SBPWG:Discussion/Practices Bootcamp

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Synthetic Biology 'Leaders in Practice' Bootcamp

Description

An intensive week-long in-residence workshop for young investigators in the broader societal context of developments in synthetic biology designed to foster leadership in advancing responsible practices.

Broad Goals

• Foster leadership among a community of practitioners working together with other partners and stakeholders to best advance synthetic biology.
• Provide participants with an intensive, productive and fun introduction to the broader societal context in which synthetic biology is being developed which equips them with knowledge, skills, resources and connections to make well-informed choices about directing their future work.
• Provide a venue for intensive discussion on how we might strategically direct synthetic biology development to best benefit the public good.

More simply put, this workshop would aim to translate prudent vigilance into practice by providing:

• Knowledge/Resources: a curriculum in the past and current state of biotechnology practice
• Community: connections with (i) peers who will become the next generation of leaders and (ii) leaders and stakeholders in synthetic biology.
• Practice: engagement in envisioning and suggesting paths for best advancing the field towards public good
• Productivity: production of deliverables which facilitate sharing of lessons and recommendations from the course

Motivation

Gaps

• Graduate education offers very limited exposure to the practical realities of how biotechnology is being developed beyond the lab and its broad social and ethical dimensions. An awareness of the history, current practices and ongoing/future challenges facing the positive development of biotechnology is essential to being able to strategically direct individual and community efforts. We expect leadership from the next generation of practitioners of synthetic biology in developing policies and best practices around issues like safety, security, property rights and innovation frameworks etc. yet offer few opportunities for engagement (practice!) in these areas within early career development.
• Current training in these topics is limited primarily to:
  • one-off seminars, which are piecemeal and offer little engagement
  • semester-long classes in other disciplines (policy, business etc), which are often not targeted to, and impractical to attend for, practicing researchers
  • entrepreneurial programs, which are primarily reach only a small subset of researchers developing of commercial applications

Opportunities

• SB has an opportunity to demonstrate new models for technology development whereby practitioners incorporate meaningful consideration of the social and ethical ramifications into their research design and practice.
• This workshop should provide practical, relevant and useful training to practitioners pursuing a diversity of professional paths - industry, academia, or otherwise.

Curriculum Components

This is a space to list topics that might comprise a useful introduction to the broader societal context of biotechnology development - it's history, current practices, and ongoing/future challenges. This list will undoubtedly grow to include far more topics than could ever be covered in a week-long course. However, this is in itself useful as indication of the knowledge that we consider to be a valuable, if not essential, component of our education as responsible practitioners of synthetic biology that isn't being satisfactorily provided elsewhere, providing further motivation for the course.

Once we have fleshed out potential topics, we can start to refine topics into essential and non-essential categories, match with speakers, case studies and/or activities.

Topic Brainstorming

(Bio)Technology and the Public Good: Introduction and Framing

• How do we think about technology and the ‘public good’? By which criteria do/can we evaluate how technologies enhance human and environmental flourishing?
• How and why are certain technologies adopted? What are the drivers of technology?

History of Biotechnology / Synthetic Biology

• What were the critical innovations? Actors? Institutions? Programs? Investments?

Current and Future Investments in Synthetic Biology

• The political economy of synthetic biology

Synthetic Biology in the US

Institutions

• Academic
• Corporate
• Governmental

Funding Agencies

• SynBERC
• DARPA
• Sloan

Synthetic Biology in an International Context

• How is SB being developed/funded in other countries? How does this differ from the US strategy?

Synthetic Biology and the Innovation Landscape

• What types of things are we making: plug & play vs new application spaces?
• Investments in applications vs. tools/technology platforms?
• Who is interested (governments, existing companies, venture)?

Synthetic Biology, Intellectual Property and Open Innovation Systems

• Current practices in IP
• Theories/proposals for new systems
• Recent developments (e.g. Myriad) & their implications

Synthetic Biology as an ‘Emerging’ Technology

• What have we learnt from other contemporary emerging technologies (nanotech etc)?

