Episódios
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AI for crisis communication: Challenges and opportunities
An exploration of AI’s role in managing organization-public relationships during crises, highlighting innovative applications and the challenges of implementation.
Yang (Alice) Cheng, PhDAssociate Professor and University Faculty Scholar in Communications, NC State University | Profile | ResearchGate | LinkedIn | Google ScholarDr. 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.
AbstractIn 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.
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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
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Fall Seminar Series
GE American Chestnut: Counting Chestnuts Before They RipenHybrid | Explore the scientific, ethical, and environmental issues which have impacted research, release, and deregulation of a transgenic American chestnut.
Sara Fern Fitzsimmons, MSChief 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.
AbstractThe 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 SovereigntyWhen Biotechnology Goes “Wild”: GE Chestnut TreesThe politics of genetic technoscience for conservation: The case of blight-resistant American chestnutBiotechnology, the American Chestnut, and Public EngagementGES 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 CenterColloquium 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
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Crossing Kingdoms: An Experiment in (Ir)responsible Research?
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, PhDAssociate Professor of Rhetoric of Science at Colorado State University | ProfileDr. 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.
AbstractCrossing 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? FBOEThe Tissue Culture & Art Project: Crossing KingdomsThe Edinburgh Hub for Responsible Innovation: Building alternative practices for RRI in Japan and the UKThe Edinburgh Hub for Responsible Innovation: Future OrganismsDownload seminar posterGES 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 CenterColloquium 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
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Engineering Vibrio natriegens for remediation of PET plastics
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, PhDAssistant Professor at NC State University | ProfileDr. 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.
AbstractPoly(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 OutcomesLinkedInGoogle ScholarCrook LabDownload seminar posterGES 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 CenterColloquium 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.
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Gene Drive Mosquitoes for Malaria Control: The Governance Challenges
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, PhDProfessor of Technology Governance at the University of Exeter | ProfileSarah 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).
AbstractGene 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 GovernanceGene drive mosquitoes designed to eliminate malaria – but governance is complex, new film showsDownload seminar posterThe 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 CenterColloquium 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.
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Fall Seminar Series
Exploring Experts’ Uncertainties in Gene Drive Technology for Agricultural Pest Control in the U.S.: A Qualitative StudyZoom 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, PhDAnthropologist 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.
AbstractGenetic 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:
LinkedInDownload seminar posterGES 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 CenterColloquium 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
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Science Policy, Soft Power, and Responsible Development: Reflections on the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship at the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office
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, PhDProfessor at NC State University | ProfileJason 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.
AbstractAAAS 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 FellowshipsNational Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO)Download seminar posterGES 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 CenterColloquium 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
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Final GES Colloquium podcast of Spring 2024
Investigating the societal and ethical implications of synthetic cellsBarbara 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.
AbstractBased 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 BioBarbara 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 CenterColloquium 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
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Gene technology in aquaculture: Potential, constraints, and first products to commercialization<h4>Eric Hallerman, PhD, Emeritus Professor, Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech University</h4>
While aquaculture biotechnology has the potential to improve the sustainability of aquaculture, its realization will depend upon enabling public policy.
Download seminar poster
AbstractAquaculture 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, NASEMSAAA Animal Biotechnology Resources: https://www.isaaa.org/kc/proceedings/animalbiotechnologyHallerman, 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. PDFSpeaker BioEric 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 CenterColloquium 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
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How essences distort our understanding of genes: Implications for eugenics and GMO attitudes<h4>Steven Heine, PhD, Professor of Cultural & Social Psychology, University of British Columbia</h4>
Profile | @StevenHeine4How psychological biases of essentialism distort the ways people understand genetics, eugenics, and GMO products.
<h5>Download seminar poster </h5>AbstractPeople 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 HeineSpeaker BioSteven 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 CenterColloquium 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
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Eugenics and the Welfare State in North Carolina +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.
AbstractBetween 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 BioAnna 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 CenterColloquium 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.
