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Beyond the Walls of NC State: Updates and Opportunities in the International Synbio Policy Space

Speaker: Todd Kuiken, Ph.D., Senior Research Scholar, GES Center

Profile | tkuiken@ncsu.edu | @DrToddOliver | Publications

Abstract

2020 will be a year of intense international discussions and opportunities for the emerging genetic technologies community (synbio, gene drives, and whatever we call it tomorrow). Major international treaties and Unions will be making decisions on if, how, or when to allow these tools to be used in the environmental context. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature will be voting on its synthetic biology and gene drives resolution which could provide a path towards allowance or set a moratorium. This will take place within a larger conversation as the Convention on Biological Diversity will adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework, which will serve as a stepping stone towards the 2050 Vision of  “living in harmony with nature.” This talk will provide an update on these discussions, including the outcome of the latest CBD’s Ad-Hoc Technical Expert Groups report on synthetic biology, and ways for NC State University and the broader synthetic biology community to participate in these activities.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Todd Kuiken is a Senior Research Scholar with the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at North Carolina State University. He has numerous projects evaluating and designing new research and governance strategies to proactively address the biosafety, biosecurity and environmental opportunities/risks associated with emerging genetic technologies. Including an initiative evaluating the current capabilities of and developing programs to ensure safety and security of the rapidly expanding community of citizen biologists and growing network of community laboratories across the globe. Dr. Kuiken is also a member of the UN CBD Ad-Hoc Technical Expert Group on Synthetic Biology, IUCN’s technical and policy task force on synthetic biology and gene drives, and the co-chair of the human practices committee of iGEM and a founding member of its biosafety/biosecurity committee.