Prudent Vigilance and Responsible Technology Development

• Interpretation and significance of the Presidential Bioethics Commission

Regulation and Oversight of Biotechnologies

• Which regulatory agencies current oversee syn bio products? What are the current/future gaps?

Synthetic Biology and Risk Governance

• What are different approaches to risk analysis?

Synthetic Biology & Biosafety

• What are the potential gaps in our current biosafety frameworks?

Synthetic Biology & Biosecurity

• What are the potential gaps in our current biosecurity frameworks?

Synthetic Biology as a Discipline: Education and Vocation

• How are we educating the next generation of synthetic biologists?
• Will there be jobs?

Synthetic Biology and the Public

• What do we know about the way the publics perceive biotechnology?
• How are we communicating and representing our work?

Open challenges: The next 5, 10, 15 years and beyond

• Gaps lists from different groups/meetings

Framings

In order to guide and refine both the curriculum content and activities/output from the workshop, it may be helpful to have a central theme or framing.

Possible Framings

• Beyond the Bioreactor: Considerations in the intentional and unintentional release of genetically engineered organisms
  • Curriculum and activities would center on proposals for (researching, evaluating, establishing) best practices for testing/demonstrating the safety and efficacy of engineered organisms in applications involving potential environmental release.

Case studies

Case studies and themes may be useful for grounding the conversation and navigating through curriculum elements.

Company/Institutional Profiles

Why are these companies/institutions betting on syn bio? what is their strategy?

• synthetic genomics
• amyris
• life technologies
• DSM
• ginkgo
• dna 2.0
• could also profile new depts / institutions in syn bio like Berkeley
• GEVO
• LS9
• Codexis
• Agilent
• Lumin

Technology Spaces

Examine deeply one or more particular application spaces

• Chemical Synthesis; Biofuels
• Health

Problem/Issues

• examine different approaches to an issues like safety/risk and biological containment

Activities / Projects / Deliverables

Deliverables

1. White Paper / Technology Roadmap

• Decreasing the barriers to innovation in syn bio
• Improvement to the process by which the benefits and risks of synthetic biology research can be assessed and reviewed.

2. Journal Article Summarizing the Meeting Outcomes

3. Magazine/Newspaper Article or Op-Ed

4. New Research Proposal(s) around, for example, regulatory and risk science for synthetic biology

5. Revised Broader Impacts Statements (and secondary analysis thereof)

Application

The application package for the course is designed to engage participants in questions relating to the societal ramifications of their work prior to the workshop and facilitate conversations and group work during the week.

Potential Formats

Big Ideas for Building a Better Bio-Economy

How can synthetic biology be developed to best benefit people and the planet? Describe (in <500 words) a product, practice, policy or grand plan for, or from, synthetic biology that you believe could enable a better future. Give 3 reasons why it will succeed, and list 3 major assumptions, potential pitfalls, or uncertainties in your proposal. Lastly, briefly describe how participation in this workshop might help to explore the viability of your idea(s) and aid in your future work.

Better Broader Impacts

The NSF recently proposed changes to its merit review criteria, which includes refinement of the broader impacts statements: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/publications/2011/06_mrtf.jsp. Write a broader impact statement for your current or proposed future research. List 3 major assumptions, potential pitfalls, or uncertainties in your claims. Lastly, briefly describe how participation in this workshop might help to craft a more accurate broader impacts statement or alter your research design.

Defining Prudent Vigilance in Practice

The Presidential Commission on the Study of Bioethical Issues recommended an on ongoing system of prudent vigilance for synthetic biology that carefully monitors, identifies and mitigates potential and realized harms over time. However, it remains unclear what prudent vigilance looks like in practice, and how this specifically relates to researcher responsibilities and activities. Describe an essential component of a prudent vigilance and how this might be translated into practice.

