship.

Abstract

Between 1929 and 1977, North Carolina officials approved the surgical sterilization of over 7,600 people under the aegis of the state’s eugenics program. To help explain the persistence of this program, I turn to its roots, since rationales for eugenics offered in the first three decades of the twentieth century shaped the course of the program for years to come. In this talk, I analyze the growing appeal of eugenics to influential white North Carolinians who debated and promoted eugenics from 1900 onward. These social reformers honed their ideas about eugenic fitness and the need to preserve the Anglo-Saxon race while they built a statewide social welfare apparatus. Their statewide grid of welfare offices later became the basis for distribution of New Deal funds.

In building this statewide welfare system, reformers and social workers eagerly explored eugenics as a solution to social problems, then refashioned and interpreted eugenic principles for a broader audience. They linked principles of eugenics to ideas that already had broad support among white middle-class North Carolinians, including Christian charity, racial segregation, and a celebration of the state’s Anglo-Saxon heritage. They also relied on eugenics-inspired metaphors to rationalize the unequal distribution of welfare services, giving new force and apparent scientific legitimacy to longstanding prejudices about the undeserving poor. They trained a new generation of professional social workers to see eugenically “unfit” people as undeserving of social services, and they promised that segregation and sterilization would curb the costs of social welfare programs. Ultimately, North Carolina’s white social reformers built eugenics-inspired ideas of racialized fitness and restrictive definitions of citizenship into our contemporary institutions.

Speaker Bio

Anna Krome-Lukens completed her Ph.D. in U.S. History at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on the history of social welfare and public health policies, particularly the history of North Carolina’s eugenics and social welfare programs in the early 20th century. Anna is currently working on a book manuscript entitled Reform and Regeneration: Eugenics and the Welfare State in the South, which demonstrates the lasting influence of eugenics in shaping welfare policies and conceptions of citizenship. She directs UNC’s Public Policy Capstone Program and also teaches first-year courses on higher education and food policy.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. The Podcast is produced by Patti Mulligan. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Profile | X | Bluesky | Download Seminar Poster This talk, based on ethnographic research with scientists and technicians working with transgenic mosquitoes in Brazil, examines the class, gender, and regional issues present in the efforts to transform the mosquito from a “problem” into a “solution.”

Abstract

The Aedes aegypti mosquito, known as the vector for Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses, has historically been targeted by public health campaigns as an enemy to be eliminated. However, new strategies, such as the transgenic approach, biologically modify the A. aegypti so that they can be deployed to control their own population—here, mosquito breeding and mating are operationalized as an insecticide. In this case, the insect must be simultaneously a friend and an enemy, cared for and killed, and it must establish encounters and nonencounters. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork at a “biofactory” in the northeast of Brazil dedicated to mass-producing these transgenic mosquitoes, this article investigates the new forms of labor and value produced through these contrasting human-mosquito relations. The author also examines how the project is implemented within the broader geopolitics of experimentation and more-than-human gendered conceptions. Analyzing the multispecies relationships engendered under the premise that it is possible to produce nonencounters, she identifies the historical conditions and promissory claims of transforming the A. aegypti ’s reproductive capacity into labor for killing. Such recasting yields what the author calls the “nonencounter value” within the scientific remaking of mosquitoes, their becoming and being.

Related links:

• Luísa Reis-Castro; Becoming Without: Making Transgenic Mosquitoes and Disease Control in Brazil. Environmental Humanities 1 November 2021; 13 (2): 323–347. https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-9320178. PDF
• Video: Haedes & Aegypta e a abordagem da Oxitec (Anthropomophized mosquitoes depicting the male as a hero and the female as the villain)

Speaker Bio

Dr. Luísa Reis-Castro is an Assistant Professor in Anthropology. Reis-Castro’s research broadly explores the social, cultural, political, and historical dimensions of scientific knowledge about human-animal relations, particularly when harm to humans is involved, as seen with mosquitoes transmitting pathogens. Her first project investigates techno-scientific projects in Brazil that, rather than fight against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, work to harness the insect to tackle the viruses it is known to transmit (Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever). By using ethnographic and historical research methods, she explores what these projects can tell us about the geopolitics of knowledge production in an interdependent, unequal world increasingly affected by human activity. She received her PhD from the Program in History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Website | @TechHSOC This talk will explore how insights from Indigenous agricultural practices, both past and present, can inform global efforts to conserve diverse crop varieties and bridge the gap between local practices and broader sustainability goals.

Abstract

For decades, diverse disciplines like ethnobotany, agroecology, and agricultural anthropology have strived to understand the agricultural practices of Indigenous peoples. Since the 1980s, this research has frequently been intertwined with conservation efforts. For example, it has promoted local farming methods and tools as ways to maintain biodiverse forests and prevent soil erosion. In this presentation, Dr. Curry digs into the future influence of research on Indigenous agriculture on the preservation of global crop diversity. She examines how social scientists have constructed new narratives about the past and present of Indigenous cultivation. These narratives then inform arguments about the most desirable agricultural futures, both within and beyond Indigenous communities. Typically, these accounts of past and future agriculture have focused on specific crop varieties: locally adapted plants believed to be traditionally cultivated but now endangered by agricultural intensification. Consequently, the research of ethnobotanists and agroecologists has fueled new interest in and approaches to protecting these varieties, ultimately forging a lasting connection between local cultivation practices and global conservation concerns.

Related links:

• From Collection to Cultivation: Historical Perspectives on Crop Diversity and Food Security

Speaker Bio

Dr. Helen Anne Curry is Melvin Kranzberg Professor in the History of Technology at the School of History and Sociology, Georgia Institute of Technology. She is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, where she leads the multi-researcher project, “From Collection to Cultivation: Historical Perspectives on Crop Diversity and Food Security,” with funding from the Wellcome Trust. Her current research centers on the histories of seeds, crop science, and industrial agriculture. She is the author of Evolution Made to Order: Plant Breeding and Technological Innovation in Twentieth Century America (University of Chicago Press, 2016) and Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction (University of California Press, 2022).

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

A discussion of synthetic biology and Torres Strait Islanders, bringing their perspectives into conversation to explore cultural implications for future island-bound applications of genetic biocontrol technologies, such as gene drives.

Abstract

Applied over generations, genetic biocontrol technologies (GBTs), such as gene drives, have the potential to radically reduce a pest population through suppressed breeding. As this technology develops, synthetic biology (synbio) scientists have identified islands as potential environments in which to trial the release of approved gene drives in the future. But what happens when an Indigenous ethical lens is applied to island-bound synbio? The Torres Strait Islands stretch between mainland Australia, of which they are a part, and Papua New Guinea. The Straits’ water facilitates Islanders’ mobility and fosters customary connection and trans/national notions of kin, while also informing engagement with and care for this environment. In this world where water connects, how might Torres Strait Islanders’ understandings complicate and/or contribute to concepts of islands as contained, “watertight” field sites for future GBT trials? And how is a changing climate and rising sea levels impacting Islanders’ environments, identities and, relatedly, an appetite for or apprehension of synbio science? This paper brings synbio science and Torres Strait Islanders’ perspectives into conversation to explore cultural implications for future island-bound applications of GBTs.

Related links:

• Wissing, K., & Webb, T. (2023). Kes (Passageway): Cross-Cultural Considerations of Island Field Containment in the Torres Strait. Oceania. PDF
• Our Knowledge, Our Way (guidelines), CSIRO
• Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research, The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
• Access and benefit-sharing for Australian Synthetic Biologists: Best Practice Guidelines for compliance and risk management, CSIRO

Related colloquiums:

• Exploring Synergies: Overlapping International Dialogue on Invasive Alien Species Removal on Islands with Synthetic Biology, by Carolina Torres Trueba, Island Conservation
• From containment to connectivity: an oceanic approach to gene drive governance, by Riley Taitingfong, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona

Speaker Bio

Dr. Kirsty Wissing is a Research Fellow at the Australian National University and a Visiting Scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency. She has previously been a member of CSIRO’s Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform and CSIRO’s Advanced Engineering Biology Future Science Platform. Trained as an anthropologist (social scientist), Kirsty’s research considers Indigenous and customary values, relationships with and resource responsibility for tangible and intangible environments in Australia and Ghana. Her work sits at the intersection of cross-cultural approaches to environmental disasters such as flooding, invasive species incursions and biodiversity loss. In this presentation, Kirsty seeks to bring scholars and practitioners of synthetic biology into dialogue with Torres Strait Islanders’ perspectives to consider cultural implications for future island-bound applications of genetic biocontrol technologies such as gene drives. __

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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Ecological and evolutionary perspectives have greatly influenced the development of genetic engineering as exemplified by significant events from history.

Abstract

Ecological and evolutionary perspectives have greatly influenced the development of genetic engineering throughout its relatively recent history. I will focus my discussion on key events during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, many of which reverberate today. By 1980, it was clear that commercial applications of genetic engineering would be released into the environment, but it was not clear what organisms would be released. Generic environmental safety arguments flourished, but ecological and evolutionary critiques torpedoed these, and a careful assessment of likely genetically modified organisms (GMOs) prevailed. These resulted in the case-by-case approach to the risks of GMOs that persists today. In the US, it is enshrined in the 1986 Coordinated Framework.

At that time, the focus was on GM microbes, such as ice-minus bacteria and the endophytic bacterium, Clavibacter xyli. Rapid developments in plant transformation, especially maize, completely upended the industry, and in the 1990s, ecological risk assessment shifted accordingly. The exponential increase in the number of releases of GM plants stressed the case-by-case approach, and it was necessary for ecological considerations to address the question of what constitutes a novel case that would require more oversight versus a case similar to one already evaluated. This was also an important contributor to the reopening of non-target evaluations and provided an avenue to implement resistance management in a regulatory context. The 2000s opened with a bang with the Losey, Rayor and Carter 1999 and Quist and Chapela 2001 articles in Nature, which exposed the serious gaps in the ecological risks assessment methods used throughout the world. These gaps present challenges that have yet to be fully resolved today.

Related links:

• Regal, P. J. (1986). Models of genetically engineered organisms and their ecological impact. In Ecology of biological invasions of North America and Hawaii (pp. 111-129). New York, NY: Springer New York.
• Environmental Management, 1986, 10(4), entire issue
• Krimsky, S., Andow, D.A., Doyle, J., Mellon, M., and C. Nader. 1987. Beyond the technical problems of intentional release. In J.W. Gillett (ed.), Prospects for Physical and Biological Containment of Genetically Engineered Organisms. Ecosystems Research Center, Cornell University, ERC-114, pp. 67-74.
• Andow, D.A., S.A. Levin, and M.A. Harwell. 1987. Evaluating environmental risks from biotechnology: Contributions of ecology. In J.R. Fowle III, (ed.), Application of Biotechnology: Environmental and Policy Issues (Westview: Boulder, CO), pp. 125-144.
• Alstad, D.N. and D.A. Andow. 1995. Managing the evolution of insect resistance to transgenic plants. Science 268: 1894-1896.
• Andow, D.A. and D.N. Alstad. 1998. The F2 screen for rare resistance alleles. Journal of Economic Entomology, 91: 572-578.
• Losey, J. E., Rayor, L. S., & Carter, M. E. (1999). Transgenic pollen harms monarch larvae. Nature, 399(6733), 214-214.
• Quist, D., & Chapela, I. H. (2001). Transgenic DNA introgressed into traditional maize landraces in Oaxaca, Mexico. Nature, 414(6863), 541-543.

• Andow, D.A. and A.R. Ives. 2002. Monitoring and adaptive resistance management. Ecological Applications 12: 1378–1390. Ives, A.R. and D.A. Andow. 2002. Evolution of resistance to Bt crops: Directional selection in structured environments. Ecology Letters 5:792-801.

• Haygood, R., A.R. Ives, and D.A. Andow. 2003. Consequences of recurrent gene flow from crops to wild relatives. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 270: 1879-1886.

• Haygood, R., A. R. Ives and D. A. Andow. 2004. Population genetics of transgene containment. Ecology Letters 7: 213-220.
• Hilbeck, A. and D.A. Andow (eds). 2004. Environmental Risk Assessment of Transgenic Organisms: A Case Study of Bt Maize in Kenya. CABI: Wallingford, UK. xvii + 281 pp.
• Andow, D. A. (ed.) 2004. A growing concern: Protecting the food supply in an era of pharmaceutical and industrial crops. Union of Concerned Scientists, Boston, Massachusetts. vi + 125 pp.
• Hilbeck, A., D.A. Andow and E.M.G. Fontes (eds.). 2006. Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms: Methodologies for Assessing Bt Cotton in Brazil. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, xx + 373 pp.
• Andow, D.A and C. Zwahlen. 2006. Assessing environmental risks of transgenic plants. Ecology Letters 9: 196-214.
• Andow, D.A., A. Hilbeck and Nguyễn Văn Tuất (eds). 2008. Environmental Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms: Challenges and Opportunities with Bt Cotton in Viet Nam. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK, xx + 360 pp.
• Lövei, G. L., D. A. Andow and S. Arpaia. 2009. Transgenic insecticidal crops and natural enemies: a detailed review of laboratory studies. Environmental Entomology 38(2): 293-306.
• Andow, D. A., G. L. Lövei, and S. Arpaia. 2009. Cry toxins and proteinase inhibitors in transgenic plants do have non-zero effects on natural enemies in the laboratory: Rebuttal to Shelton et al., 2009. Environmental Entomology 38: 1528-1532.
• Andow, D. A. and G. L. Lövei. 2012. Cry toxins in transgenic plants have direct effects on natural enemies in the laboratory. Environmental Entomology 41(5): 1045-47. DOI: doi.org/10.1603/EN11238

Speaker Bio

Ecologist David Andow began his new role leading the Department of Applied Ecology in August last year. He served as a Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Minnesota for 38 years. His research has focused on insect population and community ecology, ecological risk assessment of invasive species and genetically engineered organisms, insect resistance management, and science policy. He graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Biology from Brown University and a PhD in Ecology from Cornell University before completing a post-doc at the National Institute of Agro-environmental Sciences in Japan. He has had long-standing cooperative research with Embrapa in Brazil, where he was for three years before coming to NC State.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.  

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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Grace Wiedrich, CRDM PhD Student, NC State University The Mendelian eugenics movement in NC provides a useful case study into the lasting impact of over-generalized genetic theory on governments, medical professionals, and activists.

Abstract

The history of eugenics in the United States is deeply entwined with theories about plants and animals arising in the 19th century. By the early 20th century, selective breeding of humans became a popular concern around the country. It was believed that all traits, from hair color to intelligence to morality, were passed on through the blood. However, even after geneticists had proven eugenics to be a pseudoscience by the 1930s, the popular culture of eugenics deeply impacted public policy, education, and activism into the 1970s. North Carolina provides a useful case study into the lasting impact of over-generalized genetic theory on governments, medical professionals, and activists.

Speaker Bio

Grace Wiedrich is currently a PhD student in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media and an instructor in the English department at NC State. Her research focuses on eugenics rhetoric during the 20th century in the United States, with a special interest in the interplay among race, gender, and ability.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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Scholars and funders alike have increasingly recognized engagement as an important dimension of innovation, but is engagement accomplishing what we think it is?

Abstract

Emerging environmental biotechnologies such as gene drives have often been called for to respond to wicked environmental problems, including applications that have the potential to protect land and water (pesticide reduction), species protection, and human health. As gene drives are advancing at a rapid pace, myriad STS scholars have called for broad and inclusive community, stakeholder, and public engagement practices as a critical part of the epistemic landscape that should shape the innovation of these technologies. But in practice, how have these engagement practices contributed meaningfully to the responsible and just innovation of gene drives, particularly in the context of gene drives for vector control?

Drawing on an analysis of 73 documents related to more than 20 projects, groups, and institutions that have conducted some form of engagement about gene drives for vector control, we demonstrate that the vast majority of engagement activities’ outcomes have minimal measurable impact on gene drive innovation. In fact, most engagement outcomes (1) feed directly into further engagement scholarship and practice or (2) measure and/or encourage community acceptance of the technology. A minority of our findings included outcomes that were intended to shape governance or innovation practices themselves. If engagement practices that are normatively described as relational and co-productive, what do these results say about true politics of involvement in shaping shared futures?

In addition to expanding upon the measured outcomes of these engagement activities, I suggest reasons for why there is such a notable mismatch between what the STS engagement literature calls for and what outcomes are generated from engagement practices. Finally, I offer a potential solution to this mismatch, inviting social scientists and other engagement practitioners to turn the framework of responsible innovation onto ourselves.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Katie Barnhill: Drawing on interdisciplinary fields such as Environmental Science & Policy and Science, Technology, & Society studies, Dr. Barnhill primarily focuses on stakeholder engagement as an important mechanism for the governance of emerging environmental biotechnologies. She has worked on the governance and social science of biotechnology projects that have included applications such as invasive species management, species restoration, sustainable agricultural pest management, and public health. Dr. Barnhill has international research experience, has managed international research teams, and has experience collaborating with Indigenous community leaders in the U.S.

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From containment to connectivity: an oceanic approach to gene drive governance

Riley Taitingfong, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona

Profile | LinkedIn | @riley_ilyse An exploration of the containment paradigm in gene drive research and discourse, drawing on feminist and Indigenous science studies, and proposes a connectivity-based approach to gene drive governance.

Abstract

Dr. Riley Taitingfong explores the widespread proposals for implementing novel genetic engineering technologies, specifically gene drives, on islands. Employing an interdisciplinary approach rooted in Communication Studies, Indigenous studies, and feminist science studies, her inquiry delves into how the scientific and regulatory literature supports the assertion that islands are optimal field trial sites for gene drives. The analysis centers on the activation of containment and confinement as crucial concepts that shape the discourse and material practices surrounding the “safe” development and utilization of gene drive-carrying organisms. This spans from enclosed laboratory tests to open outdoor releases, illustrating the intricate depiction of containment as a process accomplished through material infrastructure and stringent protocols. This portrayal stands in contrast to the depiction of confinement as an intrinsic quality of island geographies. Islands are often depicted as naturally conducive to biosafety, absent the constructed structures found in physical laboratories. She argues that the relatively weak operationalization of confinement in island settings stems from deep-seated associations between island geographies and isolation, rooted in colonial imaginaries that historically justified experimentation on both the geographies and peoples of islands. She further contends that the rhetorical emphasis on safety and security in the literature masks the extent to which proposals advocate for displacing risks onto island geographies. In conclusion, Dr. Taitingtong offers strategies and tools for reimagining gene drive governance through oceanic perspectives, rejecting narrow frameworks of isolation in favor of foregrounding connectivity and relationships as essential elements in the ethical governance of science and technology.

Related links:

• Taitingfong, R. I. (2020). Islands as laboratories: indigenous knowledge and gene drives in the Pacific. Human Biology, 91(3), 179-188. PDF (Requires login with Unity ID)
• Taitingfong, R., & Ullah, A. (2021). Empowering indigenous knowledge in deliberations on gene editing in the wild. Hastings Center Report, 51, S74-S84. PDF
• Natalie Kofler and Riley Taitingfong. Advances in genetic engineering test democracy’s capacity for good decision-making. The Boston Globe. (2020). PDF

Speaker Bio

Dr. Riley Taitingfong is a Chamoru researcher and educator working on issues of environmental justice, Indigenous self-determination, emerging technologies, and community engagement. She completed her PhD in Communication at the University of California San Diego, where her project focused on Indigenous governance of gene drive technologies. Riley is currently a postdoctoral researcher with the Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona, where her projects focus on building practical tools for Indigenous Data Sovereignty. When she’s not working, Riley loves to go birding, paddling, and diving.

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Andrew Ofstehage, Program Coordinator of CALS International Programs at NC State University

Profile | Website A look at the farming strategies of two communities of North American farmers in Brazil and how they make sense of thorny subjects such as farmland financialization, genetically engineered crops, and labor management.

Abstract

This talk focuses on a comparative ethnography of two groups of transnational soybean farmers in the Brazilian Cerrado. In 1968, Holdeman Mennonites embarked on a tour of rural Brazil. In search of autonomy, they found cheap farmland in Rio Verde, Goiás and encountered a government eager for their migration. Decades later, a group of Midwestern family farmers toured rural Brazil and found cheap, expansive farmland. They courted investors (mostly neighboring farmers), bought massive tracts of land, and settled in Luis Eduardo Magalhães, Bahia. The two groups’ migrations began with experiences of crisis: for the Mennonites, a cultural crisis in the United States that threatened their family and community reproduction and for the Midwestern family farmers a farm crisis which threatened their livelihoods. In Brazil, they adopted common farming techniques related to soil fertilization and tillage, yet differed in crop rotations, use of technology, and most starkly in their perceptions of what counted as “good farming.” Each community internally contested identity and value as they made meaning out of transnational lives and industrial farming. Their negotiation of agronomic factors, cultural preferences, and the economics of producing soy in Brazil demonstrates the interconnectivity of social and material factors in agriculture. Related links:

• Andrew Ofstehage. (2018), Farming out of place:. American Ethnologist, 45: 317-329. https://doi.org/10.1111/amet.12667
• Andrew Ofstehage (2016) Farming is easy, becoming Brazilian is hard: North American soy farmers’ social values of production, work and land in Soylandia, The Journal of Peasant Studies, 43:2, 442-460, DOI: 10.1080/03066150.2014.998651

Speaker Bio

Dr. Andrew Ofstehage is currently a program coordinator at NC State; previously, he was a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University. He completed his PhD in Anthropology in 2018 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he defended his dissertation, “‘When We Came There Was Nothing’: Land, Work, and Value among Transnational Soybean Farmers in the Brazilian Cerrado.” His research among transnational soybean farmers in Brazil incorporates training in agronomy and anthropology and asks how transnational farmers engage with soils and landscapes in Brazil; become managers of workers and investors; and create and re-create agrarian communities out of place. He is now conducting new research on the bio-cultural life of soy consumption in the United States, planning new work on the socio-material life of soil, and continuing ethnographic research with transnational soy farmers in Brazil.

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Carolina Torres Trueba, Lawyer at Island Conservation

Profile | Website Synthetic biology offers new hope for the eradication of invasive alien species from islands, a pressing need in the face of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss.

Abstract

The talk explores the dynamic intersection between international dialogue on synthetic biology (SynBio) and the pressing need for new tools for the removal of invasive alien species (IAS) from islands. It begins by highlighting the vulnerability and ecological importance of the world’s islands, often threatened by the disruptive presence of IAS. Simultaneously, it develops, from a personal and practical perspective, the path of the dialogue of IAS and the interaction with synthetic biology. It also extends on these two issues at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and how this dialogue shapes the ethical and policy framework for Synbio. This presentation uncovers the fertile common ground where these two spheres converge, translating high-level policy aspirations into tangible, science-based actions. The talk delves into the challenges posed by IAS in island ecosystems and emphasizes the role that synthetic biology can play for the conservation of species and the prevention of extinctions by providing innovative tools for their control and eradication. Through collaborative solutions, the talk concludes by highlighting the potential of synthetic biology for the eradication of invasive exotic species and the need to continue the search for new technologies to solve the pressing problems of the climate crisis and the loss of biodiversity.

Related links:

• Island communities threatened by invasive rodents have potential new conservation tool, Island Conservation, Nov. 2022
• Genetic frontiers for conservation: an assessment of synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation. IUCN Task Force on Synthetic Biology and Biodiversity Conservation, 2019. Download PDF
• Process of Elimination, Wired, Feb. 2018

Speaker Bio

Carolina Torres Trueba is an attorney at law, with a minor in litigant, financial and corporate law from Universidad de los Hemisferios. She has over ten years of experience managing environmental cases. In the conservation field, she was the lead attorney for the Galápagos National Park Directorate (GNPD). During her period at the GNPD, she managed environmental issues regarding vessel wrecks on San Cristobal Island as well as environmental cases in the Galápagos. She is a member of the International Trans-disciplinary Academy of Environment (ATINA), and a Kinship Conservation Fellow (2019 cohort). She has been the focal point for international policy matters at the United Nations (UN) and The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) representing IC. She has supported the dialogue on synthetic biology and Gene Drives since 2015.

