Student Presentations | GES Colloquium
Hybrid | Details forthcoming. Note the new location in Biltmore 2006. 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 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 Biltmore 2006. 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....
Hamidou Maïga – Building Local Capacity for Innovative Mosquito Control | GES Colloquium (Zoom)
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....
Susana Mateos – Navigating a socio-ecological inquiry – GES Colloquium (Hybrid)
Biltmore 2006 + Zoom | 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....Continue reading "Susana Mateos – Navigating a socio-ecological inquiry – GES Colloquium (Hybrid)"
Isabelle Coche – Turning the corner: What does the IUCN rejection of a moratorium mean for gene drive research? | GES Colloquium (Zoom)
Zoom ONLY | At the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress, a proposal to establish a moratorium on gene drive research failed to pass—nearly a decade after the first calls for such a moratorium emerged. Does this outcome signal a shift in global debates over gene drive technologies? This talk will trace how discussions within the IUCN and other international policy arenas have evolved over the past ten years, offering reflections on what this moment reveals about the future of gene drive governance and public discourse....
Ilaria Cimadori – The global regulatory challenges around gene editing and farm animal welfare | GES Colloquium (Hybrid)
Biltmore 2006 + Zoom | This presentation compares how the United States, the European Union, and Switzerland regulate farm animal welfare amid emerging breeding technologies like gene editing, evaluating the strengths and gaps of their legal frameworks through an ethical animal welfare lens to identify ways to better protect animals as biotechnology advances....
Joshua Brinkman – American Farming Culture and the History of Technology | GES Colloquium (Hybrid)
Hybrid Biltmore 2006 + Zoom | 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....
Justin Whitehill – A GIFT SEED: Accelerated Genetic Improvement of Fir Through Sequencing, Economics, Extension & Diagnostics | GES Colloquium (Hybrid)
Hybrid: Biltmore 2006 + Zoom | This seminar 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....
SRA Panel: Is “risk” Risk? | GES Colloquium (Hybrid)
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....Continue reading "SRA Panel: Is “risk” Risk? | GES Colloquium (Hybrid)"
Veljko Dubljevic – Ethical Implications of Self-Driving Labs | GES Colloquium (Hybrid)
Hybrid*: Biltmore 2006 + Zoom | Is it possible to mitigate specific ethical risks that arise from the integration of Self-Driving Labs (SDLs) into scientific research? *Note the new location, and that the recordings of this talk will not be posted....
Emma Davies and Joseph Gakpo – Responsible Innovation and Gene Editing in African Agriculture | GES Colloquium (Hybrid)
Hybrid Biltmore 2006 + Zoom | 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....
Kristen Landreville – Societal and Ethical Implications in Research of Microbiome Engineering in the Built Environment | GES Colloquium (Hybrid)
Hybrid: Biltmore 2006* + Zoom | Dr. Landreville will present research on public perceptions, concerns, and hopes of microbiome engineering to improve the health of indoor spaces, including public opinion of genetically engineered microbes. *Note new location...
Welcome back lunch! GES Colloquium (In-person only)
In-person only | [Note the new location in Biltmore 2006] Biltmore 2006 | Join us for lunch in our new location, as we catch up on what everyone has been up to over the summer over tacos! We’ll introduce the new cohort of GES Minor Fellows, go over what to expect this semester, and give folks a chance to reconnect with each other. All GES-affiliated faculty, students, and staff are invited and encouraged to join us....Continue reading "Welcome back lunch! GES Colloquium (In-person only)"
GES Colloquium
Hybrid | Details forthcoming. Note the new location in Biltmore 2006. 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 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 Biltmore 2006. 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....
Blog: Beyond Innovation: Putting Humanity at the Heart of Biotechnology
Modesta Abugu | Attending the 2025 Spirit of Asilomar Conference shifted my scientific perspective profoundly—highlighting the urgent need to center ethics, equity, and human values in biotechnology....Continue reading "Blog: Beyond Innovation: Putting Humanity at the Heart of Biotechnology"
Blog: The Spirit of Asilomar and the Future of Biotechnology
Surabhi Metpally | A reflection on Dr. Katie Barnhill’s GES Colloquium talk about the 2025 Spirit of Asilomar and the Future of Biotechnology summit, and how it revisits the legacy of scientific self-regulation sparked by the original 1975 conference....Continue reading "Blog: The Spirit of Asilomar and the Future of Biotechnology"