Dr. Delborne’s research has focused on responsible innovation and community engagement around synthetic biology and genetic engineering.

Dr. Jason Delborne has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences provisional committee on The Potential for Biotechnology to Address Forest Health, or Forest Biotech Study. The study will be looking at the potential uses of biotechnology to mitigate threats to forest tree health, identify ecological, ethical, and societal implications of using this technology in forests, and develop an agenda to address knowledge gaps in its application.

The Forest Biotech Study committee will hold its first public meeting on December 1, 2017 from 10:30 AM – 6:00 PM in Washington, DC.

The archived webcast will be posted online

Current Research

Dr. Delborne is an Associate Professor of Science, Policy, and Society in the College of Natural Resources and serves on the Genetic Engineering and Society Center Executive Committee. He joined NC State in August 2013 as part of the Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program.

His research focuses on highly politicized scientific controversies, such as agricultural and forest biotechnology, gene drives, synthetic biology, and biofuels. Drawing upon the highly interdisciplinary field of Science, Technology, and Society (STS), he engages various qualitative research methodologies to ask questions about how policymakers and members of the public interface with controversial science.

Current projects include:

• NSF funded Restoring Biotechnology’s Moral Fiber? Genetically Modified American Chestnut Trees, Responsible Innovation, and Environmental Justice, which looks at responsible innovation in the work around the GMO American Chestnut tree.
• Stakeholder and community engagement activities around synthetic biology with the Synthesizing Engagement for Synthetic Biology: Ethical and Social Considerations Surrounding the Environmental Impact of Synthetic Biology Army Corp of Engineers project.
• Additional stakeholder and community engagement activities with the GBIRd program (genetic biocontrol of invasive rodents). The project receives funding from the DARPA Safe Genes initiative, which is focused on responsible innovation around the development of a gene drive mouse designed to eradicate invasive mice on islands that threaten biodiversity.

Dr. Delborne holds a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University (1993) and a doctorate in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley (2005). He completed postdoctoral training funded by the National Science Foundation at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (2006–2008) before beginning his faculty career as an assistant professor of liberal arts and international studies at the Colorado School of Mines (2008–2013). Dr. Delborne recently served on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee on gene drive research, which released its report, Gene Drives on the Horizon, in June 2016.