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Jennifer Kuzma, PhD, Co-Director of GES Center, & Associate Director of PreMiEr at NC State | Profile page Download seminar poster 

Abstract

The engineering of microbiomes in the built environment is a new area of inquiry that comes with many uncertainties and under-explored societal implications. This talk will explore the work of the new NSF-funded Precision Microbiome Engineering Center (PreMiEr) and the exploration of the social, equity, and ethical (SEI) implications. Related links:

• PreMiEr project site: https://premier-microbiome.org/
• PreMiEr SEI homepage: https://go.ncsu.edu/nsf-premier

Speaker Bio

Jennifer Kuzma, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, and co-founder and co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center at NC State University. She also serves as Associate Director and Lead of the Societal and Ethical Implications Core of the new NSF Precision Microbiome Engineering Center.

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Xaq Frohlich, PhD, Associate Professor of History at Auburn University

A history of U.S. food labeling policies and “informational turn” in food politics, and a critical look at debates in recent decades over labeling GMOs, “organic”, and other food risks and alternative food movements.

Abstract

In recent decades there has been a proliferation of third-party certification schemes in food markets, which consumers experienced at the supermarket through various new labels for lifestyles: organic, non-GM, dolphin-safe, carbon footprint, fair-trade, and animal-welfare approved, among others. Drawing from my forthcoming book, From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age (UC Press, 2023), this talk gives a history of this “informational turn” in food politics, starting with the U.S. FDA’s turn to nutrition labeling in the 1970s. It then situates debates in the 1990s about GMO labeling and USDA “organic,” debates that continue today, in a larger history of risk labeling and credence goods that illustrates persistent ambivalence among policymakers on the wisdom of using the food label as a tool to “empower” or “nudge” consumers on controversial subjects. While many have heralded informative labels, such as the FDA’s introduction of the Nutrition Facts panel in 1993, as a new form of hands-off, yet pro-public governance that enables healthy choices, I make the case that informative labels are also a problematic market device that unloads responsibility onto consumers, and, as is the case for the recent “bioengineered” foods label, can even work as a technology of obfuscation, rather than transparency. Through a history of the food labels in America, this talk explores the struggles of scientific, legal, and market experts to frame food, diet and risk for the average consumer.

Resource Links

• From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age, by Xaq Frohlich
• Download flyer for 30% off discount code

Speaker Bio

Xaq Frohlich is an associate professor of history of technology at Auburn University. He is trained in history and STS, and his research centers on food, diet and health risks, consumer politics, and market governance. His book, From Label to Table: Regulating Food in America in the Information Age (UC Press, 2023), tells a biography of the food label, from the U.S. FDA’s food standards to the use of informative labels (such as Nutrition Facts) today.

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Amarish Yadav, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow (Max Scott Lab) at NC State | Profile | Google Scholar A discussion about the molecular genetics of homing gene drives disrupting doublesex gene, as well as its potential and challenges in the D. suzukii population control.

Abstract

The CRISPR/Cas9-based homing ‘gene drive’ has emerged as a revolutionary genetic-based method that holds great promise for control of insect pests. Insect pests pose a significant risk to global crop loss, food security, and public health. In recent years, considerable progress has been made in the field of modern gene-drive which advances our understanding of its genetic and molecular mechanisms, biocontainment strategies, potential risks, and challenges. Using the genome-editing tool CRISPR/Cas9, Amarish has successfully developed and evaluated a split (biosafe) homing gene-drive which disrupts doublesex gene for the population control of an agricultural pest, Drosophila suzukii. The initial homing gene drive strains he made showed dominant female sterility and biased inheritance of up to 70%. The drive construct was modified such that females were dominant fertile (recessive sterile) and the Cas9 construct re-engineered using D. suzukii components. The final split-homing gene-drive strains showed 94-99% biased inheritance of the engineered genetic element and recessive female sterility. In his talk, Amarish will discuss the molecular genetics of the homing gene drives disrupting doublesex gene, as well as its potential and challenges in the D. suzukii population suppression. Related links:

• Yadav, A. K., Butler, C., Yamamoto, A., Patil, A. A., Lloyd, A. L., & Scott, M. J. (2023). CRISPR/Cas9-based split homing gene drive targeting doublesex for population suppression of the global fruit pest Drosophila suzukii. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(25), e2301525120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2301525120. PDF (requires Unity ID)
• Download PowerPoint slide deck

Speaker Bio

Dr. Amarish Yadav is a postdoctoral research scholar in Prof. Max Scott’s laboratory at NC State University, where he has been working on the development of genetic-based pest control methods such as homing gene drives and evaluating safeguards in the agricultural pest spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii). His doctoral research at Banaras Hindu University in India was to investigate the genetic and molecular aspects of cancer progression linked to the loss of cell-polarity regulators function in Drosophila melanogaster. During his postdoctoral research at NC State, using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, he developed the first split homing gene drive in spotted wing drosophila which targets doublesex, a gene essential for female fly development. In addition, he has generated various transgenics and eye-color mutants to be useful in the D. suzukii genetics research. Amarish is currently assessing the population-suppression potential of gene drive strains at laboratory scale as well as the influence of different genetic backgrounds on the gene drive efficiency in this pest.

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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Brian Donovan, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, BSCS Science Learning

Profile | Website | Related GGA Seminar Evidence suggests that high school biology textbooks in the US may reinforce an essentialist construal of gender.

Special two-day engagement with the Genetics & Genomics Academy, sponsored by the College of Education and the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership

Abstract

Essentialism is the lay assumption that categories of living things have underlying, unobservable “essences.” When applied to gender, this assumption has a range of negative consequences, including stereotyping and discrimination. In this talk, Dr. Brian Donovan will present evidence from a content analysis and a randomized control trial to suggest that high school biology textbooks in the US communicate an essentialist construal of sex and gender to students and that students grow in their gender essentialist thinking after reading such texts. Dr. Donovan will argue that rather than conveying accurate knowledge about the biological and social complexity of sex and gender, biology education in the US seems to instead promote messages consistent with gender essentialism. Related links:

• Humane Genetics, BCBS Science Learning
• Donovan, B. M., Weindling, M., Lee, D. (2020). From Basic to Humane Genomics Literacy: How Different Types of Genetics Curricula Could Influence Anti-Essentialist Understandings of Race. Science & Education. PDF

Speaker Bio

Brian M. Donovan is a senior research scientist at BSCS Science Learning, which is the oldest science education organization in the United States. He holds a B.A. in biology from Colorado College, a M.A. in teaching from the University of San Francisco, and a M.S. in biology and Ph.D. in science education from Stanford University. His research explores how genetics education interacts with social-cognitive biases to influence how students make sense of complex biological and social phenomena. By translating this research into frameworks that inform curriculum, instruction, and teacher education, Brian hopes to create a generation of researchers, teachers, and curriculum writers who know how to teach about human difference in a more humane manner. Brian’s award-winning educational research (e.g, The 2020 National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Early Career Research Award, The 2017 & 2022 Research Worth Reading Awards from NARST) has been reported on in the United States (e.g., The New York Times, The Atlantic/Undark, & EdWeek) and abroad (e.g., BBC Radio, The Independent, & The Australian Broadcasting System). Currently, he is the principal investigator of four different NSF-funded research projects that explore the cognitive, social, and educational factors that link the learning of human genetics to reductions in racism, sexism, and deterministic worldviews that limit human potential. Before his research career in science education, Brian taught middle school science for seven years in San Francisco.

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Daniel Uribe, MBA, Co-Founder & CEO at GenoBank.io | @duribeb Discover how BioNFTs are revolutionizing the Life Sciences by providing verifiable biosamples and biodata for training ethical AI models

Abstract

In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the convergence of blockchain technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is heralding unprecedented opportunities and challenges in Life Sciences. One of the most pressing issues we face is the ethical use of biosamples and biodata in AI model training. This talk introduces the groundbreaking concept of BioNFTs (Biological Non-Fungible Tokens), a solution designed to ensure data provenance, integrity, and ethical compliance. BioNFTs serve as a decentralized verification mechanism, allowing researchers, biobanks, and other stakeholders to authenticate the origins, chain of custody, and consent associated with biosamples and their corresponding biodata. These tokens operate on blockchain technology, providing a tamper-proof, transparent record of interactions.

The utilization of BioNFTs in AI model training fundamentally shifts the paradigm. By ensuring the ethical sourcing and utilization of biosamples and biodata, we can instill trust among the community and participants, thereby accelerating the adoption of AI in life sciences applications ranging from drug discovery to personalized medicine. This is especially critical when the biodata under study are derived from sensitive populations or rare conditions, where misuse or misrepresentation can have significant ethical implications.

Moreover, BioNFTs can be a game-changer for compliance with evolving global regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA, offering a novel way to provide proof of data provenance and informed consent. They also pave the way for a new economy, where individuals could monetize their anonymized data by granting time-bound access to researchers via tokenized consent. The talk will delve into real-world applications, potential pitfalls, and the roadmap ahead for integrating BioNFTs into our AI-driven future in life sciences. This concept has already been peer-reviewed by the British Blockchain Association based on the article “Privacy Laws, Genomics Data and NFTs“. Join us as we explore how BioNFTs can be the cornerstone for establishing ethical AI models in Life Sciences.

Resource Links:

• Daniel Uribe (2020) Privacy Laws, Non-Fungible Tokens, and Genomics. Conference: 2nd International Science Conference 2020At: Edinburgh, Scotland, March 2020. Online at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341463779_Privacy_Laws_Non-Fungible_Tokens_and_Genomics. PDF
• Demo video: Decentralized Biospecimen governance using BioNFTs™ (by GenoBank.io)

Speaker Bio

Daniel Uribe: With over six years of experience as co-founder and CEO of GenoBank.io, I am passionate about leveraging blockchain and genomics to enable users to establish ownership and control of their genomic datasets using BioNFTs (ERC721). My core competencies include creating and executing the vision, strategy, and business model of GenoBank.io, leading a multidisciplinary team of experts and advisors, and partnering with academic, industry, and government stakeholders to advance the field of personal genomics and data privacy. I have a strong background in data science, artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics, as well as certifications in Ethereum Solidity Dapp, eQTL Functional Genetics, and RNA-seq Workshop. I also hold an MBA from IPADE Business School and a certificate in Data: Law, Policy and Regulation from The London School of Economics and Political Science.

My mission is to empower individuals to access, share, and monetize their genomic data in a secure, transparent, and ethical way, while contributing to the scientific and social good. I believe that BioNFTs are the future of personal genomics and data sovereignty, and I am excited to be at the forefront of this innovative and disruptive field.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | GES Video Library | @GESCenterNCSU | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Amanda Pierce, Senior Advisor at US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Abstract

The U.S. Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology describes the comprehensive federal regulatory policy for ensuring the safety of biotechnology products with the goal of protecting health and the environment without impeding innovation. Under the framework, EPA, FDA, and USDA aim to cover the full range of plants, animals and microorganisms derived from biotechnology in an integrated and coordinated manner. The Office of Pesticide Programs in EPA is responsible for evaluating and ensuring the safety of novel applications of recent discoveries in genetics, molecular biology and other biological disciplines when applied to real world pest control problems – e.g., genetically engineered animals for pest population control and plant-incorporated protectants. In this colloquium, I will explain EPA’s role in the regulation of biotechnology and discuss the development of policies and regulations for emerging technologies.

Speaker Bio

Amanda Pierce is a Senior Advisor in the Emerging Technologies Branch in the Office of Pesticide Programs at EPA where she focuses on advancing ecological risk assessment and policy initiatives for cutting edge biotechnologies within the United States government and internationally. She received her Ph.D. in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution from Emory University. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill, Amanda became a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at EPA where she applied her population genetics expertise to developing risk assessment frameworks for emerging technologies.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | GES Video Library | @GESCenterNCSU | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Ross Bassett, Professor of History at NC State

Abstract

In 1965 Gordon Moore published a paper with observations on progress in integrated circuits. In the nearly sixty years since, the continued applicability of those observations, now enshrined as Moore’s law, has been the driving force behind the power and ubiquity of electronics in today’s world. Moore’s Law has become the point of reference for any field of science or technology experiencing rapid growth. This presentation looks at Moore’s Law in historical detail, arguing that it is as much or more about capitalism than science or technology. The audience is invited to comment on whether a more nuanced and historically accurate Moore’s Law might be relevant to genetic engineering.

Speaker Bio

Ross Bassett is a professor of history at North Carolina State University, where he teaches courses in the history of technology and the history of capitalism. He was originally trained as an electrical engineer and worked at IBM for 8 years. He later received his PhD in history from Princeton. He is the author of two books: To the Digital Age (a history of the MOS transistor), and The Technological Indian. He is currently working on a history of French engineers and their learning and use of the English language.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | GES Video Library | @GESCenterNCSU | Newsletter

GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

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Dr. Kiera O'Donnell, Postdoctoral Associate, Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, Duke University

Googe Scholar | Twitter @ODonnellKiera93 Insights into the complex factors that shape people's perceptions of their environment and their decisions around shoreline protection.

Abstract

Coastal communities around the world face a growing threat from rising sea levels, more severe storms, and droughts. To address these challenges, many have turned to natural and nature-based features (NNBF) as a means of reducing hazard exposure while also providing important environmental and social benefits. Despite their many advantages, however, a significant number of waterfront property owners continue to opt for hardened infrastructure to protect their shorelines. Kiera O'Donnell investigated the aftermath of two hurricanes to gain insight into the dynamics between people and their environment in the context of shoreline protection. While both communities surveyed showed an awareness of the protective properties of NNBF, a majority chose hardened infrastructure as their preferred option. Her study sheds new light on the complex factors that influence decision-making in the face of environmental hazards, and highlights the importance of understanding these dynamics to ensure effective and sustainable solutions.

Speaker Bio

Kiera O'Donnell earned her PhD in 2022 from Northeastern where she worked with Dr. Steven Scyphers and was a member of his Social-Ecological Sustainability lab. Her dissertation research focused on the landscape and social outcomes of Hurricane Irma in the lower Florida Keys and Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle. Kiera holds a BS degree in Oceanography from the University of New England and previously worked at NOAA as a data analyst for sea level and storms.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Bethany Brookshire, PhD, Science Journalist

Website | Twitter @Beebrookshire

Abstract

Bethany Brookshire, science journalist and author of Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains, made the transition from scientist to science writer. Along the way, she learned how many assumptions non-scientists make about scientific writing…and how many assumptions scientists make about non-scientific readers. The world of science writing is, in its way, just as much of a specialty as genomics, and Brookshire is here to pull back the curtain on it all.

Related links:

• Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains (also available as audiobook)

Related same-day events:

• 4:30-5:30 PM – Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains, @ Fishbowl Forum, D.H. Hill Library
• 7:00-8:30 PM –  A conversation with Dr. Bethany Brookshire and NCMNS Mammalogist Dr. Mike Cove, WRAL 3D Theater, NC Museum of Natural Science (to be filmed by C-SPAN!)

Speaker Bio

Bethany Brookshire is a freelance science journalist and the author of the December 2022 book, Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains. She is also a host and producer on the podcast Science for the People. She is a former staff writer with Science News magazine and Science News for Students, a digital magazine covering the latest in scientific research for kids ages 9-14. Her freelance writing has appeared in Scientific American, Science News magazine, Science News Explores, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, Slate and other outlets. Bethany has a PhD in Physiology and Pharmacology from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She was a 2019-2020 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.

GES Colloquium (GES 591-002) is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will generally be live-streamed via Zoom, with monthly in-person meetings in the 1911 Building, Room 129. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Zachary S. Brown, Associate Professor of Agricultural & Resource Economics, NC State

Website | Twitter @TheKazath A look at the limits of benefit-cost analysis (BCA) in biotechnology governance and discussion of its social utility compared to alternatives.

Abstract

Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is a ubiquitous method for evaluating policies throughout the US federal and state governments and around the world. It has been used for both normative and descriptive purposes, both prospectively and retrospectively, to assess the economic efficiency of policies. However, there are significant and well-known limitations in the method, especially in its insensitivity to fairness, equity, and justice. With these considerations receiving increasing prominence in political and policy discourses, including those surrounding biotechnology governance, what is the social utility of BCA going forward (compared to alternatives)? In this colloquium, I will quickly review the basic economic theory motivating BCA, summarizing some of my recent research deconstructing the method’s inherent indeterminism. I will then outline different areas of biotechnology policy in the US government where a role for BCA has been – or could be – implicated. I will describe a partial BCA from my own research evaluating the consumer welfare implications of agricultural gene drives, to motivate audience discussion questioning the utility of BCA in biotechnology governance.

Related links:

• Brown, Z. S. (2022). Distributional policy impacts, WTP-WTA disparities, and the Kaldor-Hicks tests in benefit-cost analysis. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 113, 102654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2022.102654. PDF >
• Jones, M. S., Delborne, J. A., Elsensohn, J., Mitchell, P. D., & Brown, Z. S. (2019). Does the US public support using gene drives in agriculture? And what do they want to know? Science Advances, 5(9), eaau8462. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau8462. PDF >
• Jones, M. S., & Brown, Z. S. (2019). Landscape-level pest control externalities when consumer preferences are non-neutral. In 2019 Annual Meeting, July 21-23, Atlanta, Georgia (No. 290815). Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. PDF >

Speaker Bio

Dr. Zack Brown is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, serves on the Executive Committee of the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center, and is also a faculty affiliate of the Center for Environmental and Natural Resource Economics and Policy (CEnREP) at NC State. He teaches classes in environmental and resource economics in NC State’s Economics Graduate Program and also teaches and advises students in the AgBioFEWS graduate fellowship program funded by the National Science Foundation. His research broadly examines questions in the field of bioeconomics, examining interactions between economic agents and biological and ecological systems.

GES Colloquium (GES 591-002) is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will generally be live-streamed via Zoom, with monthly in-person meetings in 1911 Building Room 129. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Dr. Latifa Jackson, Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Howard University

Website | Twitter @latifajackson Multi-omic data has been used to create narratives about who we are as humans—are they correct or do they tell a very one-sided story? Hosted in collaboration with BAA (Being an Ally in Academics).

Related reading:

• First Person: Latifa Jackson, _American Scientist _

As an assistant professor of pediatrics at Howard University, Latifa Jackson is concerned with public health, but also with evolutionary biology and the genetic signatures of selection that can affect disease outcomes. Jackson is part of an initiative at Howard’s William Montague Cobb Research Laboratory called the 1,000 African-American Genomes Project, which aims to compare samples from different populations of current and ancestral Africans to determine differing allele frequencies.

Genes & Society Workshop Series

While the events over the last several years in the United States have placed an important focus on issues of race, diversity, and systemic inequalities; these issues are long-standing and embedded within institutions, academic disciplines, and the broader scientific community. In response to the most recent examples of these inequalities, NC State has stated that “Diversity is critical to NC State’s mission” and that “New perspectives deepen our understanding, strengthen our community and propel our innovation.” Building upon NC State’s mission statement and past successful race and science events, NC State’s Being an Ally in Academics (BAA) group has collaborated with Genetics and Genomics Academy, the Genetics and Engineering in Society Center (GES), and TriCEM to organize a new two-day workshop series titled, “Genes and Society: Decolonizing Human Genetic Research”. The goal of this series is to explore the current and historical intersections of racism, systemic inequalities, and human genetic research with an emphasis on inviting diverse and historically underrepresented groups as seminar speakers.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Website | Twitter @brossardd

In an age of rapid advancements in genetic research and technology, it’s more important than ever to understand the impact of communication on how we perceive, understand, and engage with publics about genetic information.

Related links:

• Brossard, D., & Scheufele, D. A. (2022). The chronic growing pains of communicating science online. Science, 375(6581), 613-614. DOI: 10.1126/science.abo0668. PDF (*Unity ID required)

Speaker Bio

Dr. Dominique Brossard is professor and chair in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an affiliate of the UW-Madison Robert & Jean Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies, the UW-Madison Energy Institute, the UW-Madison Global Health Institute, the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Morgridge Institute for Research. Her teaching responsibilities include courses in strategic communication theory and research, with a focus on science and risk communication.

Brossard’s research agenda focuses on the intersection between science, media and policy with the Science, Media and the Public (SCIMEP) research group, which she co-directs. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the International Communication Association, Brossard is an internationally known expert in public opinion dynamics related to controversial scientific issues. She is particularly interested in understanding the role of values in shaping public attitudes and using cross-cultural analysis to understand these processes. She has published more than 100 research articles in outlets such as Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science Communication, Public Understanding of Science, the International Journal of Public Opinion, and _Communication Research _and has been an expert panelist for the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) on various occasions. She currently serves on the NASEM Climate Communication Initiative Advisory Committee as well as on the Executive Committee of the Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN), which aims at facilitating rapid and actionable responses to social, behavioral, and economic-related COVID-19 questions. Brossard is a member of the Board on Life Sciences of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. She is also on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences and she is the Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences at the National Science Foundation.

Brossard has a varied professional background that includes experience in the lab and the corporate world. Notably, she spent five years at Accenture in its Change Management Services Division. She was also the communication coordinator for the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSPII), a position that combined public relations with marketing communication and strategic communication. Her family worked dairy farms for many generations.

Brossard earned her M.S. in plant biotechnology from the Ecole Nationale d’Agronomie de Toulouse and her M.P.S and Ph.D. in communication from Cornell University. You can find a list of her publications on Google Scholar.

GES Colloquium (GES 591-002) is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will generally be live-streamed via Zoom, with monthly in-person meetings in the 1911 Building, Room 129. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Fernanda Santos, PhD, Teaching Assistant Professor, Food Science, NC State University

Website | Twitter @fbnsncstate

Abstract

"The definition of food law used to be a simple one – it encompassed food regulatory law with two main audiences: lawyers and the regulated food industries. Today, however, food law is often broadened in meaning to include all law related to agricultural trade, such as how food is grown, humane animal treatment, and environmental rules for farms and processors." (From Food Regulation by Neal Fortin)

The development of genetically engineered foods created an even greater (and heated) discussion linked to several complex issues, especially safety in terms of consumption and the understanding of their impact on the environment. So, the question is: "How should these foods be regulated?" The United States takes a more relaxed approach compared to the strict rules of the European Union. Despite the differences, the final goal is the same: ensuring that foods entering the markets are safe for consumption. This presentation will summarize the main characteristics of the regulation of genetically engineered foods in the United States. Related links:

• Fortin, N. Food Regulation: Law, Science, Policy, and Practice. Wiley, 2nd. ed., 2022.
• Roberts, M.T. Food Law in the United States. Cambridge University Press, 2015.
• Strauss, S., Sax, J. Ending event-based regulation of GMO crops. Nature Biotechnology, 34, 474–477 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3541
• BE Disclosure | USDA
• Biotechnology | USDA
• How GMOs Are Regulated in the United States | FDA
• Movement of Certain Genetically Engineered Organisms – Final Rule | Federal Register
• “Natural” Modifications: The FDA’s Need to Promulgate an Official Definition of “Natural” that Includes Genetically Modified Organisms | The George Washington Law Review
• Regulation of Biotech Plants | USDA
• Revised Regulations (previously SECURE Rule) | USDA
• Same Science, Different Policies: Regulating Genetically Modified Foods in the U.S. and Europe | Harvard University
• What’s the Right Way to Regulate Gene-Edited Crops? | Leaps.org

Speaker Bio

Dr. Fernanda Santos is a veterinarian, poultry scientist, and food safety specialist. During her veterinary training, her primary focus was zoonotic diseases and disease prevention. Then, she focused her work on pathogen growth in foods of animal origin, quality control programs, and molecular tools. She has also studied alternative methods and nutritional strategies to improve performance and reduce Salmonella intestinal colonization in poultry. Currently, at NC State, her focus is food safety and course development. She is responsible for the graduate food safety minor and teaching several courses in the food science program, including food laws and regulations and food product development. She has also created a new series of courses, “The Discover Series”, which are food science-related courses that are taught not only to food science/nutrition students but also to any undergraduate student who seeks to understand the science behind foods and controversial topics of food and nutrition.

