Emma Frow is an interdisciplinary science and technology studies researcher who holds joint appointments with Arizona State University’s School Future of Innovation in Society (SFIS) and School of Biological & Health Systems Engineering (SBHSE). She shares her perspective on expanding the definition of “containment” for open-release biotechnologies to account for alignment with the relevant social and cultural context.
Alejandro Camacho is a law and political science professor at the University of California, Irvine and the Faculty Director for UCI’s Center for Land, Environment, and Natural Resources. He shares his perspective on the intersection of synthetic conservation with the existing legal and normative frameworks that govern natural resources.
Steve Evans is a Senior Technical Fellow at BioMADE, a non-profit public-private partnership that supports collaborative innovation in the manufacturing of industrial biotechnology in the United States. He shares his perspective on the ways in which knowledge gaps about the ecological impacts of engineered organisms have persisted for decades, despite widespread recognition of the importance of such information.
Victor De Lorenzo is the Head of the Systems Biology Program at the National Biotechnology Laboratory in Madrid. He shares his perspective on the application of “galenics” - or the science of delivering active agents to a target patient for medical treatment - to designing purposeful releases of environmental biotechnologies to address ecosystem degradation.
Joe McAuliffe is a Technical Fellow and Senior Principal R&D Scientist at IFF. He shares his perspective on the utility of consensus-based, industry-driven technical standards for the responsible development of synthetic biology applications, informed by his experience chairing ASTM International’s E62 Committee on Industrial Biotechnology.
Riley Taitingfong is a postdoc at Native Nations Institute whose work focuses on indigenous governance of emergent technologies. She shares her perspective on opportunities for gene drives to be implemented in a manner that centers self-determination of affected populations, integration of diverse forms of ecosystem knowledge, and iterative engagement with local communities.
Ben Novak is a leading de-extinction scientist with the non-profit wildlife conservation organization Revive & Restore. He shares his perspective on the unique opportunities offered by synthetic biology to address species loss by enhancing genetic diversity and facilitating adaptations to environmental stressors.