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Caring for the Enemy, Killing the Ally: The More-than-Human Politics of Transgenic Mosquitoes in Brazil<h4>Luisa Reis-Castro, PhD, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Southern California</h4>
Profile | X | Bluesky | Download Seminar PosterThis 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.”
AbstractThe 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. PDFVideo: Haedes & Aegypta e a abordagem da Oxitec (Anthropomophized mosquitoes depicting the male as a hero and the female as the villain)Speaker BioDr. 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.
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Local seeds and global needs: Ethnobotany, agroecology, and the history of in situ conservation of agrobiodiversity<h4>Helen Anne Curry, PhD, Melvin Kranzberg Professor in the History of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology</h4>
Website | @TechHSOCThis 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.
<h5>Download seminar poster </h5>AbstractFor 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 SecuritySpeaker BioDr. 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.
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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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Indigenous Perspectives on Synthetic Biology for Conservation<h4>Kirsty Wissing, PhD, Research Fellow, Australian National University | Profile</h4>
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.
<h5>Download seminar poster </h5>AbstractApplied 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. PDFOur Knowledge, Our Way (guidelines), CSIROCode 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, CSIRORelated colloquiums:
Exploring Synergies: Overlapping International Dialogue on Invasive Alien Species Removal on Islands with Synthetic Biology, by Carolina Torres Trueba, Island ConservationFrom containment to connectivity: an oceanic approach to gene drive governance, by Riley Taitingfong, Native Nations Institute, University of ArizonaSpeaker BioDr. 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.
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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 on genetic engineering<h4>David Andow, PhD, Professor and Department Head, Applied Ecology, NC State University | Profile | @NCStateAEC</h4>
Ecological and evolutionary perspectives have greatly influenced the development of genetic engineering as exemplified by significant events from history.
<h5>Download seminar poster [icon name="download" style="solid" class="" unprefixed_class=""]</h5>AbstractEcological 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 issueKrimsky, 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/EN11238Speaker BioEcologist 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 CenterColloquium 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.
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From Plants to People: Mendelian Eugenics in NC in the 20th Century
Grace Wiedrich, CRDM PhD Student, NC State UniversityThe 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.
<h5>Download seminar poster </h5>AbstractThe 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 BioGrace 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 CenterColloquium 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.
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Public Engagement: Missing the Mark?<h4>Katie Barnhill, PhD, Senior Research Scholar, GES Center, NC State | Profile | Google Scholar</h4>
Scholars and funders alike have increasingly recognized engagement as an important dimension of innovation, but is engagement accomplishing what we think it is?
<h5>Download seminar poster </h5>AbstractEmerging 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 BioDr. 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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Final seminar of the fall 2023 semester! Join us again in early January, 2024.
From containment to connectivity: an oceanic approach to gene drive governanceRiley Taitingfong, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Native Nations Institute, University of ArizonaProfile | LinkedIn | @riley_ilyseAn 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.
<h5>DOWNLOAD SEMINAR POSTER</h5>AbstractDr. 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. PDFNatalie Kofler and Riley Taitingfong. Advances in genetic engineering test democracy’s capacity for good decision-making. The Boston Globe. (2020). PDFSpeaker BioDr. 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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GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.
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American farmers in the Brazilian Cerrado: A comparative ethnography of the soy boomAndrew Ofstehage, Program Coordinator of CALS International Programs at NC State University
Profile | WebsiteA 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.
<h5>Download seminar poster</h5>AbstractThis 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.12667Andrew 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: 10.1080/03066150.2014.998651Speaker BioDr. 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.
Genetic Engineering and Society CenterColloquium 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.
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Exploring Synergies: Overlapping International Dialogue on Invasive Alien Species Removal on Islands with Synthetic BiologyCarolina Torres Trueba, Lawyer at Island Conservation
Profile | WebsiteSynthetic 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.
<h5>Download seminar poster</h5>AbstractThe 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. 2022Genetic frontiers for conservation: an assessment of synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation. IUCN Task Force on Synthetic Biology and Biodiversity Conservation, 2019. Download PDFProcess of Elimination, Wired, Feb. 2018Speaker BioCarolina 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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