GES Colloquium (GES 591-002) is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will generally be live-streamed via Zoom, with monthly in-person meetings in the 1911 Building, Room 129. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Panelists:

• Karletta Chief, PhD, Director, Indigenous Resilience Center; Professor & Extension Specialist, Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona
• Amy R. Sapkota, PhD, Professor, School of Public Health, Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health
• Yael Perez, PhD, Development Engineering Program Director at the Blum Center and the InFEWS Program Coordinator

Joining us from three different NSF research traineeships on food, energy, and water systems (FEWS), our panelists will share each programs’ challenges, opportunities, and sustainability.

Abstract

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program seeks to explore ways for graduate students in research-based master’s and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas, through a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs. Join us as the GES Center hosts a panel to learn about three NRT programs focused on Food, Energy and Water Systems (FEWS). Now that the programs have finished and/or are close to finishing, what future lies for their continuation? What lessons have they learned about implementing an interdisciplinary and convergent research program? We will discuss each programs’ challenges, opportunities, and sustainability with the traineeship. Our speakers include: Dr. Karletta Chief with Indige-FEWSS (Indigenous Food, Energy, and Water Security and Sovereignty) at the University of Arizona, Dr. Amy Sapkota with the Global STEWARDS (STEM Training at the Nexus of Energy, WAter Reuse and FooD Systems) program at the University of Maryland, and Dr. Yael Perez with InFEWS (Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems) at the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California Berkeley. Related links:

• Indige-FEWSS
• UMD Global STEWARDS
• InFEWS
• NSF Program abstracts and resulting publications: – Indige-FEWSS: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1735173 – UMD Global STEWARDS: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1828910 – InFEWS: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1633740

Panelist Bios

Dr. Karletta Chief (Diné) is a Professor and Extension Specialist in Environmental Science at the University of Arizona. Dr. Chief works to bring relevant water science to Native American communities in a culturally sensitive manner. As Director of the Indigenous Resilience Center, she aims to facilitate efforts of UArizona climate/environment researchers, faculty, staff, and students working with Native Nations to build resiliency to climate impacts and environmental challenges. Two of her primary tribal projects are The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe Climate Adaptation and Traditional Knowledge Project and Gold King Mine Spill Diné Exposure Project. Dr. Chief also leads the NSF Indigenous Food, Energy, and Water Security and Sovereignty Program and is training 38 graduate students. Indige-FEWSS’s vision is to develop a diverse workforce with intercultural awareness and expertise in sustainable food, energy, and water systems (FEWS), specifically through off grid technologies to address the lack of safe water, energy, and food security in Indigenous communities.

Dr. Amy Sapkota is an MPower Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. She is the Interim Director of the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health and the Director of CONSERVE: A Center of Excellence at the Nexus of Sustainable Water Reuse, Food & Health that was launched with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture in 2016. She is also the Principal Investigator of a doctoral training program, UMD Global STEWARDS (STEM Training at the Nexus of Energy, WAter Reuse and FooD Systems)—funded by the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) program—that is preparing a cadre of future leaders focused on innovations at the nexus of food, energy and water systems. Dr. Sapkota’s research interests lie in the areas of environmental microbiology, environmental microbial genomics and exposure assessment. Her projects evaluate the complex relationships between environmental microbial exposures and human infectious diseases, with a special focus on assessing the public health impacts associated with water reuse.

Dr.  Yael Perez is the Development Engineering (DevEng) Program Director at UC Berkeley’s Blum Center for Developing Economies, managing the DevEng Masters and the DevEng PhD Designated Emphasis. Yael holds a PhD in Architecture from UC Berkeley with a scholarship on co-design methodologies and technologies to support and empower communities and design practitioners in fostering sustainable development. For over a decade, she has been collaboratively leading CARES—Community Assessment of Renewable Energy and Sustainability—a team of UC Berkeley faculty and students working with Native American Citizens in their pursuit of sustainable development. Recently, this initiative grew into the Native FEWS Alliance, a cross-institutional collaboration working to significantly broaden the participation of Native American students in Food, Energy, and Water Systems (FEWS) education and careers to address critical challenges facing their communities. Before joining the Blum Center, Yael was a visiting scholar at IIT Mandi (India).

GES Colloquium (GES 591-002) is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will generally be live-streamed via Zoom, with monthly in-person meetings in the 1911 Building, Room 129. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Dr. Jonathan Allen and Rebekah Brown, Food Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, NC State University

Website | Twitter @fbnsncstate Where the food science and nutrition communities have come and may be going in defining sustainable food systems with examples from research in the NC State Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Department.

Abstract

Achieving sustainable food systems has been a growing agenda item among scientists, food and nutrition associations, and the food industry. Examples of goals and actions for some of these groups can be contrasted with the projects that individual scientists try to wedge into the sustainability umbrella. Similar examples from past NC State food and nutrition research will show that trends in research funding for specific projects to meet industry needs can now be rewritten to show progress toward a sustainable food system, even when that might not have been the original intent of the research. The research interests of international and domestic students and the groups that provide their funding also create an interesting contrast in this field. Additional progress can be made as we address the teaching and research of our current students to create the future scientists who will evolve the understanding of a sustainable food system. Additionally, Ms. Brown will be reporting briefly on the National Sweetpotato Collaborators Group meeting as it pertains to her research and food science study. The National Sweetpotato Collaborators Group is comprised of stakeholders across industry, academia, and government which meets annually to discuss emerging research. The fields of study present at the meetings include, but are not limited to plant physiology, plant breeding, molecular biology, pathology, entomology, cultural practices, food science, and marketing. The objective of the meeting is the rapid dissemination of information to improve the growth of sweetpotatoes and sweetpotato products in the United States for the benefit of the multiple stakeholders. Ms. Brown’s research involved a preliminary consumer survey of health, purchasing habits and acceptance/awareness of biotech in the sweetpotato sector. Related links:

• National Sweetpotato Collaborators Group

Speaker Bios

Dr. Jonathan Allen is a professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Science at North Carolina State University and Director of the Food Science Graduate Program. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in milk and dairy products, lactation, exercise nutrition, and energy metabolism. His research projects cover glycemic control as impacted by food processing and bioactive components in foods such as sweet potato, peanuts and milk, nutrient fortification of flour, and processing strategies. Allen has gained an international reputation for the understanding and potential amelioration of such chronic diseases as infant growth retardation, metabolic bone disease, diabetes, and hypertension. He has trained students who hold food industry, government, academic, and NGO positions in more than a dozen countries. A Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, and the Institute of Food Technologists, Dr. Allen has been active in the IFT Dairy Foods Division and new Sustainability Division with technical research paper reviews and graduate student competitions, and was on the IFT Dietary Guidelines for Americans Task Force. He is a member of the Climate/environment, Health, Agriculture and Improved Nutrition (CHAIN) Research Interest Group of the American Society for Nutrition.

Rebekah Brown is a Cohort 3 AgBioFEWS fellow and PhD candidate in the Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences Department at North Carolina State University. Some of her research involves stakeholder engagement regarding the use or acceptance of biotechnology in sweetpotatoes and sweetpotato products as well as the health and sustainability of different processing techniques.

GES Colloquium (GES 591-002) is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will generally be live-streamed via Zoom, with monthly in-person meetings in the 1911 Building Room 129. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Karen Maschke, PhD, Research Scholar at The Hastings Center

Website | Twitter @hastingscenter This presentation focuses on ethical and oversight issues as they relate to the insertion of human cells into nonhuman animals, e.g., “chimeric research.”

Abstract

Research involving the insertion of human cells into nonhuman animals at various stage of development – referred to here as chimeric research – has helped scientists learn how human cells behave in a living environment. Advances in human stem cell science and gene editing are enabling scientists to more extensively and precisely insert human cells into nonhuman animals at any stage of development. Scientists have conducted in vitro experiments with chimeric embryos and in vivo studies that create chimeric animals. The goals of these studies include developing more accurate models of human diseases, creating inexpensive sources of human eggs and embryos for research, and developing sources of tissues and organs suitable for transplantation into humans. Yet concerns have been raised that by biologically altering nonhuman animals with human cells – particularly at an early stage of the chimeric animal’s development – scientists may end up changing them in morally relevant ways, especially if the chimeric animals exhibit “humanlike” behaviors or capacities that they previously lacked. An NIH-funded interdisciplinary research project of The Hastings Center and Case Western Reserve University examined the ethical, oversight, and policy issues regarding research that involves the transfer of human embryonic or induced pluripotent cells, or cells derived directly from them, into nonhuman animals or nonhuman animal embryos. This presentation highlights three of the project’s recommendations:

1. scientists, journalists, bioethicists and others writing about chimeric research should use precise and accessible language that clarifies rather than obscures the ethical issues at stake;
2. animal welfare is a primary ethical issue and should be a focus of ethical and policy analysis as well as the governance of oversight of chimeric research; and
3. enhanced communication between institutional committees involved in oversight of chimeric research is needed, as well as a mechanism for a national discussion amongst those in oversight of these studies.

Related links:

• Clarifying the Ethics and Oversight of Chimeric Research, Josephine Johnston, Insoo Hyun, Carolyn P. Neuhaus, Karen J. Maschke, et. al., 2022
• Composite Animals: Then and Now, Amy Hinterberger, 2022
• Human, Nonhuman, and Chimeric Research: Considering Old Issues with New Research, Jeff Sebo, Brendan Parent, 2022
• Threats to Benefits: Assessing Knowledge Production in Nonhuman Models of Human Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Carolyn P. Neuhaus, 2022
• Moral Status and the Oversight of Research Involving Chimeric Animals, Patricia Marshall, Kaitlynn P. Craig, Insoo Hyun, 2022
• A Conversation with Chimeric Animal Researchers, Kaitlynn P. Craig, 2022
• How Chimeric Animal Research Impacts Animal Welfare: A Conversation with Animal Welfare Experts, Kaitlynn P. Craig, 2022

Speaker Bio

Karen J. Maschke, PhD is a Research Scholar at The Hastings Center and the editor of the Center’s journal, Ethics & Human Research. As a researcher with training in political science and bioethics, she focuses on policy and ethical issues related to the introduction, use, regulation, and oversight of new biomedical technologies. She recently completed two projects: the NIH-funded project, “Actionable Ethics Oversight for Human-Animal Chimera Research” (co-Principal Investigator) and the NSF-funded project, “Public Deliberation on Gene Editing in the Wild” (co-Investigator). She is currently the lead co-Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded project, “Informing Ethical Translation of Xenotransplantation Clinical Trials.” She is interviewed frequently by the media, appearing in AP, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Washington Post, Kaiser Health, STAT News, Reuters, and Bloomberg Law. Her recent book (co-authored with Michael K. Gusmano), is Debating Modern Medical Technologies: The Politics of Safety, Effectiveness, and Patient Access (Praeger, 2018).

GES Colloquium (GES 591-002) is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will generally be live-streamed via Zoom, with monthly in-person meetings in the 1911 Building, room 129. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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Sebastián Zarate and Jill Furgurson, AgBioFEWS PhD Fellows, NC State University

The 2022 Annual 4S conference brought together researchers and practitioners to explore science, technology and innovation across different cultural, economic and social settings.

Abstract

The 4S Meeting is an annual conference organized by the Society of Social Studies of Sciences (4S). Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an academic field of research that focuses on the relationships between science, society, technology and innovation across different cultural, economic and social settings. 4S 2022 was held in Cholula, Mexico and was the second joint meeting with ESOCITE (The Latin American Science and Technology Studies Association). The conference was trilingual (Spanish, Portuguese and English) as part of the goal to diversify STS to other regions in the world such as Latin America. As AgBioFEWS scholars, we focused our attention on topics related to genetic engineering, governance of emerging technologies, agriculture, conservation and participatory methods. Overall, it was an enriching experience that increased our knowledge of STS methods and theories and expanded our professional networks.

Related links:

• Society for Social Studies of Science 2022 Meeting

Speaker Bios

Sebastián Zarate is a PhD student at NC State’s Forestry and Environmental Resources Department. Sebastián comes from Peru with a background in social sciences. He graduated from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru with a B.A in Sociology and has a master’s in Science and Technology Policy from Arizona State University. He has worked in GRADE (Grupo de Analisis para el Desarrollo) a Peruvian Think Tank that focuses on public policy and co-founded Sidereus Nuncius, a nonprofit that is involved in the governance of science and technology in Peru. He is part of the AgBioFEWS Fellowship at NC State. He is interested in science and technology policy in Latin America, sustainability, emerging technologies, natural resources, and the environment. Jill Furgurson is a first year PhD student in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State. Her current research explores how broader stakeholder engagement can support more inclusive decision making around the evaluation of new environmental biotechnologies, such as the genetically engineered (GE) American Chestnut tree. In particular, how can the exchange of different kinds of knowledge, especially Indigenous knowledge, support more trusted and just decisions? She holds an M.S. in Forestry and Environmental Resources, where she conducted research pertaining to the sustainable use of natural resources used in Cherokee art forms. Her research for her M.A. in Geography assessed the impact of various social, spatial, and environmental risk factors on disease incidence.

GES Colloquium (GES 591-002) is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will generally be live-streamed via Zoom, with monthly in-person meetings in the 1911 Building, room 129. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

AgBioFEWS Panelists: Asa Budnick, Nick Loschin, Joseph Opoku and Modesta Abugu

AgBioFEWS Fellows Asa Budnick, Nick Loschin, Joseph Opoku Gakpo and Modesta Abugu will share their observations on and interrogate practices at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada that eventually lead to global decisions on the governance of biotech crops.

Abstract

The United Nations’ Biodiversity Conference is a once every two years conference led by the Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that gathers stakeholders from all over the world to set out global plans on how to protect biodiversity. The December 2022 conference laid out a new set of nature protecting goals to be implemented from now till 2030, dubbed the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. The conference held from the 7th to 19th December 2022 served as the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CP-MOP 10), and the Fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (NP-MOP 4).

We present learnings from our participation in various plenary and working group sessions which deliberated on biotechnology regulations, risk assessment, detection and regulation of living/genetically modified organisms, agroecology, digital sequence information (DSI), among others. We also speak about our one-on-one meetings and side events with various delegates and groups, and inform on the role of academia and research organizations in influencing policy decisions at the CBD – COP. And then, respond to the question: Has the UN Biodiversity Convention been a force for ‘good’ or ‘evil’ in how biotech crops are regulated globally? Finally, we provide overall recommendations on how these deliberations could be improved if it should continue serving as the platform for decision making on biotech crop regulations globally.

Related links:

• United Nations Biodiversity Conference
• COP15 concludes with historic deal to protect biodiversity
• Blog: Reflections on COP15, by Willy Wei, Nick Loschin, and Khara Griger, 1/13/23

Speaker Bios

Modesta Nnedinso Abugu (@modestannedi) is a PhD student in the sweetpotato breeding and genetics program, under the supervision of Dr. Craig Yencho and Dr. Massimo Iorizzo. Her research seeks to understand the genetic mechanism of interaction of various sweetpotato flavor compounds. She is passionate about communicating science to the public, especially on the potentials of agricultural biotechnology tools in promoting food security, and also interested international regulation of biotech crops. She obtained her masters degree in Horticultural Science from the University of Florida, and BS in Biochemistry from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. Joseph Opoku Gakpo (@josephopoku1990) is a PhD student in Agricultural and Extension Education at the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences, NC State University. His research interests include: communicating controversial sciences like GMOs, vaccinations, and climate; factors that influence success in agricultural education; and how communication is shaping global philanthropic efforts to reduce poverty. He holds a Bsc in Agricultural Biotechnology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, an MA in Communication Studies from the University of Ghana, and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from NC State. He is a journalist by profession and is the 2018 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ Best Video Journalist Star Prize Award winner. He was also a 2016 Global Leadership Fellow with Cornell University’s Alliance for Science Program. Nick Loschin is a PhD student in the Applied Ecology Department, working in the Interdisciplinary Risk Sciences team under Dr. Khara Grieger. He decided to join the PhD program at NC State because he is interested in better understanding the interdisciplinary intersections between risk assessment, sustainability, and community engagement within the context of new food and agriculture technologies. Over the past few years, he has been working at US EPA as an ORISE Research Fellow where he has centered his work within social and natural sciences in order to make science more accessible to diverse groups. More specifically, his team is situated within the Sustainable and Healthy Communities National Research Program, where they focus on environmental justice, science translation, and cumulative risk impacts. He also volunteers with the RTP Speakers Bureau, where he regularly gives presentations on sustainability to a wide variety of audiences and organizations. Asa Budnick is pursuing a PhD in Plant Biology. He works in the lab of Dr. Heike Sederoff studying plant molecular biology and genetics. Asa graduated with a BS in Biology from Northeastern University in 2018. Before entering NC State, he worked at MIT, Editas Medicine, and Inari Agriculture. With a focus on sequencing and gene editing technology development for crop improvement. Asa wants to work to improve food system sustainability and food sovereignty while utilizing and building an understanding of plant genetics.

GES Colloquium (GES 591-002) is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will generally be live-streamed via Zoom, with monthly in-person meetings in the 1911 Building, room 129. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Dr. Tanja Strive, Senior Principal Research Scientist at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIRO), Australia’s National Science Agency

“Prospects for genetic biocontrol of vertebrate pests in Australia”

Abstract:

Deliberately or accidentally introduced invasive species have cost the Australian economy AUD$390 billion during the past 60 years, with vertebrate pests such as feral cats and rabbits amongst the costliest, and more effective landscape-scale management tools are needed. Novel revolutionary genetic technologies have recently been developed that can force modified genetic traits into an animal population, defying the constraints of normal Mendelian inheritance. Combined with a highly specific gene editing system, this technology has the potential for population control of pests, for example by creating all-male or female infertile offspring which would ultimately lead to the collapse of the target population. Delivered and spread through sexual reproduction the potential of this powerful new technology is unprecedented, making pest eradication theoretically feasible. Proof of concept in a mammalian model system (mice) has recently been achieved, raising the possibility of exploring these technologies for some of Australia’s most intractable and damaging vertebrate pests. In line with the Guiding Principles for Sponsors and Supporters of Gene Drive Research (Science, 2017), in addition to technical developments, extensive consultations are currently underway in Australia with key stakeholders including scientists, government regulators, policy makers and public representatives. Moving forward it will be essential to ensure a transparent and informed debate, responsible conduct of science, provide a robust regulatory framework, and to identify key pathways and barriers to adoption of any putative genetic control tools.

Related links:

• CSIRO – Biological Control of Rabbits
• Tanja Strive on Google Scholar
• Download event flyer

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Tanja Strive is a Senior Principal Research Scientist within CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, based in Canberra, Australia. A molecular virologist by training, she joined CSIRO in 2002 following the completion of the PhD at the Philipps University in Marburg, Germany. She has since worked on a series of projects investigating lethal and non-lethal, and both GM and non-GM, biocontrol options for a range of feral animal species, including European foxes, mice, cane toads and rabbits. During the past ten years Tanja has led a project portfolio of both applied science and fundamental research projects aimed at developing a pipeline of biocontrol tools for European rabbits, exploring both classical viral biocontrol approaches and more recently prospects for genetic biocontrol technology. For more information, please contact Dr. Jason Delborne, Director of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) at jadelbor@ncsu.edu.[Talk Description]

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

AgBioFEWS Cohort 3 Organized Guest Panel with:

›  Marcie Cohen Ferris, PhD, Interim Director, Center for the Study of the American South at UNC-Chapel Hill ›  Michaela DeSoucey, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology at NC State

Abstracts

• Marcie Cohen Ferris’ work examines how evolving food cultures in North Carolina and the larger American South speak to the region’s complex history, culture(s), and struggle for racial justice, food equity, food sovereignty embodied in the powerful voices of a contemporary generation of farmers, food makers and creators, activists, scholars, policy makers, consumers, and more.
• Michaela DeSoucey’s exploration of ‘food culture’ requires us to acknowledge the complexity and paradoxes of the memories, desires, emotions, and debates that ‘flavor’ different ingredients and dishes. She will discuss what a cultural sociological lens brings to the contemporary study of food culture, focusing on boundaries and ethics as markers of social differentiation.

Related links:

• Edible North Carolina
• Center for the Study of the American South

Speaker Bios

Marcie Cohen Ferris (@ferrismcf), editor of Edible North Carolina, is a writer and educator whose work explores the American South through its foodways and the southern Jewish experience. She is interim director of UNC’s Center for the Study of the American South and an emeritus professor in the Department of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she serves as an editor for Southern Cultures, a quarterly journal of the history and cultures of the U.S. South. Ferris’s books include The Edible South: The Power of Food and the Making of an American Region and Matzoh Ball Gumbo: Culinary Tales of the Jewish South. She is a co-editor of Jewish Roots in Southern Soil: A New History. In 2018, Ferris received the Craig Claiborne Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Foodways Alliance.

Michaela DeSoucey is Associate Professor of Sociology at North Carolina State University. She is a qualitative, cultural sociologist whose research examines cultural and moral markets, consumer-focused organizations, and the politics of authenticity and risk, specifically around food. She is the award-winning author of Contested Tastes: Foie Gras and the Politics of Food, published by Princeton University Press (2016), as well as numerous articles on food-related topics from bean-to-bar chocolate to craft beer to food halls to peanut allergy.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

AgBioFEWS Cohort 3 Organized Guest Panel with:

› Leah Ceccarelli, PhD, Professor at University of Washington › David Kirby, PhD, Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Cal Poly University - San Luis Obispo Drawing on perspectives from rhetorical criticism and media studies, Drs. Leah Ceccarelli and David Kirby discuss the role of popular science-fiction films in shaping public perception of scientists and emerging biotechnologies.

Abstract

Dystopias, biological warfare, and near human extinction are common tropes in science-fiction film and television. These representations not only provide entertainment, but reflect deep-seated fears and hopes for scientific and technological futures. This is especially true for biotechnology (think Stephen King’s The Stand and Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park), where cinematic narratives can shape the public’s imagination of scientists and their practices. Because the interplay of science and media is an important force shaping our understanding of innovation, scientists should be interested in what’s playing on the big screen. With that in mind, members of GES’s AgBioFEWS Cohort 3 have invited Drs. Leah Ceccarelli and David Kirby to lead a discussion on popular science-fiction films and their impact on the public’s orientation to science and technology, with a special focus on scientists’ credibility and genetic engineering.

Related links:

• Kirby, D.A. (2007) The Devil in Our DNA: A Brief History of Eugenic Themes in Science Fiction Films, Literature and Medicine, 26(1): 83-108
• Kirby, D.A. & L.A. Gaither (2005) Genetic Coming of Age: Genomics, Enhancement, and Identity in Film, New Literary History, 36(2): 263-282.
• Kirby, D.A. (2004) Extrapolating Race in Gattaca: Genetic Passing, Identity, the New Eugenics, and the Science of Race, Literature and Medicine, 23(1): 184-200.
• Ceccarelli, L. Scientific Ethos and the Cinematic Zombie Outbreak, Mètode: Science Studies Journal 6 (2016): 107-13.

Speaker Bios

Dr. Leah Ceccarelli (@leahcecc) is a critic and theorist whose research focuses on interdisciplinary and public discourse about science. She directs the University of Washington's Science, Technology, and Society Studies Graduate Certificate program. Selected as a Fellow of the Rhetoric Society of America, and as a recipient of the National Communication Association's Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar award for her career of research, she has also received national awards for her two books on the rhetoric of science, and for a couple of her articles. She serves on several editorial boards and is co-editor of a book series on Transdisciplinary Rhetoric sponsored by the Rhetoric Society of America and Penn State University Press. Dr. David A. Kirby (@king_gwangi and @CalPolyCLA) is Professor and Chair of the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Liberal Arts and Director of the Science Technology & Society Program at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. His research examines how movies, television, and computer games act as vehicles of scientific communication. Several of his publications address the relationship between cinema, genetics and biotechnology. He has also explored the collaboration between scientists and the entertainment industry in his book "Lab Coats in Hollywood: Science, Scientists and Cinema." He is currently writing a book titled "Indecent Science: Religion, Science, and Movie Censorship."

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Jean Goodwin, JD, PhD, SAS Institute Distinguished Professor of Rhetoric & Technical Communication, NC State

Website | Twitter: @jeangoodwin and @PublicSci_NCSU What drives polarization on contested issues like GMOs? We’ll discuss one potentially surprising factor.

Abstract

Public debates have been trending increasingly bitter and polarized since the 1990s, increasingly so over the last decade. Science-heavy debates on issues like climate change, pandemic policies and of course agricultural biotechnology are no exception. In this “work in progress” presentation I review recent scholarship on the extent, drivers and implications of polarization in the two most studied situations: US politics (liberal v. conservative, Democrat v. Republican) and climate change. I close by inviting participants to reflect on the significance of this lit review for “denialism,” “anti-science,” “war on science” et sim. in the GMO debates.

Speaker Bio

A twisty path through law and classical rhetoric has led Dr. Jean Goodwin to an interest in scientists’ participation in civic controversies. As a member of the Leadership in Public Science cluster, “I not only ‘think’ but also ‘do’ that,” helping with programming intended to foster commitment to, and capacity for, public-facing science at NC State University. Goodwin received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and her J.D. from the University of Chicago, and her Ph.D. in communication arts from the rhetoric program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to more than 25 years in the classroom introducing undergraduates to the rhetorical tradition, she has mentored graduate students across a variety communication subfields and academic departments. Her essays have been published in international journals in communication, philosophy and the sciences. She has served as a consultant on initiatives by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Union of Concerned Scientists to define the appropriate roles of scientists as advocates.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Discussion facilitated by AgBioFEWS Fellows Jabeen Ahmad and Nick Loschin

This Colloquium is dedicated to reviewing the recent Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation released on September 12, 2022.

Abstract

This Colloquium begins with a brief overview of the Executive Order by Nick Loschin and then a discussion facilitated by AgBioFEWS cohort members Nick Loschin and Jabeen Ahmad with GES-Affiliated faculty Dr. Zack Brown. GES Executive Committee members and all three cohorts were invited to attend to discuss the current order and its political implications for the GES Center, each cohort group project, and their respective disciplines.

• 2022 Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy
• Biden issues executive order promoting agriculture and food biotechnology, Greg Jaffe, September 2022
• Executive Order 13874 -June 11, 2019, Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products
• 2019: Biotechnology Oversight Gets an Early Make-Over by Trump’s White House and USDA: Part 1—The Executive Order, Jennifer Kuzma, June 2019
• Optional: A Missed Opportunity for US Biotechnology Regulation, Jennifer Kuzma, Science, 2016 (see: related news post)
• Just added – Optional: CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (Fact Sheet, CHIPS and Science Highlights: Bioeconomy)
  • Search for “Engineering Biology” in the CHIPS Bill
  • CRS – White House Initiative to Advance the Bioeconomy, E.O. 14081: In Brief, Marcy E. Gallo and Todd Kuiken, Oct. 2022
• Optional: Special Collection: Executive Order on Biotechnology-related publications, GES Center faculty

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates.

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Andrea Rissing, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Sustainability, Arizona State University

Website | Twitter @FoodSystemsASU Preliminary findings from mixed-methods research that investigated why one county in Eastern North Carolina is trending strongly towards diversified cropping systems while its neighboring county is rapidly simplifying.

Abstract

Although modern farming tends towards specialization, diversified agriculture can mitigate the drivers and effects of climate change alike. In North Carolina, the agricultural landscapes of two bordering counties starkly diverge. Both display surprisingly high productivity, but one has been trending sharply towards simplified crop landscapes, and its neighbor, towards diversified. As part of a mixed-methods project, this talk presents a comparative, historically informed analysis of these two counties through the perspectives of diverse farmers and stakeholders. It analyzes how differential effects of 20th century changes in agricultural policy, agronomic characteristics, and historical path dependencies together embedded neighboring farmers’ decision-making within distinct contexts leading to distinct crop geographies. Drawing on land-use theory, we suggest that approaching crop diversification as a form of landscape change helps to explain these dynamics and identifies the multi-scalar drivers of crop diversification. The presentation also discusses the methodological process of merging “big” data from national-level datasets with “deep” data from farm visits and oral history interviews, and points towards future research opportunities created by such mixed-methods approaches.

Related links:

• Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems

Speaker Bio

Dr. Andrea Rissing is an Assistant Professor of sustainable food systems in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. Her research themes include U.S. farmers’ diverse livelihood strategies, processes of agrarian change, and local food system governance. She received her PhD in cultural anthropology in 2019 from Emory University, and completed postdoctoral research fellowships at The Ohio State University and Emory University before starting at ASU in Fall 2022.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Katie Barnhill-Dilling, PhD, Senior Research Scholar at the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, NC State

Profile | Twitter @barnhilldilling A broad overview of the GES Center project (funded by the InterAmerican Development Bank) that has explored the relevant policy and capacity for developing gene edited crops in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Abstract

Gene editing tools for agriculture have certainly been the subject of great promise, hope, and hype the world over. However, there remains considerable uncertainty regarding the ways in which regulatory systems and other institutions will manage and govern products made with gene editing. In a project funded by the InterAmerican Development Bank, we have explored the regulatory policy context and institutional capacity for developing and bringing to market gene edited products for agriculture throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. This talk will provide an overview of the project itself and share high level results of our analysis, including the results of policy analysis, stakeholder interviews, and case study development.

• CRISPR in Latin America and the Caribbean project page with publications and resource files
• Presentation Slides

Speaker Bio

Dr. Katie Barnhill-Dilling is a social scientist with the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at NC State University, where her research explores engagement as a tool for just and inclusive governance of emerging environmental biotechnologies. With training at the intersection of Science, Technology, and Society studies (STS) and environmental science, policy, and governance, Dr. Barnhill-Dilling works on projects that include a range genetic interventions for environmental issues such as species protection and ecosystem restoration, as well as governance of gene drive systems and other genetic tools for both agricultural and public health applications.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Marlene Zuk, PhD, Regents Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota

Website Writing about science for the public is fun, and hard, and requires some skills you may not regularly use as a scientist.

Abstract

What’s good, bad and sometimes weird about writing for the general public? And how can people get started doing it? I will discuss some of the ideas—and misconceptions—about popular science writing.

• Dancing Cockatoos and the Dead Man Test: How Behavior Evolves and Why It Matters, Marlene Zuk (2022)
• Why we do what we do: From regenerating sea slugs to self-medicating sheep, biologist Marlene Zuk probes the origins and evolution of behavior in a new book, Review by Rob Dunn, Science, 4 Aug 2022 (*NC State access link)
• THE UP-GOER FIVE TEXT EDITOR and De-Jargonizer

Speaker Bio

Dr. Marlene Zuk is a behavioral ecologist interested in the evolution of sexual signals, mate choice, and the role of parasites in host ecology, evolution and behavior. Most of her research is on insects, especially crickets. She is also interested in how people think about animal and human behavior, and has written several books for general audiences about animals and evolution. Dr. Zuk is a professor at the University of Minnesota, and before that was on the faculty at the University of California, Riverside.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Joe Herkert, D.Sc., Associate Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology and Society, NC State

Abstract There is a long tradition of ethics in engineering practice with the first engineering codes of ethics appearing early in the 20th century, but as an academic sub-field engineering ethics only began to emerge in the 1970s. In most treatments, engineering ethics is grounded in the concept of engineering as a profession. Following a brief introduction of engineering ethics and professionalism, this presentation will focus on some key concepts of engineering ethics scholarship and teaching that might be useful in thinking about ethics in the context of genetic engineering and society. Among these are codes of professional ethics; the use of case studies; microethics and macroethics; engineering as social experimentation; and ethics as design.

LINK TO POWERPOINT SLIDES

Speaker Bio

Joseph “Joe” Herkert, D.Sc., is Associate Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology and Society, North Carolina State University. He has also been a Visiting Scholar at NC State’s Genetic Engineering and Society Center and was a Co-PI on the NSF Grant “Comparing Cultures of Responsible Innovation across Bioengineering Communities.” Herkert has been teaching engineering ethics and science, technology & society courses for more than thirty-five years. He is editor of Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Engineering: Selected Readings (Wiley/IEEE Press, 2000) and co-editor of The Growing Gap Between Emerging Technologies and Legal-Ethical Oversight: The Pacing Problem (Springer, 2011), and has published numerous articles on engineering ethics and societal implications of technology in engineering, law, social science, and applied ethics journals and books. [Read more]

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Elizabeth Jones, PhD, Project Coordinator at NC Museum of Natural Sciences, and Postdoctoral Researcher in Biological Sciences at NC State

Website | Twitter @DrDinoDNA Ancient DNA research has a short but sensational history, especially as the birth of the field coincided with the Jurassic Park craze. Find out how celebrity helped shape the science for better or for worse.

Abstract

Ancient DNA research—the recovery of genetic material from long-dead organisms—is a discipline that developed from science fiction into a reality between the 1980s and today. Drawing on scientific, historical, and archival material, as well as original interviews with more than fifty researchers worldwide, Elizabeth Jones explores the field’s formation and explains its relationship with the media by examining its close connection to de-extinction, the science and technology of resurrecting extinct species.

In this talk, Jones reveals how the search for DNA from fossils flourished under the influence of intense press and public interest, particularly as this new line of research coincided with the book and movie Jurassic Park. She then takes on this reality, diving deeper into the nuance of celebrity to show how media interest simultaneously empowered and undermined the field, and how scientists responded to it both positively and negatively. By investigating the use and (perceived) abuse of celebrity, we arrive at an appreciation for the intricate interplay between science and media, and how the two influence one another.

• Ancient DNA: The Making of a Celebrity Science, by Elizabeth D Jones (2022)

Speaker Bio

Dr. Elizabeth Jones is the Project Coordinator in the Zanno Lab for the Cretaceous Creatures public science project at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at NCSU. She is a Historian of Science and author of the book “Ancient DNA: The Making of a Celebrity Science” (Yale University Press). Jones received her BA in History and Philosophy from NCSU, MA in History and Philosophy of Science from Florida State University, and PhD in Science and Technology Studies from University College London. Her research is interdisciplinary, focusing on the historical, philosophical, and sociological aspects of the scientific process to better understand how science happens and how it impacts society. Throughout her career, she has had first-hand experience working with paleontologists and geneticists in both the field and the lab across the US, UK, and Europe. Prior to her most recent job, Jones was a Project Coordinator and Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Cooper Lab at NCSU for a NSF grant to create a Toolkit for Data Ethics in the Participatory Sciences in partnership with the Citizen Science Association.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

Steven D. Prager, PhD., Senior Program Officer for Agricultural Transformation Strategy at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Website Understanding inclusive agricultural transformation through the lenses of climate adaptation and labor productivity.

Abstract

In many lower- and middle-income countries agriculture is not only the basis for food security but also the main path toward economic prosperity for countless small-scale producers. Agriculture systems are highly heterogeneous, however, and this heterogeneity is compounded by the nearly infinite variation in the individual circumstances of those that participate in the production process. At the same time, small-scale producers face several challenges and, in many instances, compound challenges ranging from Covid and climate change to conflict and crop disease. Given these complexities, how can we focus on intentional, inclusive approaches to help transform agriculture systems such that their stewards become more resilient and more predictably on a path to prosperity? To better understand both the opportunities for agricultural transformation and the challenges associated therewith, this presentation will examine “agricultural research for development” (AR4D) through the lenses of both climate adaptation and labor productivity. Here we consider the role of innovation in these areas as a core consideration in thinking about inclusive agricultural transformation (IAT). Innovation in areas from policy to farmer services to the crops themselves must be layered together in context appropriate ways in order to realize the changes needed to improve agricultural development outcomes. From the identification of specific outcomes to the corresponding theories of change, strategies, policy and investment, inclusive agricultural transformation must be both priority-based and right-sized. While there are numerous entry points for fostering climate-sensitive and inclusive agricultural development, through this dialog we will explore the idea that simultaneous consideration of labor productivity and climate adaptation increasingly has the potential to become a cornerstone of new thinking in IAT.

• Labour productivity: The forgotten yield gap Cock J, Prager S, Meinke H, and Echeverria R. (2022) _Agricultural Systems. _doi: 10.1016/j.agsy.2022.103452. PDF

Speaker Bio

A geographer by training, Dr. Steven Prager has recently joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation after ten years as a professor of geography at the University of Wyoming and, more recently, eight years as a research scientist with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) based in Cali, Colombia. At the University of Wyoming, Steven taught and led research in a range of themes mostly centered around spatial modeling and sustainable development.

Steven later brought this experience to CIAT and the world of agricultural research for development. At CIAT, he developed and co-led several different research programs, including the “Global Futures and Strategic Foresight” activity with the Policies, Institutions, and Markets research program of the CGIAR. He also played a critical role in building out a LAC-wide and then global scale program in climate services, several efforts related to Sustainable Food Systems, and the SERVIR Amazonia program designed to bring best in class remote sensing and geospatial analysis to local communities throughout the Amazon Basin. In his new role with BMGF, Steve is working with the Foundation’s Adaptation Systems and Integration team to bring innovations in climate adaptation to serve small-scale producers throughout Africa and South Asia.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

AgBioFEWS Cohort 3

Website | Twitter #AgBioFEWS Focusing on environmental pressures and changing social dynamics within agriculture, the 2022 AgBioFEWS Fellows reflect on their immersive summer field experience with farming communities in eastern North Carolina.

Abstract

North Carolina’s geographical and biological diversity present crop-growers with both exciting opportunities and immense challenges. Following an immersive field experience in NC’s Central and Northern Coastal Plains, AgBioFEWS Cohort 3 will provide a first-hand account of these complexities, giving close attention to recurring themes of loss and resilience.

The discussion begins with farmers’ perspectives on environmental pressures, including climate change, salt intrusion, insect resistance, and the adoption of emerging biotechnologies. Secondly, it will consider the changing social dynamics within farming communities, including issues surrounding land acquisition, market constraints, trusted expertise, farmer-to-farmer relationships, and labor concerns. Taken together, these reflections demonstrate how, in the face of constant change to both the environment and their communities, NC farmers demonstrate resilience and adaptability worthy of deeper consideration.

Speakers

AgBioFEWS Fellows are Ph.D. candidates across multidisciplinary fields of study collaboratively examining the science, policy, and public engagement aspects and impacts of Agricultural Biotechnology on Food, Energy, and Water. In addition to their primary graduate program, Fellows complete coursework toward a graduate minor in Genetic Engineering and Society and collaborate on an interdisciplinary cohort project.

Cohort 3 includes: Modesta Abugu, Rebekah Brown, Asa Budnick, Eric Butoto, Greg Ferraro, Adelyn Flowers, Jill Furgurson, Katrina Geist, Chris Gillespie, Nick Loschin, Amanda Mainello, Nolan Speicher, and Ruthie Stokes.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

Genetic Engineering and Society Center

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Final colloquium of the semester!

Developing a Research Agenda for BE CCS Crops

AgBioFEWS Cohort 2

An interdisciplinary agenda to studying the impacts of bioengineered crops for climate change mitigation.

Abstract

Agriculture is one of three sectors that produces the largest amount of carbon emissions. Multiple steps are being taken to reduce carbon emissions, but one new area being studied is carbon capturing and sequestering (CCS) crops. Research groups like the Salk Institute are currently bioengineering (BE) crops to improve crops' CCS capabilities. Understanding the potential impacts of this technology requires multiple perspectives. Using a socio-technical lens, we identify gaps in current research on BE CCS crops. From these gaps, we are developing various recommendations for funding agencies to support this technology's interdisciplinary study and assessment.

AgBioFEWS Fellows are Ph.D. candidates across multidisciplinary fields of study working together to examine Agricultural Biotechnology in Our Evolving Food, Energy, and Water Systems. In addition to their primary graduate program, Fellows also earn a graduate minor in Genetic Engineering and Society. Cohort 2 includes Jabeen Ahmad, Jaimie Choi, Joseph Gakpo, Andrew Hardwick, Salvador Cruz Matus, Dana Mugisa, Sandy Ramsey, Delecia Utley, and Sebastian Zarate.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Sumit Dhole, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Pioneering Work in Genetic Engineering of Crops and It’s Adoption in Africa

Florence M. Wambugu, PhD, DSc., Founding Director and CEO, Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International

Website | Twitter @AfricaHarvestKe & @DrFWambugu

Factors influencing the adoption of GE crops in Africa, and Dr. Wambugu's pioneering work on GE sweetpotato and with the Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) project.

Abstract

Despite huge adoption of Genetically Engineered (GE) Crops globally in the last two decades, the debate continues especially among interest groups in the public, policy makers, regulators & researchers. During the early days of GE Crops debate, anti-GE Lobby groups argued that Africa lacked capacity to regulate the GE technology and Africa policy makers feared they would lose trade with EU. These positions have changed and according to the latest report of the ISAAA Brief 55, on the Global Status of Commercialized GE Crops in 2019, Africa leads the progress among the regions of the world in adopting GE crops by doubling the number of adopting countries in 2019.

Africa has been regarded as the region with the biggest potential to benefit from GE crop adoption because of the immense challenges relating to poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. However, from an initial list of limited GE crops adopters in 2018, Africa have significantly increased adopters from 2019 to harness the benefits of GE technology. Globally, different continents and regions have taken different positions, with the USA, Canada, Australia, China, and Latin America leading in adoption of GE crops, while the EU remains generally cautious on case-by-case basis by different states. However, Africa is rising from the negative influence of EU anti-GE lobby groups, based on fear of losing trade opportunities, telling by the increased GE confined field trails (CFTs) targeting food security crops.

In this colloquium, Dr. Florence Wambugu will discuss the factors that earlier contributed, and continue to influence adoption of GE crops in Africa, highlighting GE Crops Research & Development by Africa Scientists using existing Biosafety laws. She will also discuss her pioneering work of GE Sweet-potato and promising GE work with Africa Biofortified Sorghum (ABS) Project in Africa.

• Dr. Wambugu profile on SourceWatch

Speaker Bio

Dr. Florence M. Wambugu is the Founding Director and Chief Executive Officer of Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International (AHBFI) — also known as Africa Harvest — in Kenya since 2002. She is a plant pathologist with specialization in virology holding a Ph.D. from the University of Bath, England (1991), Post-Doctoral Research Associate – Biotechnology with a life science company in USA, and holds an Honorary Doctor of Science from University of Bath, England (2008). For over 30 years she has dedicated her life to agricultural research where she’s made significant contributions to the improvement of sorghum, maize, pyrethrum, banana and sweet potato with significant impact on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Dr. Wambugu has authored/co-authored over 300 papers, publications, and books in local and international journals, written two books including “Modifying Africa”- How Biotechnology Can Benefit the Poor and Hungry (2001, 2004), and Biotechnology for Africa; Emergence, Initiatives and Future (2014) by Springer.

Dr. Wambugu holds several awards and honors from local and international institutions in recognition of her work in Africa including first place medal winner in Global Development Network Awards under science and technology category in Year 2000 for the TC banana project impact. Named as one of the world top 100 most influential people in biotech today by the Scientific American Worldview special report 2015, Awarded Yara Prize 2008, from the Norway-based Yara Foundation for her significant contribution to fight hunger and poverty in Africa. Dr. Wambugu was awarded the Eve Woman of the year Award by the EVE Magazine, in February 2004 in East Africa in recognition of her contribution to science and its application to combat hunger and poverty in Africa. Another award was given to Dr. Wambugu by the South African government during the commemoration of 10 years of democratic rule for her consistent support to agricultural development. In 2002 she was awarded “Woman of the Year” recognition by the American Biographical Institute for empowering the power through increased food production. She is also a recipient of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture's (IITA) award in 1981 for successful establishment of a tissue culture laboratory in support of root and tuber crops germplasm improvement; KARI's 1989 Crop Science award for excellent performance in scientific conferences; International Potato Centre’s (CIP) 1989 Regional Research award, for outstanding advancements in sweet potato research; Pyrethrum Marketing Board of Kenya 1990 farmers support award for successful establishment of a rapid micro-propagation laboratory for pyrethrum (Chrysanthemum) in 1986/7. Recognized by Virology Division of Horticultural Research International in England and KARI in 1991, as exemplary Ph.D. candidate for outstanding dissertation contributions on sweet potato virus disease research work done in Kenya, Monsanto Company Outstanding Performance Award for 1992 and 1993. Participated in key boards including Member of DuPont Biotech Advisory Panel-USA, International Plant Genetic Research Institute, UN Millennium Development goals Hunger Task Force, The Science Board of Bill and Melinda Gates Global Health Challenge and as a Council Member of the Science Technology and Society of Japan.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Sumit Dhole, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Getting to the Heart of Science Communication

Faith Kearns, PhD, Science Communication Practitioner, California Institute for Water Resources

Website | @frkearns A 21st century guide to communicating science on emotional and contentious topics

Abstract

From droughts to fires to climate change, many issues that scientists and science communicators work on are highly emotional, often contentious, and sometimes traumatizing, with high stakes for practitioners — who are often in precarious positions — and communities alike. Relating, listening, working with conflict, and understanding trauma, all with an eye toward justice, are key tools in the 21st century science communication toolkit. Using examples from her own and other’s work, Dr. Kearns will also share tips on navigating sometimes difficult discussions.

Related links:

• Getting to the Heart of Science Communication, Faith Kearns, 2021 (20% off with code HEART)

Speaker Bio

Dr. Faith Kearns is a scientist and science communication practitioner who focuses primarily on water, wildfire, and climate change in the western United States. Her work has been published in New Republic, On Being, Bay Nature, and more. Her recent book “Getting to the Heart of Science Communication” (Island Press) walks readers through the evolution of science communication and how emotional and high-stakes issues have shaped the field, as well as offers a new toolkit for practitioners: listening, working with conflict, and understanding trauma, loss, and healing, all with an eye toward justice and community care. Kearns holds an undergraduate environmental science degree from Northern Arizona University, and a doctorate in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Biotechnologies for Conservation and Their Intended Consequences

Ben Novak, Lead Scientist & Biotechnology for Bird Conservation Program Manager, Revive and Restore

Website | @BenJNovak1

Abstract

Revive & Restore is a nonprofit conservation organization leading the effort to responsibly integrate biotechnologies into conservation practice. Over the past decade the Revive & Restore has been driving the development of a suite of biotechnologies termed "the 21st Century Genetic Rescue Toolkit," spanning the use of genomics information and established technologies to enhance conservation strategies, to driving cutting edge gene-editing research to create new opportunities for recovery of species including facilitated adaptation to disease and climate change, and even recreating ecologically functional equivalents to extinct species for habitat and biodiversity restoration.

Many of the technologies and methods emerging for conservation spur controversy in both scientific and non-scientific publics. Most concerningly, there is a large degree of uncertainty among regulators and decision makers that will likely impede effective deployment of biotechnology solutions which many species urgently need. Ultimately, the future of conservation biotechnologies rests upon a diversity of stakeholders that will dictate when and which technologies are used.

Revive & Restore is spearheading "The Intended Consequences" initiative to promote a new paradigm that rebalances the risk-benefit equation when it comes to interventions to overcome the paralysis of the precautionary principle. The recent successful cloning of the first U.S. endangered species, the black-footed ferret, and its reception by conservationists, wildlife agency executive leadership, and the broader public signals a possible turning point for society's readiness to embrace biotechnologies. In this talk I'll share some of the technologies underlying the Genetic Rescue Toolkit, the early projects pioneering their applications, and the meaning of Intended Consequences for conservation and society.

Related links:

• Special Issue: Intended Consequences. Conservation Science and Practice. April 2021. https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/25784854/2021/3/4 (11 papers, letters, and reviews, with authors including Ben Novak, as well as GES faculty and previous colloquium speakers)

• Genetic Rescue Toolkit, https://reviverestore.org/what-we-do/genetic-rescue-toolkit

• The Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback, https://reviverestore.org/about-the-passenger-pigeon/

Speaker Bio

Ben Novak’s primary passion is the restoration of the extinct passenger pigeon, the goal of Revive & Restore’s flagship project, The Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback. Ben’s mission in leading the Great Passenger Pigeon Comeback is to set the standard for de-extinction protocols and considerations in the lab, field, as well as sociopolitical and cultural spheres. While passenger pigeons are Ben’s passion and specialty, the conceptualization and advocation of biotech-based genetic rescue solutions for all organisms have been a lifelong pursuit. He earned a bachelor's degree in Ecology and Evolution from Montana State University and a Masters of Arts in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from University of California Santa Cruz.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Sumit Dhole, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Supporting Actionable Research That Informs Conservation

Becky Goldburg, PhD, Director of Environmental Research and Science, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Website | @bjgoldburg

How Pew's approaches increase the likelihood that research is applied in real world conservation decisions.

Abstract

I will discuss how the Pew Charitable Trusts’ works to supporting research that is both useful and used to inform conservation policy and practices. One key approach is collaborating with decision-makers to identify their information needs, rather than looking for research questions that are the most scientifically interesting or cutting edge. Through the Lenfest Ocean Program, we support co-designed research projects intended to provide information that decision-makers both want and can act upon. Another approach is enabling conservation researchers to reflect on questions such as, “What types of impacts do you hope your research project will have?,” and “How will you achieve your desired impacts and project goals?”.

Through the Pew Marine Fellows program we work with scientists to apply strategic tools, such as project pathways or theories of change, to systematically chart the steps and interim impacts to achieve project goals. In our experience, these approaches increase the likelihood that conservation research will result not only in contributions to the scientific literature, but also be applied to real-world conservation decisions.

Related links:

• Grant-Making Criteria for Developing Useful and Usable Marine Science: A Philanthropic Perspective
  Landrum Jason P., et al. Front. Mar. Sci., 18 January 2022. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.809953

Speaker Bio

Dr. Rebecca Goldburg directs Pew’s environmental science work, which largely focuses on research related to conservation and includes the Lenfest Ocean Program and the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation.

Before joining Pew, Goldburg was a senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a national nonprofit research and advocacy organization, where her work included the scientific and public policy issues of fish farming, antibiotic resistance, and agricultural biotechnology. At EDF, Goldburg also worked to increase market demand for more sustainably produced seafood and poultry through partnerships with several major corporate purchasers of these items. She served on the Marine Aquaculture Task Force established by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Pew. Goldburg also co-wrote the Pew Oceans Commission’s report on marine aquaculture.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in statistics from Princeton University, and a master’s in statistics and a doctorate in ecology from the University of Minnesota.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Sumit Dhole, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. As conditions allow, colloquium will be held in-person in Poe 202, as well as live-streamed via Zoom (at least January will be 100% virtual). Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and Twitter for updates .

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Gene editing for agricultural diversification: Insights from a cooperative governance project

Nicholas R. Jordan, PhD, Professor of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota

Website | @UMN_AgroPlant

Abstract Agricultural diversification is widely seen as a critical element of future agricultural development development. One important concept of diversification is continuous-living-cover (CLC) agriculture, which integrates multiple crops to create diversified agroecosystems in which soils are covered by living plants across time and space continuously. Compared to agroecosystems that provide more limited cover of soil, CLC agriculture can greatly improve production of many ecosystem services from agroecosystems. To go to scale, CLC agriculture requires crops that not only provide continuous living cover but are viable in economic and social terms.

At present, lack of such crops is strongly limiting the scaling of CLC agriculture. Gene editing (GE) might provide a powerful tool for developing the crops needed to expand CLC agriculture to scale. To assess this possibility, a multi-sector deliberative group deliberated the merits of GE—relative to alternative plant-breeding methods—as means for improving crops for CLC agriculture. The group included many of the sectors whose support is necessary to scaling agricultural innovations, including actors involved in markets, finance, policy, and R&D. Views of participants were expressed in interviews and deliberative workshops.

Many in the group were enthusiastic about prospects for applications of GE to develop crops for CLC agriculture, relative to alternative plant-breeding options. However, the group noted many issues, risks, and contingencies, all of which are likely to require responsive and adaptive management. Conversely, if these issues, risks, and contingencies cannot be managed, it appears unlikely that a strong multi-sector base of support can be sustained for such applications, limiting their scaling. Emerging methods for responsible innovation and scaling have potential to manage these issues, risks, and contingencies; we propose that outcomes from GE crops for CLC agriculture are likely to be much improved if these emerging methods are used to govern such projects.

Related Publication:

• Should Gene Editing Be Used to Develop Crops for Continuous-Living-Cover Agriculture? A Multi-Sector Stakeholder Assessment Using a Cooperative Governance Approach (PDF) Jordan, N.R., Kuzma, J., Ray, D.K., Foot, K., Snider, M., Miller, K., et al. (2022) Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 10. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.843093

Speaker Bio

Dr. Nick Jordan is a Professor of Agronomy & Plant Genetics, at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul. His research, teaching, and engagement work seeks pathways to diversification in the agriculture of the US Midwest. He co-directs the Forever Green Partnership, which is developing and commercializing a portfolio of new and repurposed crops for diversification of Midwest agriculture.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Understanding Microbial Life on Leaves

Steven Lindow, PhD, Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School, Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Website | ResearchGate

Dr. Steve Lindow - of "ice minus" fame - joins us to discuss the bacteria that live on leaf surfaces, and the important roles they play ranging from global precipitation to plant health. Dr. Lindow will also be participating in our AGES Oral History Project (Archive of Genetic Engineering and Society). While his interview will not be available right away, you can check out the rest of the archive at https://go.ncsu.edu/aages.

Abstract

Arial plant surfaces often harbor large epiphytic bacterial populations. The size and composition of these communities however are determined by both small-scale interactions of bacteria with each other and with their plant host that determine growth and survival, as well as large-scale features such as the proximity and abundance of other plant species that contribute immigrant inoculum. The maximum population size of epiphytic bacteria is limited by Carbon availability on the plant surface and differs among plant species due to the differing amounts of exudates. These Carbon sources and therefore sites of bacterial colonization on plants are spatially heterogeneous, with the majority of bacteria residing in localized sites harboring relatively large, mixed species cellular aggregates. Cell density-dependent behaviors, often modulated by so-called quorum sensing signal molecules facilitate preferential survival of bacteria at such sites during stressful desiccation conditions. [cont.]

Full details and speaker bio at https://research.ncsu.edu/ges/event/ges-colloquium-2022-02-22/

See upcoming colloquia at https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Engineered Biology for Engineered Environments

Heike Sederoff, PhD, Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology, NC State

Website | @hsederoff

Addressing the energy problem of greenhouse agriculture

Abstract

Greenhouse agriculture is in general more sustainable than any open field production - if it wasn't for the enormous consumption of energy for light and space conditioning. I will present and discuss our development of a new type of self-powering greenhouse that uses semi-transparent organic photovoltaics to control radiation and produce energy. How far can we drive this technology? Which crops can be grown and how can biotechnology further facilitate economic viability of these solar greenhouses?

Related links:

• Next Generation of Greenhouses May Be Fully Solar Powered,  NC State News, 2/7/2020
• Study Finds Plants Would Grow Well in Solar Cell Greenhouses, NC State News, 3/17/2021

• Achieving Net Zero Energy Greenhouses by Integrating Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells (PDF) Ravishankar, E. Booth, R.E., Saravitz, C., Sederoff, H., Ade, H.W., O’Connor, B.T. Joule, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.joule.2019.12.018

• Balancing crop production and energy harvesting in organic solar-powered greenhouses (PDF) Ravishankar, E., Charles, M., Xiong, Y., Henry, R., Swift, J., Sederoff, H. et al. Cell Reports Physical Science, 2021 doi: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2021.100381

Speaker Bio

Born and schooled in Northern Germany, Dr. Heike Sederoff completed an apprenticeship in book production and trade, but then went on to study chemistry at the University of Goettingen where she received a PhD in plant biochemistry. She was awarded a Feodor-Lynen Fellowship from the Humboldt Foundation in Germany to study the interaction of bacteria and plants to form nodules for atmospheric nitrogen assimilation at Flinders University in Adelaide and at the University of Western Australia in Perth. Dr. Sederoff was a faculty member in at the University of Osnabrueck, back in Germany and later here at NC State. Her interests in science are very broad and she especially likes to collaborate across disciplines in natural sciences, engineering, and medicine. This has resulted in a number of licensed patents and experience as expert consultant in patent disputes. The research topics in her team span from questions how plants sense and respond to environmental stress to the use of synthetic biology to improve sustainability of crop production – on Earth and in extraterrestrial settings.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Ethical Dimensions of CRISPR Applications in Agriculture and the Environment

Drs. Jennifer Kuzma and Fred Gould, Professors and Co-Directors of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, NC State

Website | Twitter A discussion of the key ethical considerations in the governance of CRISPR technologies for agriculture and the environment, including for gene-edited plants and gene drive organisms.

Abstract

See PowerPoint slides here

Related links:

• Procedurally Robust Risk Assessment Framework for Novel Genetically Engineered Organisms and Gene Drives (PDF) Jennifer Kuzma (2019). Regulation and Governance doi: 10.1111/rego.12245.

• Engineering the Wild: Gene Drives and Intergenerational Equity (PDF) Kuzma J. and L. Rawls. (2016). Jurimetrics: The Journal of Law, Science and Technology 56 (3): 279-296.

• Community-led governance for gene-edited crops (PDF) Kuzma, J. and Grieger, K. 2020. Science, Vol. 370, Issue 6519. doi: 10.1126/science.abd1512.

Speaker Bios

Dr. Jennifer Kuzma is the Goodnight-NCGSK Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Social Sciences and co-founder and co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center at NC State University. Kuzma’s research interests involve the integration of social, policy, and natural sciences for emerging technologies governance, including biotechnology and nanotechnology. She has published over 150 articles and book chapters, and in 2019 she was elected a lifetime Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for distinguished translational work in advancing anticipatory governance of new technologies and contributions to methods for oversight policy analysis. (See full bio and profile)

Dr. Fred Gould is a Distinguished University Professor of Entomology and co-founder and co-director of the GES Center at NC State University. He studies the ecology and genetics of pests to improve food production and human and environmental health. Dr. Gould conducts research on the application of evolutionary biology and population genetics to enable sustainable use of insect resistant crops and genetically engineered agricultural pests. He also does research aimed at development of strategies for using engineered insect vectors of pathogens to decrease human disease. In 2011, he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Dr. Gould has served on several NASEM–National Research Council (NRC) committees studying the environmental and health effects of the commercialization of genetically engineered crops. He chaired the NASEM–NRC committee on “Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects”. He served on the NRC’s Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources until 2020. He is a fellow of the Entomological Society of America and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Gould received his BS in biology from Queens College and a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. (See full bio and profile)

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Carbon Sequestration & GHG Mitigation in Carinata Cropping Systems

Dr. John Field, R&D Staff Member, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Profile article | Twitter

Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) can produce substantial amounts of aviation fuel and soil carbon benefits when grown as a winter crop in the southeastern US.

Abstract

The oilseed Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) has been proposed as a supplemental cash crop grown over the winter fallow season in the mild climates of the southeastern US and used as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, with potential co-benefits for soil carbon and other ecosystem services. In this work we used a process-based ecosystem model to establish initial expectations for total regional SAF production potential and associated soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when carianata is integrated into existing annual crop rotations across its frost-tolerant range in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. We calibrated the DayCent ecosystem model based on carinata field trials in the region, and used it to evaluate the yields, soil carbon, and nitrous oxide emissions when carinata is integrated once ever third winter within those existing crop rotations. We estimate this could produce more than one billion liters of SAF annually and would be approximately neutral in terms of cropland soil GHG emissions. However, the adoption of climate-smart management techniques such as no-till establishment or organic amendments would result in a substantial soil carbon sink, significantly improving the overall environmental footprint of the resulting SAF.

Related links:

• Southeast Partnership for Advanced Rewables from Carinata (SPARC)
• A regional inter-disciplinary partnership focusing on the development of a carinata-centered bioeconomy
  George, S., Seepaul, R., Geller, D., Dwivedi, P., DiLorenzo, N., Field, J., et al. (2021). GCB Bioenergy. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12828. PDF

Speaker Bio

Dr. John Field is a R&D Staff Member in the Bioresource Science & Engineering Group within the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He studies the performance of bioenergy systems at the intersection of ecosystem ecology and life cycle assessment, using process-based ecosystem models to evaluate the effect of biomass feedstock production on ecosystem carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions. Feedstocks he has studied include switchgrass, corn stover, winter oilseed crops, and wood from trees killed by mountain pine beetle outbreaks in the Rocky Mountains. Much of his work has focused on bioenergy landscape design, including how feedstock production could be targeted on marginal lands to maximize environmental benefits. He has a particular interest in carbon-negative bioenergy systems, including carbon capture and storage technology, and pyrolysis and gasification systems that co-produce biochar. John received his BSc from Case Western Reserve University and his PhD from Colorado State University. He was previously a research scientist at the Colorado State University Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

The Role of Germplasm Banks in Global Food Security

Dr. Denise E. Costich, Retired Senior Scientist and Head of the Maize Germplasm Bank at The International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT)

Profile article The goal is to have fully secure and accessible Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture where there is the potential for a multi-lateral flow of germplasm and knowledge among the participants, basically, all human beings on Earth.

Abstract

Crop germplasm banks the world over provide a formal security back up system for the plant genetic resources upon which our future food security relies. At the same time, smallholder, mostly indigenous, farmers, also conserve the seed of their crop plants. For the most part, these communities do not act as partners, even though they are collectively the guardians of the genetic diversity that all humans depend upon to survive. This seminar will focus on the case of maize, a critical component of the diets of millions of people globally. Research projects in maize seed conservation in smallholder farming communities in Mexico and Guatemala illustrate how to create stronger links, via seed and technology transfer. Seed longevity research in the germplasm collection at the headquarters of the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) in Mexico enables the maintenance of a secure source of high quality seed for the future.

Related links:

• Genetic diversity and selection signatures in maize landraces compared across 50 years of in situ and ex situ conservation McLean-Rodríguez, F.D., Costich, D.E., Camacho-Villa, T.C. et al. Heredity 126, 913–928 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-021-00423-y. PDF

• Enhancing seed conservation in rural communities of Guatemala by implementing the dry chain concept Guzzon, F., Bello, P., Bradford, K.J., Costich, D.E., et al. Biodivers Conserv 29, 3997–4017 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-020-02059-6. PDF

• The abandonment of maize landraces over the last 50 years in Morelos, Mexico: a tracing study using a multi-level perspective McLean-Rodríguez, F.D., Camacho-Villa, T.C., Almekinders, C.J.M., Costich, D.E. ** et al. Agric Hum Values 36, **651–668 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-019-09932-3. PDF

• Seed longevity of maize conserved under germplasm bank conditions for up to 60 years Guzzon, F., Gianella, M., Velazquez Juarez, J.A., Sanchez Cano, C., Costich, D.E. Annals of Botany, Volume 127, Issue 6, 7 May 2021, Pages 775–785, https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcab009. PDF

• Crop genetic erosion: understanding and responding to loss of crop diversity Khoury, C.K., Brush, S., Costich, D.E., Curry, H.A., et al. (2021). New Phytol. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17733. PDF

Speaker Bio

Dr. Denise E. Costich is a passionate defender of maize genetic resources, devoting the past two decades to research topics related to its taxonomy, evolution and conservation. She received her B.S. in Biology with a Concentration in Ecology and Systematics from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences of Cornell University. In the middle of her undergraduate studies, she went to Kenya with Friends World College and ended up as a field assistant on a baboon research project. She eventually went on to graduate school at the University of Iowa, after another field research assistant gig in another exotic location—the Brazilian Amazon. In pursuit of a better understanding of plant breeding systems, she did her Ph.D. thesis research as a Fulbright Scholar in Spain on the ecology and evolution of dioecy in a wild cucurbit. Through a series of postdoctoral positions, Denise’s research interests became more genetically oriented, and she landed in her first maize lab in 2000, at the Boyce Thompson Institute, back on the campus of her alma mater. Interest in crop evolution and plant population biology lead her to join the USDA-ARS lab of Dr. Ed Buckler, where she spent six fascinating and productive years. In 2012, the opportunity to apply her diverse knowledge and skills in an international agricultural research-for-development setting presented itself, and she became the fourth Head of the Maize Collection of the Germplasm Bank at the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) near Mexico City. In October 2020, she retired from that position, and returned to Ithaca, where she continues to pursue her interests in seed conservation and maize wild relatives.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium | GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite | Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

STS Roles in developing technologies of humility around gene drives

Dr. Sam Weiss Evans, Senior Research Fellow at the Program on Science, Technology & Society, Harvard University

Website | Twitter

As different groups work out whether and how to pursue gene drive organisms, Sam Weiss Evans explores the ways STS researchers can enrich the attention to diverse perspectives, equity, vulnerability, and learning.

Abstract

In the development of gene drives, claimsr ecosystem-altering capabilities are often coupled with calls for research programs to engage with diverse groups. This talk explores the ways that STS researchers have helped shape the development of gene drives, drawing out the various roles they have had and how those roles have and have not advanced a research and policy agenda that favors attention to technologies of humility: contrasting framings, the distribution of benefits and harms, the capabilities of vulnerable populations to be heard and responded to, and the potential for institutionalized learning over time.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Sam Weiss Evans is a Lecturer and Research Associate at Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, a Research Fellow in Harvard’s Program on Science, Technology, and Society at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, a Research Affiliate in the Program on Emerging Technology at the Center for International Studies at MIT, and a Research Affiliate at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. Sam is worried that security is thought about too much by people who just think about security, and not enough by people who don’t. How are decisions made about what areas of science and technology become objects of security concerns? How are decisions about whether something is a threat tied to our ways of managing, or ignoring, that [non-]threat? These are some of the questions Sam likes to ask. Other questions focus on the relationship between people like him—Science and Technology Studies researchers—and the people whom he works with and studies. What is the appropriate amount of critical distance to be able to see the context of an environment clearly while still being close enough to the action to have some influence on it? Sam loves trying out different answers to these questions and learning from them. He also loves learning from you.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Considerations for adopting genetically engineered crops around the world

AgBioFEWS Cohort 3 Fellows bring together a panel of speakers to discuss how the emerging field of GE might influence international markets and impact society.

Abstract

Given the tight interconnectedness of global food systems, genetically engineering (GE) staple crops might immediately influence our lives. AgBioFEWS cohort 3 fellows from the Genetic and Engineering Society Center at NC State have brought together a panel of speakers to discuss how the emerging field of GE might influence international markets and impact society. Speakers will discuss incentives and considerations regarding the adoption of GE technology from private, public, and consumer perspectives. Further, the panel hopes to reflect on how potential market arrangements might impact the welfare of different groups across regions and income levels, since many of the GE industry leaders come from a minority of wealthy nations. The three panel members are experts in the philosophy of agriculture and ethics, international relations, and biotechnology. They are well positioned to help us understand the effects of this paradigm changing technology.

Guest Panelists

• Md. Arif Hossain is the CEO and Executive Director of Farming Future Bangladesh (FFB), a comprehensive communication and community engagement organization aimed to improve awareness about modern agricultural innovations including crop biotechnology to ensure sustainable food security in Bangladesh. Twitter: @arifromel
• Dr. Marc Ghislain is a global leader of the biotechnology research program at the International Potato Center where he is currently leading efforts to release a transgenic potato completely resistant to late blight in sub-Saharan African countries. Twitter: @Cipotato
• Dr. Paul B.  Thompson is the W.K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics at Michigan State University and has spent his career in research and teaching focused on ethical and philosophical topics in food and agriculture. Twitter: @MSUAFRE

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

NGO perspective on governance of gene editing

Dr. Doria Gordon, Lead Senior Scientist at Environmental Defense Fund, and

Gregory Jaffe, JD, Director of the Project on Biotechnology at Center for Science in the Public Interest www.edf.org/people/doria-gordon | cspinet.org/biography/gregory-jaffe and @JaffeGregory

This talk will describe six principles for the proper governance of gene editing, addressing issues such as transparency, stakeholder engagement, government oversight, and voluntary stewardship, that were adopted by six US non-governmental organizations.

Abstract

Biotechnology, which includes gene editing and other technologies, has the potential to address urgent food security, environmental, and human health dilemmas. However, these technologies also raise potential for societal concerns, environmental and health risks, and conflicts with cultural and spiritual values. Previous experience with the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the food system have in some instances resulted in public mistrust, underscoring the need for more transparency, better governance, and oversight of these technologies when they are deployed. To address these potential concerns, representatives of six conservation and consumer non-governmental organizations developed six principles for responsible governance of gene editing in agriculture and the environment, which were published in an August 2021 article of Nature Biotechnology. This webinar will present the principles and invite questions and discussion on both the principles and possible next steps for implementation.

Related links:

• https://www.keystone.org/our-work/emerging-genetic-technologies/ngoroundtable/

Speaker Bios

Dr. Doria Gordon is a Lead Senior Scientist in the Office of the Chief Scientist at Environmental Defense Fund, with a focus on ecosystems. Prior to EDF, she spent 25 years working in science, conservation, and management for The Nature Conservancy in Florida. Dr. Gordon is also a Courtesy Professor of Biology at the University of Florida and a Research Associate at Archbold Biological Station. Her current research focuses on the scale and measurement of net carbon sequestration in natural and agricultural systems. She also works on governance of genetically engineered organisms in agriculture and the environment, and risk assessment for invasiveness in plant species. Dr. Gordon completed a M.S. and Ph.D. in Ecology at the University of California at Davis following an undergraduate degree in Biology and Environmental Studies at Oberlin College.

Gregory Jaffe is the Director of the Project on Biotechnology for CSPI. Jaffe came to CSPI after serving as a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division and as Senior Counsel with the U.S. EPA, Air Enforcement Division. He is a recognized international expert on agricultural biotechnology and biosafety and works on biosafety regulatory issues in the U.S. and throughout the world. He was a member of the Secretary of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture from 2003-2008 and was reappointed to a new term in 2011. He was also a member of FDA’s Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee from 2004-2008. In addition, he provides biosafety expertise to the International Food Policy Research Institute and Cornell University’s Alliance for Science. Jaffe earned his BA with High Honors from Wesleyan University in Biology and Government and then received a law degree from Harvard Law School.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Precision agriculture to decarbonize our national energy needs

Dr. Daniela Jones, Research Assistant Professor in Biological and Agricultural Engineering, NC State

Website | Twitter Developing data-intensive algorithms and applying diverse modeling and optimization tools to tackle the national grand challenge to decarbonize our energy needs while securing a sustainable and resilient supply chain infrastructure.

Abstract

Biomass feedstock utilization has the potential to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and improve energy security while decarbonizing our energy needs. Energy crops, short rotation woody crops, municipal solid waste, and agricultural and forest residues are considered promising sources of renewable energy. Computer modeling has proven to be a key tool towards minimizing logistics cost. Designing an efficient and economic biomass supply chain model can be a highly challenging task due to biomass’ bulky nature, feedstock quality variability, uncertain supply conditions, and dispersed geographic location. It requires the integration of several operations including harvest, collection, storage, preprocessing, and transportation. Researchers posit that a sustainable biofuel supply chain includes an intermediate storage location to preprocess biomass for longer shelf life and delivery distances. In this presentation I will discuss different precision agricultural approaches for improving resource use efficiency, quality, profitability and sustainable production of fuels, products, and power. Related links:

• Replacing liquid fossil fuels and hydrocarbon chemical feedstocks with liquid biofuels from large-scale nuclear biorefineries C.W. Forsberg, B.E. Dale, D.S. Jones, T. Hossain, A.R.C. Morais, L.M. Wendt, Applied Energy,  Vol 298, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117225

• The nth-plant scenario for blended feedstock conversion and preprocessing nationwide: Biorefineries and depots T. Hossain, D.S. Jones, D. Hartley, L.M. Griffel, Y. Lin, P. Burli, et al., Applied Energy, Vol. 294, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.116946

Speaker Bio

Dr.  Daniela Jones is a Research Assistant Professor in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at North Carolina State University with a joint-faculty appointment with Idaho National Laboratory. She is also the developer and director of the new Agricultural Data Science Graduate Certificate at NCSU, a graduate faculty in the Operations Research Program, a faculty fellow of the Center of Geospatial Analytics, and a faculty affiliate of the AgBioFEWS Program. She develops a wide range of data-intensive algorithms and applies diverse modeling and optimization tools to solve large-scale problems that arise in the areas of transportation, logistics, and renewable energy systems. These skills are highly instrumental to tackle the national grand challenge to decarbonize our energy needs while securing a sustainable and resilient supply chain infrastructure. She earned her PhD in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University, where she was an Alfred P. Sloan Scholar and received a certificate in Business Management. She received her Masters and Bachelor of Science degrees in Industrial Engineering with an emphasis in operations research and a Minor in Mathematics from Mississippi State University. Before this role, she was a postdoctoral associate at Duke University, where she performed quantitative and qualitative research on student interventions and supported programming of educational, career development workshops and community development events for underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students in the biosciences.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

The missing ecology in gene drive research

Dr. Sumit Dhole, Research Scholar in Mathematical Biology, NC State

LinkedIn | Google Scholar A discussion about some of the ecological aspects of population suppression using gene drives, and areas that need more research.

Abstract

Gene drives are rapidly emerging as a potential tool for controlling populations of disease vectors, invasive species and agricultural pests. The molecular research to create new and improved gene drives based on the CRISPR technology has progressed rapidly. While this research has been encouraging from the perspective of developing these tools, there remain large gaps in our understanding of how natural populations would respond to the release of gene drives. Dr. Dhole will discuss some of the ecological processes that will play an important role and that need more research in natural pest populations. Related links:

• Rajagopalan PK, Curtis CF, Brooks GD, Menon PK. The density dependence of larval mortality of Culex pipiens fatigans in an urban situation and prediction of its effects on genetic control operations. Indian J Med Res. 1977.
• North, A., Burt, A. & Godfray, H. Modelling the potential of genetic control of malaria mosquitoes at national scale. BMC Biol 17, 26 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-019-0645-5
• James J Bull, Christopher H Remien, Stephen M Krone, Gene-drive-mediated extinction is thwarted by population structure and evolution of sib mating. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, Volume 2019, Issue 1, 2019, Pages 66–81, https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoz014

Speaker Bio

Dr. Sumit Dhole is an evolutionary ecologist who uses mathematical models to study how genes can spread through natural populations. For the past few years at NC State his focus has been on understanding how synthetic gene drives might behave if introduced into natural populations. While gene drives, which are highly invasive genetic constructs, may provide a solution for rapid and species-specific management of disease vectors and agricultural pests, a major concern is the potential of their unchecked spread to non-target populations. Through his work, Sumit tries to understand what factors and design features may allow synthetic gene drives to spread in safe, contained manners.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Hazard Communication

Dr. David M. Berube, Professor of Science & Technology Communication, NC State

Website

Hazard Communication refers to communication to a limited group of stakeholders and involves three variables: hazard data, dosage data, and exposure data.

Abstract

This presentation tries to separate data sets associated with Hazard Communication from those associated with Risk Communication. Since Risk Communication is a social construct, it involves public understanding of science while Hazard Communication generally does not. Hazard Communication occurs between field experts while Risk Communication include experts and inexperts. Experts share biases with the public in some cases but not in others. For example, innumeracy and probability neglect tends to be associated with inexpert audiences. This paper will be presented to the National Toxicology Program for which I serve as a member of their Board of Scientific Counselors.

Related links:

• Cognitive and Human Factors in Expert Decision Making: Six Fallacies and the Eight Sources of BiasDror, I. E. (2020). Anal. Chem. 92. 7998-8004
• Cognitive Errors and Diagnostic Mistakes: A Case-Based Guide to Critical Thinking in MedicineHoward, J. (2019). Basel, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG.

Speaker Bio

Dr. David M. Berube (NYU 1990) is a Research Professor and a GES Fellow at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in science/technology communication. He teaches graduate seminars in risk, fear, disaster, and climate change science communication. He received over $20 million in grants over the last two decades studying science communication, especially intuitive toxicology. He wrote Nano-Hype (2006), edited another on Pandemic Communication and Resilience and is writing a book on Lessons We Should Have Learned from Zika. He is the director of the Public Communication of Science & Technology project and social science director of the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network involving NCSU, Duke and UNC. He authored some White Papers on social media and risk. He is a member of the Society of Toxicology and Special Government Employee for the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Toxicology Program.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Stakeholder engagement in gene drive research: A Target Malaria case study

Dr. Léa Paré, Stakeholder Engagement Lead at Target Malaria – Burkina Faso

Website | Twitter @TargetMalaria

Target Malaria’s approach to stakeholder engagement is an iterative process, constantly adapting and evolving based on the context and values of our stakeholders, as well as new guidance and recommendations developed in accordance with international best practice.

Abstract

Stakeholder engagement is one of the three pillars of Target Malaria’s approach. Our strategy is to focus on the communities that might benefit from the technology and that are directly affected by the research activities but also to have an ongoing, transparent dialogue with other stakeholders. The project uses ethically designed engagement best practices to empower these communities to make the most informed decisions about the project’s work and its activities. Our stakeholder engagement approach is an iterative process, constantly adapting and evolving based on the context and values of our stakeholders, as well as new guidance and recommendations developed in accordance with international best practice.

Related links:

• https://targetmalaria.org/

Speaker Bio

Dr. Léa Paré obtained her doctorate in anthropology / sociology at the University of Aix Marseille 2 in France. She is Target Malaria’s Stakeholder Engagement Lead in Burkina Faso. Throughout her training and career, Dr. Paré has developed a great interest in the field of research on malaria from an anthropological point of view. Dr. Paré’s doctoral research enabled her to specialize in the socio-anthropological analysis of health problems in Africa. Author of several publications since 2000, she is interested in questions of social representations of malaria in connection with the acceptance of the means of control developed by science and technology. Her various works have underlined the need to think ahead for fundamental research in malaria control and to look at the perceptions, expectations and constraints of populations in relation to the use and allocation of research results by the beneficiary populations. Dr. Paré is one of the forerunners of the social sciences who are interested in the problems of genetically modified organisms from the point of view of local communities and stakeholders.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

From basic science to engineering tools to translational research

Dr. Ross Sozzani, Associate Professor and Director of NC PSI Plant Improvement, NC State

Website | Twitter Dr. Ross Sozzani, Director of Plant Improvement at NC PSI, on the multidisciplinary techniques contributing to knowledge and understanding of engineering agronomically enhanced plants for food production.

Abstract

Global food production is an enormously complex enterprise crossing every conceivable barrier from geographical borders to scientific disciplines. Challenges to production that threaten our ability to feed the world’s growing population are multifactorial and will require the integration of many fields of knowledge and skill sets to discover sustainable solutions. It requires the synthesis of discipline-specific theories, protocols, and tools to create new models and a common language to address complicated research questions. A systems understanding of development and adaptation at the level of cells, tissues, organisms, and ecosystem together with the development of predictive models is needed to achieve translational research. This discussion will be focused on: 1- the use of techniques derived from biological, mathematical, and engineering science to unravel molecular mechanisms that regulate the growth and development of multicellular organisms; and 2- how the fundamental understanding of biological systems and relationships at a multi-scale level is central to translate this knowledge to engineering plants with enhanced agronomic function. Related links:

• CALS Researcher Awarded NSF Grant to Study Activation Domains, July 2, 2021

Speaker Bio

Dr. Ross Sozzani joined NC State in 2013 as a Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program cluster hire in Synthetic and Systems Biology. An associate professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, Sozzani researches the molecular mechanisms that regulate stem cell fate specification and maintenance within the Arabidopsis root, and translates this knowledge to engineering plants with enhanced agronomic function using the tools of synthetic biology. Her goal is to gain a coherent qualitative and quantitative understanding of stem cell maintenance at the system level. In addition to revealing the molecular pathways that stem cells employ, this research will help to better understand why stem cells, in both plants and animals, give rise to specialized cells at all.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Cotton is our Culture, Julius Tillery of BlackCotton.Us speaks on why

Julius Tillery, Founder of BlackCotton.Us

Website | Twitter Julius Tillery, Founder of BlackCotton.Us, will discuss why cotton is our culture.

Abstract

Julius Tillery is the founder of BlackCotton.Us and he will discuss his journey as a 5th generation African American cotton farmer in Northampton. In his journey, founding BlackCotton.Us company that tagline: Cotton is our Culture. Julius will detail why the culture of cotton production is important to be known for the marketplace.

Related links:

• YouTube – Faces of Change: Julius Tillery and Jamaal Garner

Speaker Bio

Julius Tillery is a 5th Generation life-long row crop commodities producer (cotton, soybeans, peanuts) from Northeastern, North Carolina. Julius is a rural economic development advocate and is also known for his entrepreneurial business role as Founder of BlackCotton.Us.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Video Archive- See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

The Quest to Reimagine Meat

Amy Huang, University Innovation Manager at The Good Food Institute

Website | Twitter Explore the state of alternative protein research and learn how universities can accelerate our transition to a better food system.

Abstract

Growing meat directly from plants, microbes, and animal cells will allow us to build a food system that is better for human, animal, and planetary health. However, catalyzing this paradigm shift is a vast, multidisciplinary effort that requires scientists, engineers, and other innovators from disciplines ranging from tissue engineering and synthetic biology to computational science and chemical engineering. Join The Good Food Institute’s Amy Huang to explore the state of plant-based, cultivated, and fermentation-derived meat research and learn how universities can accelerate our transition to a better food system. Related links:

• https://gfi.org/science/the-science-of-plant-based-meat/
• https://gfi.org/science/the-science-of-cultivated-meat/
• https://gfi.org/science/the-science-of-fermentation/
• https://gfi.org/the-alt-protein-project/
• https://gfi.org/resource/collaborative-researcher-directory/

Speaker Bio

Amy Huang is the University Innovation Manager at The Good Food Institute. As a member of GFI’s science and technology team, Amy works with students and faculty around the world to turn universities into hubs for alternative protein research and education. In addition to working with scientists and engineers to address priority white spaces in plant-based and cultivated meat technologies, she focuses on bringing diverse stakeholders together through the formation of student groups, global scientific communities, and interdisciplinary research centers. Amy graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in Economics and Global Health.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Perspectives of Eastern North Carolina farmers and the impact of biotechnology

AgBioFEWS Cohort 2

Website | Twitter The second AgBioFEWS cohort discusses lessons learned from visiting Eastern NC.

Abstract

The second AgBioFEWS cohort visited Eastern NC this summer talking with farmers, stakeholders, faculty, and extension agents. The goal of the trip was to gain a deeper understanding of agriculture in Eastern NC. The cohort will present on the insights they gained focused on three major themes: land and power, agbiotech, and decision making. These insights will be used to inform the development of the cohort’s proposals.

About

AgBioFEWS Fellows are Ph.D. candidates across multidisciplinary fields of study collaboratively examining the science, policy, and public engagement aspects and impacts of Agricultural Biotechnology on Food, Energy, and Water. In addition to their primary graduate program, Fellows also earn a graduate minor in Genetic Engineering and Society. Cohort 2 includes: Jabeen Ahmad, Jaime Choi, Salvador Cruz Matus, Andrew Hardwick, Dana Mugisa, Sandy Ramsey, Delecia Utley, and Sebastian Zarate.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Final public colloquium of the Spring semester.

How do we know our work is carried in the best interest of all involved? Even with our best intentions, both personally and socially, we can cause harm. How can we build a framework for action with an eye toward intention, care, and repair? This presentation brings to the Genetic Engineering and Society Center an ethical framework rooted in the Right Use of Power. Power is the capacity to have an influence, effect a change, or transform situations. Ethical decision-making can come in two forms, ordinary and complex. Both kinds are essential to deepening trust and maintaining relationships. Both involve an integration of personal integrity with professional responsibility. Most ethical decisions, however, are made moment-to-moment, based on our personal integrity, making it difficult to meet professional responsibility standards. This presentation reviews common misunderstandings of power as limited to unwanted oppression, control, and violence. Power can also enable responsibility, guidance, support, empowerment of others, and care. Power can reflect core values of compassion, wisdom, clarity, and connection. Power can be used skillfully, consciously, responsibly, and with care, or carelessly, selfishly, and destructively. The difference lies in using power appropriately, a skill that must be learned. Our clarity around the use of power is often complicated by shame and blame, two characteristics that are often at work in institutional settings.

Related links:

• Beacon Zen channel on YouTube
• Lion’s Roar – posts by Tenku Ruff

Guest Speaker

Tenku Ruff is a Soto Zen Buddhist priest and past President of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association who trained for five years in Zen monasteries in Japan, along with additional training in North America. Tenku holds a Master of Divinity degree from Maitripa College, a Tibetan Buddhist graduate school in Portland, Oregon. She is also a board certified chaplain (BCC) with the Association of Professional Chaplains and works as a hospice chaplain and a palliative care chaplain. Tenku brings to discussions of ethics in Genetic Engineering and Society sustained interests in interfaith dialogue and equity and inclusion. These interests that led her to undergo Right Use of Power training with Cedar Barstow.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Organized by the AgBioFEWS Cohorts For the first time ever, a genetic engineer, Eric Lander, is in a seat on the president’s cabinet—with social scientist Alondra Nelson as his deputy. The “evolutionary ringmaster” and Nobel prizewinner Frances Arnold chairs the council of science advisors—with NASA planetary explorer Maria Zuber as her co-chair. The Biden administration has proposed giving the NSF an additional $50 billion (over an annual budget of $8.5 billion), while it joins a bipartisan group of legislators in pressing scientific agencies for more emphasis on technology and jobs. What does it all mean for the future of research, biotech regulation, and their place in society? How will these people acting as individuals shape science policy?

Link

• Jennifer Kuzma PowerPoint slides on OSPT and biotechnology policy

Panelists

• Robert Cook-Deegan, PhD, Professor School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University
• Jennifer Kuzma, PhD, Goodnight-NC GSK Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Social Sciences and Co-Director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center
• Dave Levitan, MA, Science Journalist and author of Not A Scientist: How politicians mistake, misrepresent, and utterly mangle science

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Recent gene-editing technologies are heralded by proponents as a revolution for developing gene-edited foods (GEFs) while critics demand increased governance and scrutiny of potential societal impacts. Like other food and agriculture technologies, realizing GEF’s potential will depend on whether the public accepts it. Proponents want to ensure that GEF avoid the intense public controversy that GMOs faced, which they argue resulted in ‘burdensome’ regulations, trade restrictions, limited international production and trade of GMOs, and diminished opportunity to realize the benefits of GMOs. This history also uncovered that efforts aimed at educating the public about the science of food technologies does not necessarily diminish skepticism or mistrust.

Instead, trust in GEF will be informed by factors that extend beyond technical risks and benefits where many proponents now acknowledge the importance of trust and the limitations of the information deficit model. Thus, proponents see an opportunity to shift priorities away from the obstinate risk and safety debates of the GMO era, and instead focus efforts to garner social license through alternative means to establish public trust and acceptance. However, consumer and environmental advocacy groups argue that GEF poses significant public acceptance challenges due to its association with GMOs, scientific complexity, and social, environmental, and ethical concerns. US government agencies including the USDA, FDA, and others are also reviewing and revising policy relevant to safety and labeling of GEF products. As this area continues to grow in attention, and more products arrive to market, proponents and critics will contend with one another to shape the future of the technology. Thus, early messaging about GEF represents a transformative symbolic and politicized locus where message attributes serve ideological mechanisms created by stakeholders in competition. The prioritized communication from proponents and critics may well be the mechanism that drives how GEF will come to be understood by the larger citizenry and will influence how it will be evaluated and governed.

This presentation reviews recent data across two studies (still in review) in this domain. The first study reports findings from qualitative interviews and provides a typology of discordant priorities from proponents and critics related to trust and acceptance of GEFs. The second study is a content analysis that identifies and compares how media messages portray potential risks and benefits and regulation of GEFs across the US and EU. Together, these studies highlight contemporary shifts in proponent approaches to cultivating public trust, and acceptance of products in the commercial marketplace.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Christopher Cummings’ work focuses on advancing public engagement with science, developing risk communication theory, and improving public health decision making across the life span. An experienced social scientist and communication campaign scholar, Dr. Cummings uses a variety of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods, and his work has been featured in more than 40 applied science and health venues, including the Journal of Risk Research; Regulation and Governance; Nanotoxicology; PLOS One; Science, Technology, & Human Values; and Climate Research, among others. Outside of academia, Dr. Cummings also consults with multiple government agencies across the Asia-Pacific on health risk communication issues, including dengue fever surveillance and response (Sri Lanka and Singapore), obesity and nutrition access (New Zealand), vaccine communication (Singapore, Australia, and United States), and public engagement with nanotechnology, synthetic biology, and geoengineering (Australia, United States, and Singapore). He also consults privately with various Fortune 500 companies on leadership training, strategic planning, and risk communication initiatives.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Overview of Pairwise and their mission to build a healthier world through better fruits and vegetables by bringing new varieties to consumers. Insights into using gene-editing to make healthy produce a more attractive choice, and some of the regulatory considerations.

Related:

• Pairwise – pairwise.com

Guest Speakers

Dan Jenkins has 20+ years’ experience working in the food and agriculture industry and serves as the Regulatory Strategy and Quality Lead for Pairwise. Prior to this Dan was the Managing Director and Chief of Staff of the Agricultural Section of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) trade association in Washington DC. Dan also lead Monsanto’s Regulatory team in Washington DC overseeing all domestic chemistry and biotech crop approvals across FDA, EPA and USDA, and at the beginning of his career, worked in pesticide commercial sales, as well as R&D, for Dow AgroSciences. Dan earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a Master of Science degree in Entomology and Applied Ecology from the University of Delaware and his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Co-Sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Center for Bioethics

See also: Art’s Work/Genetic Futures 2.0

This event premiers Richard Pell’s CODEX ENTROPIA, a dystopian epic in the form of a 3D informational film. Using archival stereoscopic images that document the work of Western Pennsylvania laborers, the film narrates an alternative history that speaks to the entanglement of biological life forms, computational data, and political ideology. The film screening will be accompanied by Q&A with the artist and a brief response from historian and philosopher of science Michael Dietrich.

CODEX ENTROPIA is a short (9 min) 3D Sci-Fi Experimental Documentary. It tells the story of a massive geologic formation that contains the complete library of an ancient civilization who developed computing technologies using only well-trained animals. Told through a psychedelic found-footage slideshow, with soundtrack by Jason Martin. Produced entirely from historic stereoscopic photographs, the film will be presented in anaglyph (red/green) 3D, so please make sure you get the glasses to view it from the exhibitions host. A discussion with the film maker and researchers from the Center for Genetic Engineering and Society will follow. Related:

• CODEX ENTROPIA exhibit
• Message to the People of the Future, Rich Pell
• *3D glasses available on Amazon for $5

Guest Speakers

Richard Pell’s (@postnatural) earlier experimental documentary, Don’t Call My Crazy On The 4th Of July (2005), examines the curious case of Pittsburgher, Robert Lansberry, whose unusual political protests were a fixture of downtown Pittsburgh for 30 years. The film won the top prize at the Iowa Documentary Film Festival, Best Michigan Director at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and was an official selection at the Kassel Documentary Film Festival.

Pell is the founder and director of the Center for PostNatural History, an organization dedicated to the collection and exposition of life-forms that have been intentionally and heritably altered through domestication, selective breeding, tissue culture, or genetic engineering. The Center for PostNatural History operates a permanent museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and produces traveling exhibitions that have appeared in science and art museums throughout Europe and the United States. Pell is a National Academy of Science KAVLI Fellow and was awarded the 2016 Pittsburgh Artist of the Year. He is currently an Associate Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University.

Elizabeth Pitts, PhD (linked) is the director of Art’s Work in the Age of Biotechnology at the University of Pittsburgh. She is an assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Composition, Literacy, Pedagogy, and Rhetoric program. She received her PhD in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media from NC State with a minor in Genetic Engineering and Society. Elizabeth’s research blends rhetorical theory, organizational studies, and science studies to examine how technologies influence the nature of professional work and professional identity. Her current book project offers insights into a movement to make the coding of DNA as pervasive as the coding of software.

Michael R. Dietrich, PhD. Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh. http://www.pitt.edu/~mrd98/

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Cotton, the most important natural fiber crop, also produces enough seeds containing ~10 million tons of protein. A broader use of this resource for food and feed is hampered by the presence of toxic gossypol in the seed. Twenty-five years of work in my laboratory has culminated in selectively eliminating this toxin from the seed and obtaining deregulation from USDA-APHIS and FDA approval for its food/feed use. More recently, we have demonstrated the potential utility of the ptxD gene (encoding phosphite dehydrogenase) in transgenic cotton in combination with phosphite as a system to manage weeds that are becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides.

Links & Resources

• Keerti S. Rathore, Devendra Pandeya, LeAnne M. Campbell, Thomas C. Wedegaertner, et al. (2020) Ultra-Low Gossypol Cottonseed: Selective Gene Silencing Opens Up a Vast Resource of Plant-Based Protein to Improve Human Nutrition, Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 39:1, 1-29, DOI: 10.1080/07352689.2020.1724433
• Devendra Pandeya, Damar L. López-Arredondo, Madhusudhana R. Janga, Keerti S. Rathore, et. al. (2018) Selective fertilization with phosphite allows unhindered growth of cotton plants expressing the ptxD gene while suppressing weeds. PNAS Jul 2018, 115 (29) E6946-E6955; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804862115

Guest Speaker

Dr. Keerti Rathore joined Texas A&M University in 1995. His early education was in India, followed by a Ph. D. from Imperial College, London in electrophysiology. While working at Purdue University as a postdoc, he switched to plant biotechnology in 1990. At Texas A&M University, he is utilizing the biotechnology tools (cell and tissue culture, genomics, transgenics and gene editing) to improve cotton, sorghum, rice and potato.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

A discussion of the current state of native maize varieties breeding; their agricultural importance to maintain food security in developing countries; how researchers are using them to understand maize genetic diversity; and how they can coexist with modern, genetically engineered varieties. Dr. Rellán-Álvarez will then describe the work being done in his lab, trying to understand the evolutionary role of phospholipid metabolism in local adaptation of maize native varieties in highland adaptation.

Links & Resources

• https://www.gemmalab.org/

Guest Speaker

Dr. Rubén Rellán-Álvarez (@rellanalvarez) joined NC State as an assistant professor of molecular and structural biochemistry in 2019. He was born in the middle of the Asturian mountains, NW Spain. He studied Environmental Sciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2002) and then receive a Masters in Plant Biotechnology at the same university.  He earned a PhD in Plant Nutrition at Aula Dei Experimental Station, Zaragoza; Postdoc at Carnegie Institution in Stanford. Dr. Rellán-Álvarez then started a lab at the National Laboratory of Genomics for Biodiversity in Mexico. He currently runs the GEMMALAB (Genetics, Evolution and Metabolism of Maize Adaptation Lab).

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

While engagement and risk assessment are frequently discussed separately for gene drive technology, how do we incorporate engagement into risk assessment itself?

In response to advances in gene drive and gene editing technology, there have been calls for both engagement and risk assessment to inform decision making around these powerful, complex, and controversial technologies. While engagement and risk assessment are frequently discussed separately, what does it mean to incorporate engagement into risk assessment itself? How do we understand the intersection of science and values within risk assessment and what are the implications for engagement? What should we consider when designing engagement for risk assessment? This presentation will explore these questions using the case study of engagement that was conducted to inform the risk assessment of gene drive technology proposed to address the Spotted-wing Drosophila fruit fly.

Links & Resources

• https://sites.google.com/site/adamkokotovich/

Guest Speakers

Dr. Adam Kokotovich is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at NC State in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources and the Genetic Engineering and Society Center. An interdisciplinary social scientist, he studies and seeks to improve decision making related to emerging technologies, invasive species, and other controversial environmental issues. One of his areas of interest is examining how to enhance risk assessment by using engagement to recognize and reflect upon the consequential values-laden judgments present within risk assessment. He also uses qualitative methods to explore how to navigate different knowledges and worldviews in decision making.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Empowering ordinary citizens with the capacity to deliberate is a core issue in science communication. Despite growing deliberative practices in developed nations, it is significantly less understood how public deliberation can happen among populations who live with limited educational resources and poor urban infrastructure in developing countries. This talk focused on the article by Dr. Chen (linked) which studied a case of a well-designed deliberation method, Deliberative Poll, in Tamale, Ghana.

Links & Resources

• Kaiping Chen (2020) How deliberative designs empower citizens’ voices: A case study on Ghana’s deliberative poll on agriculture and the environment. Public Understanding of Science. October 2020. doi:10.1177/0963662520966742
• https://www.kaipingchen.com/

Guest Speaker

Dr. Kaiping Chen (@Kaiping_Chen) is an assistant professor in computational communication in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an affiliate of the UW-Madison Robert & Jean Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies and the Center for East Asian Studies. Chen’s research employs data science to examine how digital media and technologies affect political accountability to public well-being and how deliberative designs can improve public discourse on controversial and emerging technologies. Chen’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation. Her works have been published in peer-reviewed journals across disciplines including American Political Science Review, Public Understanding of Science, Journal of Science Communication, International Public Management Journal, Politics, Frontiers In Sustainable Cities, and The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, among others.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

A European perspective on GMO risk and regulations and the larger contextualization of the GMO debate in Europe in the current public discourse about the transformation of our agro-food systems.

Abstract

In Europe, the discourse about risks and regulations took right from the beginning in the 1980s a very different course than in the US. The European public across the continent has been and continues to be critical and sceptical about GMOs, regardless if created with older oder newer genetic engineering tools. Among the core issues of concern have been and continue to be safety and risk issues for the environment and human health. In response, the developers took a very narrow perspective on risks and safety issues leading to sweeping ‘no risk’ and ‘all safe’ claims for the public, while the civil society took a broader perspective on risks and safety issues that led to opposite conclusions. Hence, it was clear from the early days that without proper regulations, commercialization of GMOs would be near impossible in Europe. Hence, the design of what constitutes ‘proper’ regulations became the battlefield – not only in Europe but worldwide. In the last decade or more, however, the public discourse on GMOs has transcended the narrow pro- or contra technology focus of the 90s and is, today, mostly contextualized in the discourse about the necessary transformation of our agro-food systems, also in light of climate change, biodiversity collapse, and other parallel global environmental desasters in the making. Interestingly, we currently observe a déja-vue with the recent round of debates about new genetic engineering techniques. The GE developers try to pitch the discourse, again, in the narrow GE techno-centric pro- or contra framing of the 1990s (with identical narratives) by largely ignoring the wider political context of the public GE discourse. It remains to be seen how this will further evolve in Europe.

Guest Speakers

Dr. Angelika Hilbeck holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural Biology from the University of Hohenheim, Germany, and a PhD degree in Entomology from North Carolina State University, USA. Since 30 years, her research centers around biosafety issues, regulations and agroecology. Her research and conceptual work includes environmental risk assessment, ecological biosafety research with genetically modified plants and farmer-participatory agroecology research in eastern and southern Africa. Through her international work with UN, governmental and non-governmental organisations, she became increasingly involved in broader issues of technology development towards a democratically legitimated, sustainable global future and actively contributes to the debate on biosafety, international agriculture, hunger and poverty alleviation.

Links & Resources

• Hilbeck, A., Meyer, H., Wynne, B. and E. Millstone. GMO regulations and their interpretation: how EFSA’s guidance on risk assessments of GMOs is bound to fail. Environ Sci Eur 32, 54 (2020).  doi: 10.1186/s12302-020-00325-6
• Hilbeck, A, R. Binimelis, N. Defarge, R. Steinbrecher, D. Sprangers, A. et. al. 2015. No scientific consensus on GMO safety. _Environ Sci Eur _27:4, doi:10.1186/s12302-014-0034-1

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Agriculture from its inception has been the exploitation of people and nature. “Modernity” has exacerbated that mode of operation. In the 21st century, will we be able to do better?

Links & Resources:

• Adam Frank, Woodruff Sullivan (2014) Sustainability and the astrobiological perspective: Framing human futures in a planetary context Anthropocene, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2014.08.002
• Goodbye, U.S.D.A., Hello, Department of Food and Well-Being, Ricardo Salvador, New York Times, Dec. 3, 2020

Guest Speaker

Dr. Ricardo J. Salvador (@cadwego) is Director and Senior Scientist of the Food & Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, in Washington DC. He leads a team of scientists, economists, policy analysts and organizers to make the case that modern, sustainable practices can be highly productive while also protecting the environment, producing healthy food, and creating economic opportunity for all. He is a member of the Board of Agriculture and National Resources of the National Academy of Sciences, and of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food. He has advised a range of leading organizations in sustainable and equitable agriculture, including the Food Chain Workers Alliance, the Fair Food Program of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, The Land Institute, FoodCorps, National Farm to School Network, Center for Good Food Purchasing, Food System 6, and the HEAL Food Alliance.

He is an agronomist with a focus on sustainability and systems analysis. His undergraduate degree in agriculture is from New Mexico State University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in crop production and physiology are from Iowa State University. 

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Challenges of Global Vegetable Seed Production and Delivery

This talk will provide some background on the global vegetable seed industry including touching on topics of trade, quality seed health and phytosanitary testing, and highlight the challenges of global trade against a new disease threat on tomatoes, Tomato Brown Fruit Rugose Virus (ToBRFV). ToBRFV emerged in 2014 in the Middle East and since then has spread throughout the globe into all high-value tomato production markets. The disease results in deformed discolored fruits that are unmarketable and may lead to plant collapse. In the past two years, there have been numerous regulations imposed that have made it difficult to ensure seed delivery to customers, including seed that is used for the US food supply.

Links & Resources ASTA factsheet on ToBRRV: https://www.betterseed.org/wp-content/uploads/ToBRFV-QA.pdf ISF Pest List: https://www.worldseed.org/our-work/phytosanitary-matters/pest-lists/

Guest Speaker

Dr. Samantha Thomas (Sam) has earned a MS and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Ohio State University. She has been with legacy companies now compromising Bayer Crop Science for 14 years. Currently she holds the position of External Engagement Strategy Lead. Sam works across seed industry and regulatory partners to develop and use quality tools to address the phytosanitary risks of seed movement. Her areas of expertise include seed pathology and seed health testing, seed movement, best management practices for vegetable seed production to which this expertise was recognized by her acceptance into the Bayer Fellow program in 2017.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Building a synbio toolbox to monitor and control plant hormone activity

Phytohormones are critical regulators of plant development and environmental responses. In the past three decades, the molecular pathways that govern hormone biosynthesis, signaling, and catabolism have been largely mapped out using a combination of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, and cell biology approaches. Despite the major progress, our ability to monitor and precisely control hormone action remains limited. With the development of inexpensive DNA synthesis technologies and the rise of synthetic biology as a new discipline at the intersection of molecular genetics and engineering, new molecular tools can now be built to enable hormone tracking and targeted hormone manipulation. We have generated a synthetic biology toolbox that allows rapid construction of multi-hormone transcriptional reporters. In addition, we are building CRISPR-based logic gate devices to confer novel, highly restricted patterns of expression to any genes of interest using a limited set of available native and synthetic drivers.

Links & Resources

• An improved recombineering toolset for plants. Javier Brumos, Chengsong Zhao, Yan Gong, David Soriano, Arjun P Patel, Miguel A Perez-Amador, Anna N Stepanova, Jose M Alonso. Plant Cell. 32 (1), 100-122 (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.0043
• Alonso-Stepanov Lab https://alonsostepanova.wordpress.ncsu.edu/

Guest Speaker

Anna Stepanova (@AlonsoStepanova and @ANStepanova45) is an Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Genetics at NC State University. Her primary research interests continue to center around plant hormones, specifically the mechanisms of ethylene signal transduction, auxin biosynthesis, hormone pathways’ crosstalk, and translational regulation of hormone responses. In her work, Anna is employing classical and molecular genetics, genomics and synthetic biology in Arabidopsis and tomato to decipher the mechanisms governing plant adaptation and phenotypic plasticity.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Environmental Justice Reconsidered: Epistemic Dominance in the Governance of Environmental Biotechnologies

Environmental justice scholarship and practice often focuses on distributive or procedural dimensions of justice. While these are important, here I argue that the politics of recognition is foundational to these other two dimensions of environmental justice. Drawing on the case study of the Genetically Engineered American Chestnut tree and working with Haudenosaunee environmental and tribal leaders, I put forth that recognizing sovereignty and worldview are critical to a just governance of chestnut restoration. This framework also offers insight into other environmental biotechnologies, particularly those being proposed for species protection.

Links & Resources

• Delborne, J., Kokotovich, A., & Barnhill-Dilling, S. K. (2018). Engaging community with humility. Science, 362(6414), 532-533
• Barnhill-Dilling, S.K., Rivers, L. & Delborne, J.A. (2019) Rooted in recognition: Indigenous environmental justice and the genetically engineered American chestnut. Society & Natural Resources. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08941920.2019.1685145
• Barnhill-Dilling, S. K., & Delborne, J. A. (2019). The genetically engineered American chestnut tree as opportunity for reciprocal restoration in Haudenosaunee communities. Biological Conservation, 232, 1-7.
• Delborne, J.A., Binder, A.R., Rivers, L., Barnes, J.C., Barnhill-Dilling, S.K., George, D., Kokotovich, A., and Sudweeks, J. (2018). Biotechnology, the American Chestnut Tree, and Public Engagement (Workshop Report). Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University. Available online: http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-chestnut-report

Guest Speaker

Dr. Katie Barnhill-Dilling (@barnhilldilling) is a postdoctoral research scholar at North Carolina State University in the Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources. She is a social scientist, exploring just environmental decision-making. Broadly, her research focuses on engaging diverse communities and stakeholders in complex environmental and natural resource governance questions. More specifically, she explores the politics and social science around emerging applications of biotechnology in biodiversity conservation and restoration. Katie situates herself at an intersection of Science, Technology, and Society studies — in particular public engagement with science and technology — and Environmental Justice. Her focus is primarily on qualitative methodologies, including in-depth interviews, focus group facilitation, and participant observation.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

CRISPRcon - Gene editing and climate justice: Adaptation, mitigation, and conservation strategies in a changing world

Session organized by the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center https://crisprcon.org/crisprcon-2020/

Panelists

Societal impacts of climate change will not be distributed equally among geographies and populations. Proponents of gene editing forecast conservation applications whereby gene editing might aid in climate change adaptation (and, sometimes, mitigation) for vulnerable communities and ecosystems. Yet these technological solutions may create their own inequities and risks, both ecological and social. This session will explore what is at stake — including both risks and benefits — in the use of gene editing to address climate justice/equity issues.

• Riley Taitingfong, PhD Candidate, Department of Communication at UC San Diego
• Shantha Ready Alonso, Executive Director, Creation Justice Ministries
• Sara Fern Fitzsimmons, Director of Restoration, The American Chestnut Foundation at Penn State University
• Elizabeth Hobman, Research Scientist, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
• Katie Barnhill-Dilling, Postdoctoral Research Scholar; Affiliate, North Carolina State University, Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources; Genetic Engineering and Society Center (moderator)

CRISPRcon is a unique forum bringing diverse voices together to discuss the future of CRISPR and related gene-editing technologies across applications in agriculture, health, conservation, and more. CRISPRcon sparks curiosity, builds understanding, and highlights societal histories and other context relevant to decisions on gene editing technologies. CRISPRcon is a program of the Keystone Policy Center.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

CRISPRcon - Risk governance in gene editing and food: Intersections of safety and equity

Session organized by the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center https://crisprcon.org/crisprcon-2020/ Societal concerns regarding gene-edited food and agriculture products are wide-ranging, encompassing issues such as human safety, ecological impact, animal welfare, socioeconomic implications for agricultural communities, distribution of societal impacts and benefits, and control, access, voice, choice, and sovereignty within food systems. The assessment and management of various potential risks is distributed among regulators, researchers and developers, and other societal actors; questions of who defines what risks and concerns are managed, who manages them, and to what standard represent equity and political concerns in the risk governance process. This panel will consider the scope and governance of different categories of risk in various geographies, including how risk is currently addressed and how it might alternatively be addressed through regulatory and other processes.

Panelists

• Sarah Gallo, Director of Market Access for Food & Farm Innovation, Biotechnology Innovation Organization
• Sélim Louafi, Social Scientist at the Centre International de Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement
• Éliane Ubalijoro, Deputy Executive Director for Programs at Global Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition
• Gregory Jaffe, Director of the Project on Biotechnology for the Center for Science in the Public Interest
• Jennifer Kuzma, Goodnight-NC GSK Foundation Distinguished Professor in School of Public and International Affairs and Co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center, NC State University (moderator)

CRISPRcon is a unique forum bringing diverse voices together to discuss the future of CRISPR and related gene-editing technologies across applications in agriculture, health, conservation, and more. CRISPRcon sparks curiosity, builds understanding, and highlights societal histories and other context relevant to decisions on gene editing technologies. CRISPRcon is a program of the Keystone Policy Center.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Decision Heuristics and Biases, Community Engagement and Justice

Or, "Things are really F$%&ed up, and they have been for a long time, has my work or field of study contributed to this sad state of affairs?"

Or, taken a step farther, "Am I an agent of oppression?"

Most cognitive psychology decision-making models recognize the dual importance of logical analysis and emotions in the decision-making process. However, there is focus in the research literature, and wider society, on the biases and heuristics associated with the overuse of emotions in how we make decisions. How does this biased conceptualization of cognitive decision-making influence how we engage with underserved communities around issues of justice? Especially from a structural perspective. This is an exploratory presentation that will engage with some of these ideas.

Guest Speaker

Dr. Louie Rivers (@lriversiii) is an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University. His research focuses on the examination of risk and decision process in minority and marginalized communities, particularly in regards to the natural environment and juvenile crime. Louie really likes comic books and running.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Choices and performances in Indian GM cotton fields

A single seed is more than just the promise of a plant. In rural south India, seeds represent diverging paths toward a sustainable livelihood. Development programs and global agribusiness promote genetically modified seeds and organic certification as a path toward more sustainable cotton production, but these solutions mask a complex web of economic, social, political, and ecological issues that may have consequences as dire as death. In this talk, I’ll explore the anthropological question: what lives are possible on these farms and how do interactions with these technologies influence rural wellbeing and sustainability. By comparing the experiences of farmers engaged with these mutually exclusive visions for the future of agriculture, my research investigates the human responses to global agrarian change. It illuminates the local impact of global changes: the slow, persistent dangers of pesticides, inequalities in rural life, the aspirations of people who grow fibers sent around the world, the place of ecological knowledge in modern agriculture, and even the complex threat of suicide.

Links & Resources:

• Interactive story map of the cotton commodity chain: https://arcg.is/nOzaD
• Book: Cultivating Knowledge: Biotechnology, Sustainability, and the Human Cost of Cotton Capitalism in India, by Andrew Flachs: https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/cultivating-knowledge
• Flachs, A. (2019), Planting and Performing: Anxiety, Aspiration, and “Scripts” in Telangana Cotton Farming. American Anthropologist, 121: 48-61. https://doi:10.1111/aman.13175
• Flachs, A, Stone, GD. Farmer knowledge across the commodification spectrum: Rice, cotton, and vegetables in Telangana, India. J Agrar Change. 2019; 19: 614– 634. https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.12295

Guest Speaker

Dr. Andrew Flachs (@DrFlachsophone) researches food and agriculture systems, exploring genetically modified crops, heirloom seeds, and our own microbiomes. An assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue University, his work among farmers in North America, the Balkans, and South India investigates ecological knowledge and technological change in agricultural systems spanning Cleveland urban gardens and Indian GM cotton fields.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Pink Chicken Project

The Pink Chicken Project is an ambiguous proposal to use a recently invented biotechnology called “Gene Drive” to genetically modify the bones and feathers of all chickens in the world to the color pink. As scientists suggest chicken bones to be a primary identifier of our time (the Anthropocene), this intervention would modify the future fossil record, coloring the geological trace of humankind, pink!

Framed as an activist campaign/startup, this speculative suggestion reveals the intimate link between social and ecological justice, and allows us to think about the impact of novel biotechnologies from multiple ethical and political perspectives: why should we seek/avoid this future? How does the violence of entire-species genetic modification compare to the violence already inflicted on billions of chickens in factory farms? How can we have ethical relationships with other species in a shifting landscape of human-nonhuman power?

Links & Resources - Pink Chicken Project: https://pinkchickenproject.com, video https://vimeo.com/277923005

Guest Speakers

Nonhuman Nonsense (@non_non_sense) is a research-driven design and art studio creating near-future fabulations and experiments somewhere between utopia and dystopia. They seek to transmute our relationship to the non-human, by embracing the contradictory and the paradoxical – telling stories that open the public imaginary to futures that currently seem impossible. Founded by Leo Fidjeland and Linnea Våglund, it is based between Berlin and Stockholm.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Catching up with the CRISPR craze: applications and implications of genome editing technologies

The advent of CRISPR-based technologies has revolutionized our ability to manipulate the genetic content of organisms across the tree of life, and democratized genome editing across the globe. Actually, genome editing technologies have been broadly deployed in academia and industry in the past 8 years, to manipulate the genomes of organisms relevant to medicine, biotechnology and agriculture. I will look back on the historical milestones that have paved the way for the CRISPR era, and discuss the diverse applications that have impacted and continue to shape the food and Ag supply chain, encompassing food fermentation, crops, livestock and forests. Given the business potential of this disruptive technology, it is important to also account for regulatory frameworks, public engagement, investment opportunities and competitive landscape implications.

Links & Resources

CRISPR Journal https://home.liebertpub.com/publications/the-crispr-journal/642

CRISPRcon (GES-led sessions on October 13 & 15 – Equity, Environment & Agriculture) https://crisprcon.org/crisprcon-2020/

Guest Speaker

Rodolphe Barrangou Ph.D. (Twitter @CRISPRlab and @CRISPRchef) is the T. R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Professor in Probiotics Research at NC State. Barrangou is focusing on the characterization of CRISPR-Cas systems, and their applications in bacteria. Rodolphe spent 9 years in R&D and M&A at DuPont. For his CRISPR work, Rodolphe received several international awards and has been elected into the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Barrangou is also the former Chairman of the Board of Caribou Biosciences, a co-founder of Intellia Therapeutics, Locus Biosciences, TreeCo, and CRISPR biotechnologies, and the Editor in Chief of the CRISPR Journal.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Regulatory Decision-Making Tools for Novel Food Technologies

While the sections of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act governing food ingredient regulation have remained largely unchanged since the passage of the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, the FDA has shown that it is able to effectively regulate ingredients manufactured using new technologies under these existing broad statutory authorities to ensure the safety of substances added to food. As emerging technologies are adopted in food ingredient production, FDA’s Office of Food Additive Safety will continue to rely on these long-standing statutory authorities in combination with policy and scientific knowledge to regulate the safe use of food ingredients. To illustrate how the agency has developed science-based policy within its authority under existing federal law as science and technology evolve, we will describe the 1992 Policy Statement: Foods derived from new plant varieties and the 2014 Guidance to Industry: Assessing the effects of significant manufacturing process changes, including emerging technologies, on the safety and regulatory status of food ingredients and food contact substances

Guest Speaker

Dr. Jeremiah Fasano is a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Food Additive Safety’s Regulatory Review Branch at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. He has worked on a variety of issues during his time at CFSAN, including premarket safety evaluation of new food ingredients, assessment of genetically engineered new plant varieties, strategies for tracking sodium reduction in the US food supply, and development of safety assessment frameworks for new food technologies and functionalities. He received his doctorate in plant cell physiology and molecular biology from the Pennsylvania State University.

Links & Resources - Office of Food Additive Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at the US Food and Drug Administration https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-organization/center-food-safety-and-applied-nutrition-cfsan

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

How to Win Friends and Influence Bacteria

Humans practically have been domesticating organisms since before recorded memory. Why do a job when you can just pay room and board for someone else to do it? Over hundreds and hundreds of years we have recognized the innate skills of our planetary cohabitants, and then made them offers they couldn’t refuse. The people who gave us cattle, corn, and cats worked for centuries without the title they deserve: Bioengineer. Their tool was domestication, and it was the most ambitious and successful genetic modification program in human history.

Why have we stopped this success parade at microbes? There is one bacteria safe enough for American high-schoolers to “train,” and a handful more an expert could work with, and then THOUSANDS more that we depend on for our very existence but do not grow in the laboratory - and thus cannot communicate with at all. We have an empty barn, a handful of tame to feral bacteria to press into every biomanufacturing job we dream up. We would never ask a goat to catch and eat barn mice, but we frequently ask E. coli to do all sorts of outlandish things. It is a big lift for a gut microbe with a sweet tooth. It is all too frequently an impossible lift.

A re-examination of the analogies of “synthetic biology” is in order. Question every assumption.

Guest Speaker

Dr. Sarah Richardson (@TheGermWrangler, @microbyre) - Sarah is a computationally inclined microbiologist and science communicator: she speaks charmingly to computers, bacteria, and people. She grew up in West Baltimore, and after training at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory she founded the biotech startup MicroByre. She leads a skilled and diverse team in the construction of genomic toolkits for non‐model prokaryotes --- MicroByre coaxes wild bacteria into becoming domesticated bacteria. Trained to straddle disciplines, she has a very unique perspective on the emerging technologies made possible by synthetic biology.

Links & Resources - Microbyre

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Does Responsible Innovation Really Matter? Examining Cultural Perceptions of Biotechnology In Food Systems

Understanding the GMO food debate is complex. In the public sphere, the use of biotechnology to produce food is fueled by consumer skepticism. The views on food safety are polarizing - citizens and scientists differ. Whether science is used to close the gap between social groups has yet to be determined. Research findings and policy making pathways are almost non-existent for underrepresented groups. Among Blacks, government distrust and mistrust have historical meaning and real implications. Some Blacks remain skeptical of government and are skeptical of genetic engineering, too. Key to responsible innovation is the potential to unlock meaningful pathways into underrepresented communities.

Links & Resources - Berry-James, R. M. (2019, March). Responsible Innovation: Cultural perceptions of biotechnology in food systems. Poster session presented at the 1st NC State University Research Symposium, Raleigh, NC. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334328143_Responsible_Innovation_Cultural_Perceptions_of_Biotechnology_in_Food_Systems

Guest Speaker

Dr. RaJade M. Berry-James (@jadeberryjames) is an associate professor of public administration in the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) at NC State University. Dr. Berry-James' research and teaching focus on social equity, program evaluation, and research methods. Her recent book, Why Research Methods Matter (2018) focuses on evidence-based decision making in the public and nonprofit sectors. Dr. Berry-James is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a congressionally chartered non-partisan non-profit.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Coral reefs worldwide are suffering mass mortality due to elevated sea temperatures. Corals die from starvation after they expel their algal nutritional symbionts in a process referred to as bleaching. With evidence that the algal symbionts are more sensitive to heat than corals, we hypothesized that increasing heat tolerance in the symbionts could prevent bleaching of the coral hosts. Using assisted evolution, we artificially selected for heat tolerance over 4 years in 10 clonal strains of a common algal symbiont species. All selected strains became more heat tolerant, but only 3 conferred bleaching tolerance to their coral host in symbiosis. All selected strains also secreted less reactive oxygen species, but the 3 conferring bleaching tolerance also exhibited higher constitutive expression of genes involved in carbon fixation. The genome sequences of one heat-tolerant strain (SS08) that conferred bleaching tolerance was compared to two heat-tolerant strains (SS03, SS05) that did not, and to the heat-sensitive wild type (WT). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were observed at 190 loci. The mutations in the heat-evolved strains were clustered into particular regions of the genome. Strains SS03 and SS05 followed very similar evolutionary trajectories, and showed low levels of within-strain polymorphism. Strain SS08 followed a very different evolutionary trajectory with much lower divergence from the wild type, and retained much more polymorphism than the other two adapted strains. These findings show that bleaching resistant coral stock can be developed through laboratory-based adaptation of their microalgal symbionts

Links & Resources - P. Buerger, C. Alvarez-Roa, C. W. Coppin, S. L. Pearce, L. J. Chakravarti, J. G. Oakeshott, O. R. Edwards and M. J. H. van Oppen. Heat-evolved microalgal symbionts increase coral bleaching tolerance. Science Advances 13 May 2020: Vol. 6, no. 20, eaba2498. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba2498. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/20/eaba2498

Guest Speaker

Dr. Owain Edwards (@CSIRO) leads the Environment & Biocontrol Domain of CSIRO’s Future Science Platform in Synthetic Biology (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia). Within this platform, Dr Edwards oversees the application of synthetic biology technologies for bioremediation, genetic control of pest and invasive species, and engineering resilience to environmental change.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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Presented by the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center at NC State University and the NC State Plant Breeding Consortium

Mexico has more hectares planted to traditional landraces than to hybrid maize. The costs of hybrid seed, the diversity of environments, and the culinary traditions of Mexico are reasons small farmers continue to plant traditional native maize landraces. Most of the maize produced by these farmers never appears in formal markets, yet it provides food security for a large proportion of Mexico’s population (Bellon et al. 2018). Mexican scientists have used several selection schemes to improve yields in some of the 59 native landraces, in spite of intermittent funding. We initiated a pilot project in communities in 5 regions of the state of Oaxaca with distinct races of maize, agro-ecologies and ethnic groups. This effort was later expanded to the states of Michoacán and Mexico.

Our goal was to improve farm family livelihoods while conserving diversity, by incorporating participatory breeding with investigation of agronomic management and connection of smallholder farmers to markets. Interest by chefs in authentic Mexican cuisines opened avenues to connect small farmers to culinary markets that value diversity and flavor. A niche market for native maize grown in the traditional milpa system of intercropping through manual labor of has made possible sales of excess grain by subsistence farmers. These market possibilities require community level collective organization in order to allow very small farmers to benefit from this culinary market. To preserve this market for the traditional custodians of the native maize, we worked as a multidisciplinary group, to create a collective trademark, named MILPAIZ approved by the Mexican government for native maize and associated products of the Milpa. These efforts have increased profitability for small indigenous farmers.

Links & Resources - Bellon MR, Mastretta-Yanes A, Ponce-Mendoza A, Ortiz-Santamaria D, Oliveros-Galindo O, Perales H, Acevedo F, Sarukhan J. 2018. Evolutionary and food supply implications of ongoing maize domestication by Mexican campesinos. Proc. R. Soc. B 285:20181049. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1049

Guest Speakers

Dr. Martha Cameron Willcox is the Maize Landrace Improvement Coordinator at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico (CIMMYT). Originally, from North Carolina, she received a BS in Agronomy and an MS in Crop Science from NC State University and a PhD in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in a collaborative project between corn breeding and dairy nutrition. She worked as a postdoc at CIMMYT, in the Stress Breeding Unit, on selection for host plant resistance to southwestern corn borer.

Upon finishing her post-doc she was hired as a permanent scientist at CIMMYT where she addressed biosafety issues of experimental trials of transgenic maize in collaboration with Mexican experts in genetic resources from 1995-1997. She then worked in the Corn Host Plant Resistance Research Unit of USDA-ARS in molecular mapping of resistance to aflatoxin production. She returned to CIMMYT in 2011 as the phenotyping coordinator for the Seeds of Discovery Project, which sought to identify novel alleles in the CIMMYT Maize Germplasm Bank. Since 2014, she has worked as the Maize Landrace Coordinator at CIMMYT, focusing on farmer participatory improvement of native maize landraces in the states of Oaxaca, Michoacán and Mexico in marginalized, mostly indigenous, communities. As part of this project, she has worked very hard to connect traditional farmers with culinary markets.

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GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Discussion of two questions from current literature review: is it possible to isolate the specific effects of individual GM traits in trends of farming practices; and whether/why blocks exist that prevent useful, translatable research work from making it to application in the field of agbiotech.

Links & Resources - https://go.ncsu.edu/agbiofews/

Guest Speakers

AgBioFEWS Cohort 1 Fellows - We are the first cohort of Agricultural Biotechnology In Our Evolving Food, Energy, and Water Systems (AgBioFEWS) NRT fellows. We represent a mix of expertise in physical and social sciences, and are currently working together to develop cooperative research projects.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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Presented by the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center at NC State University, the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA), and RTI International.

In the 21st century, scientific uncertainty and divisive communication plague traditional risk-response formats of communication where experts identify best options for mitigating risks and recommend behaviors to diminish people’s risk to hazards. Today, engaging in most any risk reducing behavior may create a new set of problems related to real or perceived risks. This creates new communication challenges when public discourse increasingly focuses on these “secondary” risks.

While risk perception theories have celebrated many decades of use, they do not account for individuals’ perceptions of potential harms posed by the recommended response itself. That it, current theories fail to answer the question, “What happens when the cure itself may be perceived of as a risk?”

This presentation reports on the new theoretical developments that founded Secondary Risk Theory which explains and predicts how risks are perceived today and provides contemporary examples and new data regarding COVID-19 vaccine responses and anticipated responses for solar radiation management technologies.

Links & Resources - Cummings, C.L., Rosenthal, S. and Kong, W.Y. (2020), Secondary Risk Theory: Validation of a Novel Model of Protection Motivation. Risk Analysis. doi:10.1111/risa.13573

Guest Speakers

Christopher L. Cummings, PhD, serves as a Senior Research Fellow with the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at North Carolina State University and is the Founding Director of Decision Analytica, LLC. He currently is serving on a COVID-19 task force with the United States Army Corp of Engineers where he is evaluating and developing public health and risk models for use across various locations to allocate government resources to areas of imminent need.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

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Despite limited scientific data, governments around the world are exploring COVID-19 immunity passport programs. At the same time, groups have emerged who have developed, promoted, and tested on themselves and others, “DIY” COVID-19 vaccines; potentially enabling more individuals to attain immunity passports; while the rest of the world waits for an approved vaccine. How do we respond, and what about ethics and equity issues?

Guest Speakers

Dr. Natalie Kofler (@nataliekofler) is the founding director of Editing Nature - a global initiative to steer responsible development and deployment of genetic technologies. She is a leading voice in technology ethics, governance, and scientific justice.

Alex Pearlman (@lexikon1) is an award-winning journalist and a bioethicist, reporting on emerging issues in science, and technology. Alex is also a Research Affiliate with the Community Biotechnology Initiative at the MIT Media Lab where she studies the intersection of the community biology movement with issues in ethics and policy.

Links & Resources

• Natalie Kofler and Françoise Baylis "Ten reasons why immunity passports are a bad idea" Nature 581, 379-381 (2020)
• Ailsa Chang "Bioethicist: 'Immunity Passports' Could Do More Harm Than Good'" NPR's All Things Considered, featuring Natalie Kofler, May 29, 2020
• Antonio Regalado "Some scientists are taking a DIY coronavirus vaccine, and nobody knows if it’s legal or if it works" MIT Technology Review, July 29, 2020

Additional recommended reading:

• Ed Yong, "Immunology Is Where Intuition Goes to Die" The Atlantic, Aug. 5, 2020

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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GES faculty review how the new USDA rule changes regulation of GM crops in comparison to the agency's previous regulatory approach and in light of findings from the 2016 NASEM GM Crops committee. Diverse perspectives on the new USDA rule will be shared followed by Q&A and discussion with the attendees.

Presenters include:

• Dr. Jennifer Kuzma, Goodnight-NC GSK Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Social Sciences, Co-Director of the GES Center
• Dr. Fred Gould, University Distinguished Professor, Co-Director of the GES Center
• Dr. Heike Sederoff, Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology
• Dr. Jason Delborne, Professor of Science, Policy, and Society
• Dr. Todd Kuiken, Senior Research Scholar at the GES Center
• Dr. Khara Grieger, Senior Research Scholar at the GES Center

• Dr. Keith Edmiston, Professor of Crop & Soil Sciences & Extension Cotton Specialist Moderated by:

• Dr. Zachary Brown, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics

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Final Colloquium of the semester! Join us for a discussion with an all-star cast of GES faculty, scholars and graduate students as they reflect upon COVID-19, our preparedness, response, and its impacts on our global community.

• Royden Saah discusses preparedness, response and recovery by reflecting back on his frontline work with the Ebola crisis. (https://www.hpcm.tech/)
• Dr. Alun Lloyd discusses his current and future modeling efforts/needs in relation to the Imperial College study. (https://math.sciences.ncsu.edu/people/allloyd/)
• Eli Hornstein and Dalton George examine the globalized/democratized science efforts to develop testing, cures and equipment. (https://research.ncsu.edu/ges/academics/agbiofews/students/)
• Dr. Zachary Brown examines the economic aspects of decisions-making around the pandemic (https://cals.ncsu.edu/agricultural-and-resource-economics/people/zachary-brown/)
• Dr. Nora Haenn situates the Covid19 crisis within globalization, liminality, and the need to care for family.(https://socant.chass.ncsu.edu/faculty_staff/nmhaenn)

LINKS

• Imperial College study: Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce COVID-19 mortality and healthcare demand - https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf
• GES COVID-19 Resources - experts, presentations, & perspectives - https://research.ncsu.edu/ges/covid-19-resources/

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Corporate and academic synthetic biology researchers are using sequence information from untold numbers of organisms to develop improvements in diverse product areas from agriculture to therapeutics. Quite often, such information is being used, and patented, without regard to the origin of the particular organism from which it was derived; in fact, the researcher may not even know or be able to easily trace the original geographic source. However, the Nagoya Protocol (NP) on Access and Benefit Sharing to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), requires that users of genetic resources share the benefits of such utilization with the providers of the original resources. Although copious monetary benefits are being generated from synthetic biology-based products, there is little evidence to indicate that any meaningful benefit-sharing is taking place.

The issue of whether or to what extent digital sequence information (DSI) is subject to such obligations is a point of significant controversy in CBD/NP and FAO Plant Treaty discussions. This talk will explore positions on both sides of these issues as well as on the related issues of the feasibility of a global multilateral benefit sharing mechanism as a vehicle for users to comply with benefit-sharing obligations which are not amenable to the current bilateral benefit sharing model.

Speaker Bio

Margo A. Bagley is the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. She rejoined the Emory faculty in 2016 after a decade at the University of Virginia, School of Law. She currently serves on the National Academies Committee on Advancing Commercialization from the Federal Laboratories, and previously served on the National Academies Committee on University Management of Intellectual Property: Lessons from a Generation of Experience, Research, and Dialogue. She is also an expert technical advisor to the African Union in several World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) matters and is the Friend of the Chair in the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. In addition, she served as a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources for the CBD and Nagoya Protocol. Her scholarship focuses on comparative issues relating to patents and biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and access to medicines, technology transfer, and IP and social justice.

LINKS

Related publications available on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Margo_Bagley

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Any scientist doing public-facing work should occasionally be reflecting on what responsibilities they are willing to undertake--what roles they want to play. Using the familiar typology laid out by Roger Pielke, Jr., are they setting out to be pure scientists, science arbiters, honest brokers or advocates? We'll use a relatively minor corner of the broader controversy swirling around COVID-19 as an opportunity for reflection in this chaotic and confusing moment. If you have a moment to prepare, take a look at the publication below.

Speaker Bio

A twisty path through law and classical rhetoric has led Jean Goodwin (@jeangoodwin) to an interest in scientists' participation in civic controversies. As a member of the Leadership in Public Science cluster, "I not only 'think' but also 'do' that," helping with programming intended to foster commitment to, and capacity for, public-facing science at NC State University.

Goodwin received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and her J.D. from the University of Chicago, and her Ph.D. in communication arts from the rhetoric program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to more than 25 years in the classroom introducing undergraduates to the rhetorical tradition, she has mentored graduate students across a variety communication subfields and academic departments. Her essays have been published in international journals in communication, philosophy and the sciences. She has served as a consultant on initiatives by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Union of Concerned Scientists to define the appropriate roles of scientists as advocates.

LINKS

Presentation Poll - https://pollev.com/publicscience

Davies, A., Thompson, K., Giri, K., Kafatos, G., Walker, J., & Bennett, A. (2013). Testing the Efficacy of Homemade Masks: Would They Protect in an Influenza Pandemic? Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 7(4), 413-418. doi:10.1017/dmp.2013.43. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/testing-the-efficacy-of-homemade-masks-would-they-protect-in-an-influenza-pandemic/0921A05A69A9419C862FA2F35F819D55

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Emerging plant diseases threaten many foods crops including those we eat for breakfast such as coffee, oranges, banana and potatoes. Plant pathogens cause global losses estimated to be as high as $33 billion per year. The risk of introduction of pathogens into the US with trade requires continued monitoring and improved diagnostic capabilities at our borders. One of the largest challenges we face in agriculture today is to develop and deploy the appropriate technologies that will help reduce plant diseases and increase crop yield. New genetic tools are enabling scientists to piece together the evolution of emerging plant pathogens and track their spread. Jean Ristaino will discuss the latest research on P. infestans, the pathogen that caused the Irish famine, its impact on global food security and describe her use of genomic tools to track outbreaks and the evolution of new lineages using historic and recent specimens of P. infestans. Novel detection technologies combined with digital agriculture and bioinformatics tools will help mitigate outbreaks, improve deployment of host resistance and inform policy.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Jean Ristaino works on the population genetics of historical epidemics of the pathogen that caused the Irish famine Phytophthora infestans and studies the population structure and epidemiology of modern day late blight outbreaks. Her lab is interested in the impact of migration, recombination and hybridization on the evolution of Phytophthora species. Her work has tracked migrations of P. infestans from its ancestral home in the Andes to the US and Europe. She developed pioneering research techniques for use of 150-year-old historic herbarium specimens to track epidemics. She was also part of the team that sequenced the first genome of P. infestans. Her recent work with collaborators has used next generation sequencing to study historical outbreaks. Her lab also manages the disease surveillance network called USABlight.org. This system records late blight outbreaks, sends disease alerts to growers, and provides decision support tools for managing disease. She has recently developed novel VOC sensor-based technology for detection of late blight. She also conducts Phytophthora molecular diagnostics workshops globally. Her lab also has described new species including Phytophthora andina and Phytophthora acaciae and developed a Lucid-based taxonomic key. Dr. Ristaino was named a National Academy of Sciences Jefferson Science Fellow in 2012 and has worked on a range of emerging plant diseases that impact global food security with USAID. She currently directs a new faculty cluster at NC State on “Emerging Plant Disease and Global Food Security”. She was awarded a Fulbright Research Scholar Award in 2017 at the University of Catania in Sicily. Dr. Ristaino’ research impacts the science of plant pathology, epidemiology, population genomics, food security and science policy

LINKS

Ristaino Lab - https://ristainolab.cals.ncsu.edu/

A New Way to Fight Crop Diseases, With a Smartphone, New York Times, 7/30/2019 - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/science/tomato-potato-agriculture-blight.html

Portable Tech Sniffs Out Plant Disease In The Field, NC State News, 7/29/2019 - https://news.ncsu.edu/2019/07/handheld-tech-sniffs-plant-disease/

Genetics say the origins of the Irish potato blight were South American, Washington Post, 1/7/2017 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/genetics-say-the-origins-of-the-irish-potato-blight-were-south-american/2017/01/06/62bbb0a6-d1d0-11e6-9cb0-54ab630851e8_story.html

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Demand for animal protein is projected to rise by 54% by 2050 (40% population increase, and 14% increase on per capita consumption). Given the current use of land and the pace of agriculture production, it will be extremely challenging to satisfy that demand with the traditional sources of animal protein, while achieving environmental sustainability. Animal production accounts for 15%-25% of global emissions depending on how we account the different components that support production. Overconsumption of animal protein (and fat) is in part responsible for the increase poor health and health risks worldwide. Replacing part of the demand for animal protein by plant-based protein foods has the potential to reduce the pressure on land resources, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, while improving human nutrition and health. The PBP market is growing by double digits every year, and is expected to reach $90 billion in 2030 from $ 5 billion in 2017. Several animal protein producers have recognize the potential of PBP and they are rapidly developing the PBP divisions. While PBP are gaining presence across the country, products are still quite expensive, putting them out of reach for a vast proportion of the population who would benefit from them. North Carolina is one of the top States in animal protein production, leading the turkey meat and pork production. It can also become a leader in the PBP market if the appropriate research support helps the industry establish and develop. The State is also well located to supply the demand for PBP to the large proportion of people living in the East Coast. We will take a look at the continuum of potential protein production markets and the significance of each technology in terms of sustainability, nutritional health, consumer acceptability, and the implications for future research at institutions like NCSU.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Carlos Iglesias grew up in a small farming community in SW Uruguay, getting his BSc at the University of Uruguay. He got his MSc and PhD in Plant Breeding at Iowa State University. Later in his career he got a MSc in Ag Econ from Purdue University and a MBA in Food and Agribusiness from Indiana University.

Carlos has experience in the public (University of Uruguay, and International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia) and private sectors (Weaver Popcorn and Syngenta). He has directly worked or managed programs in different species (corn, cassava, popcorn, wheat); and has experience in more developed agriculture production systems (North America, Brazil/Argentina), as well as production in less developed regions of the world (Sub-Saharan Africa).

He is the creator of several varieties and hybrids still being grown, and his major focus has been in linking plant breeding to high value markets. Recently at Syngenta he was managing the NA Wheat Business Unit, a self-sustain unit supported by royalties from the seed business ($16 M in royalties in 2019).

LINKS

NC State Plant Breeding Consortium - http://plantbreedingconsortium.ncsu.edu/

SYNTHESIS REPORT: Creating a Sustainable Food Future: A Menu of Solutions to Feed Nearly 10 Billion People by 2050, World Resources Institute - https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/creating-sustainable-food-future_2.pdf

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In order to sprout, grow, photosynthesize, fight off pests, flower, or produce fruits, plants turn on different sets of genes in their genomes. To understand how these basic processes are brought about, scientists must first determine what individual plant genes do. To do this, researchers typically modify genes of interest in the laboratory by changing or disabling specific gene functions via mutation, or fuse DNA to a reporter tag such as GFP. However, manipulating large genes in a test tube is often technically difficult. A technology called recombineering makes working with large (e.g., 100 kilobases) DNA fragments much easier and scalable. We have streamlined the process of identifying the bacterial strain carrying the large DNA fragment with the gene of interest and made the recombineering protocols scalable and applicable to a wide set of plant species.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Jose Alonso obtained his undergraduate and graduate (1994) degrees from the University of Valencia, Spain. After his postdoctoral training with Dr. Joseph Ecker at U. Penn and The Salk Institute (1995-2001), he joined the faculty of North Carolina State University where he is currently a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Plant Biology and University Faculty Scholar. His main research interest focus on the study of the molecular circuits plants use to integrate environmental and developmental signals to produce specific responses.

LINKS

Alonso-Stepanova Lab - https://alonsostepanova.wordpress.ncsu.edu/

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Expanding the general public's interest, understanding and acceptance of scientific knowledge is a perpetual challenge. The gap is considered bridgeable through multidisciplinary approaches. Arts and humanities is one such approach as evidenced by its combination with biotechnology, i.e. the "Art's Work in the Age of Biotechnology: Shaping Our Genetic Futures."

While visual and representative art coupled with laboratory science are this exhibition's major approach other forms of creativity are available. The communication of science via poetry combines the two worlds of C.P. Snow. "The Two Rita's" a poem, celebrates two highly-honored contributors to their fields, Pulitzer Prize recipient poet Rita Dove and former National Science Foundation director and American Association for the Advancement of Science president microbiologist Rita Colwell. It provides a keen example of the possibilities and opportunities for science communication through combining their significance in poetry that poses that there is no difference between the inherent creativity of the arts and sciences.

Speaker Bio

Darrell Stover is a cultural historian, science communicator and performance poet. His career life has always been an intersection of science and art sifted through history with an emphasis on community and individual empowerment through the same. He is on the faculty at NC State University where he teaches “Black Popular Culture: From the Blues to Afrofuturism” and “Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society.” He studied microbiology and American Studies at the University of Maryland at College Park and acquired his Master of Arts degree in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University.

While in the Washington, DC area he worked at the National Cancer Institute as research assistant in support of the isolation and examination of retroviruses via cell culture, molecular biology, monoclonal antibodies, and electron microscopy. He moved into the private sector to Cambridge Scientific Abstracts as Senior Microbiology Editor developing content, coverage, and codification of published research for online databases in microbiology and biotechnology. Upon arrival in the Triangle he worked as science writer at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and was Science Writing Fellow at Virginia Tech University. His more recent public programs have been the performance/lecture “The Natural History of Afrofuturia” and the curation of a series on the cultural significance of the “Black Panther” film featuring a panel discussion on the science and technology represented on screen. The presentation of "Dream STEAM: Afrofuturist Dances with the Sciences" at the "Afrofuturism and Indigenous Futurities” conference held at UNC-Chapel Hill expounded on the representation of biological sciences in African diasporic speculative fiction. He is a member of the 2019-2020 Southeast cohort of science impactors.

LINKS

Art's Work in the Age of Biotechnology: Shaping Our Genetic Futures - https://go.ncsu.edu/artswork

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Synthetic biology has many implications, both potentially positive and potentially negative, for biodiversity conservation. This includes both synthetic biology applications specifically intended to enhance biodiversity conservation, and those intended for other purposes (e.g., medicine, agriculture) that might also impact biodiversity. This talk examines the topic, focusing mainly on applications intended to enhance species conservation, with specific real-world examples of where they might be applied, and their potential pros and cons.

Speaker Bio

Elizabeth Bennett is the Vice President for Species Conservation at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). She received her Ph.D. from Cambridge University, UK, for research on the ecology of primates in Peninsular Malaysia. She moved to Sarawak, Malaysia, in 1984, and worked there for the next 18 years. This included conducting the first ever detailed field study of the proboscis monkey, and studies of the effects of hunting and logging on wildlife. Her time in Sarawak culminated in her leading a team, with WCS and Sarawak Government staff, to write a comprehensive wildlife policy for the State, and subsequently to head a unit within the Government to oversee its implementation. She then became Director, Hunting and Wildlife Trade Program at WCS. This included working with WCS field staff to develop strategies to address the bushmeat trade in Central Africa and illegal wildlife trade in China. Her current role involves overseeing WCS’s species conservation programs globally. She has more than 130 scientific and popular publications. Her services to conservation have been recognized by her being awarded the “Golden Ark” award by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, “Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” (MBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, D.Sc. (honoris causa) by Nottingham University, and and Merdeka Award for Outstanding Contribution to the People of Malaysia.

LINKS

Genetic frontiers for conservation: an assessment of synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation. Redford, KH, Brooks, TH, Macfarlane, NBW and Adams, JS. 2019. IUCN Task Force on Synthetic Biology and Biodiversity Conservation, Gland, Switzerland. https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/48409

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Much of the food we eat is derived from plants grown from seeds, or from animals that consume these types of plants. The seed industry has changed dramatically in recent decades, however, moving from one characterized by thousands of small and mostly family-owned businesses, to one in which more than 60% of proprietary seed sales globally are controlled by just four corporations. Importantly, these same four firms are even more dominant in global sales of pesticides. The impacts of these changes have included higher prices for farmers, fewer seed varieties, reduced rates of innovation, and a decline in seed saving. These trends are driven by changes in government policies that include reduced antitrust enforcement and increasing intellectual property protections on seeds, as well as a system that incentivizes large firms to continually increase their power. Dominant firms are facing increasing public opposition, however, and alternatives such as open source and heirloom seed firms, while currently very small, are growing rapidly. This resistance illuminates key leverage points for addressing the negative impacts of consolidation, and potentially to reverse these trends.

Speaker Bio Phil Howard is an Associate Professor of Community Sustainability at Michigan State University, and a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems. He is the author of Concentration and Power in the Food System: Who Controls What We Eat? His visualizations of food system changes have been featured in numerous outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and The Ecologist.

LINKS

Save Our Food. Free the Seed. By Dan Barber, New York Times Editorial. 6/7/2019. https://nyti.ms/2EY4mDj

Related Publications

Concentration and Power in the Food System: Who Controls What We Eat? London: Bloomsbury Academic. 2016. https://philhoward.net/2017/05/11/latest-book/

Intellectual Property and Consolidation in the Seed Industry. Crop Science, 55(6), 2489-2495. 2015. https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/cs/abstracts/55/6/2489

Visualizing Consolidation in the Global Seed Industry: 1996–2008. Sustainability, 1(4). 2009. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/1/4/1266/htm

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