Formats and Logistics

Venue

• Preferable venue is intimate and secluded to promote lots of interaction. Possibilities include Asilomar, Friday Harbor.
• Could also hold somewhere like DC, for instance partnering with the Wilson Center.

Duration

• 4-6 days

Timing

• Late Spring/ Early Summer 2012

General Format

• Have mix of short expert presentations, discussions and small group projects
• Lots of opportunities for extracurricular activities (mental processing time!) and off-line discussions to build community

Options

Option 1: 5 days

• Morning: seminar(s) from guest tutors
• Afternoon: interactive activities OR extra-curricular activity / outing (alternating days)
• Pre-dinner: presentations/summary
• Dinner
• After-dinner conversations

Participants & Invited Guests

Participants

~25-35 young investigators (senior graduate students, postdocs and newPIs) who are (interested in) doing innovative work in various areas concerning the practice of synthetic biology:

• Technologists / Natural Scientists
• Social Scientists
• Artists, Designers, Humanities Scholars

Invited Guest Speakers/Tutors

Invited guests and tutors could come from areas such as:

• Industry
• Funding Agencies (Program Managers)
• Government (Policy, Regulation)
• Economics
• Law
• Risk Analysis
• Social Science / STS
• Experts on Teaching the Social and Ethical Implications of Research
• Civil Society Organizations
• Ethics
• Media, Communications, Marketing
• DIY/DIT community

Potential Invited Guests

• Representatives from Syn Bio Companies (see case studies list)
• Brent Erickson (BIO) : Corporate Biotechnology Innovation & Investment Landscape
• Nita Farahany (Stanford) : Presidential Bioethics Commission - Law & Ethics
• Anne-Maria Mazza (NAS): Policy, International Context
• Steve Maurer (Berkeley): Economics of Syn Bio
• Rob Carlson: Economics of Syn Bio
• Ken Oye (MIT): IP, Biosecurity, Reg of Emerging Tech
• David Rajeski (Wilson Center): Public Perceptions/Involvement, Policy, Regulation
• Sheila Jasannof (Harvard): History of Biotechnology in an International Context
• David Mandell (MIT) - Emerging Tech
• Arti Rai (Duke): policy, patent law
• Hank Greeley (Stanford): law, policy, ethics in the biosciences
• Mark Lemley (Stanford): Patent Law
• Michele Garfinkel (EMBO): policy
• Rick Johnson (BBF): legal
• Tom Khalil (OSTP): federal policy
• Jane Evans-Ryan (worked w/ BBF): Communications
• Ed You (FBI): Biosafety/Biosecurity
• Jane Calvert (Edinburgh): Social & Ethical Dimensions; Collaboration w/ Social Science Community
• Legal Counsel from small biotechs like LS9 (sugg by Ryan Ritterson)
• Alicia Jackson (DARPA): Federal Agency agendas
• folks from DTRA
• folks from NSABB

Partners, Sponsors

Confirmed:

SynBERC

BBF

Potential:

Bay Bio

QB3

Wilson Center Synthetic Biology Project

Siebel Scholars Foundation

Industrial Sponsors

Organizers

Team

Megan Palmer (Stanford)

Mike Fisher (Berkeley)

Ryan Ritterson (UCSF)

Jay Vowles (Stanford)

Stephanie Galanie (Stanford): Esp public communication, education, IP and international context.

Advisors

Drew Endy (Stanford)

Feedback

Megan Palmer presented some initial ideas for the workshop at the Sept 15th SPBWG meeting. A few comments:

From Mike Fisher:

• I think that as long as participants in the boot camp come away with a certificate and a deliverable, a week or so of their time is fine for the first go around. SB is big right now, so I don't see there being a lack of interest. The public policy and biological threats workshop was a week long and it was very valuable. Likewise for my program-mates, if not just because we all connected with one another, and made connections with the speakers.
• I think a really good format would be seminars in the morning, interactive work/action in the afternoon, maybe a short summary meeting before or after dinner, and then more work/discussion over beer.

References

JCVI's publication Synthetic Genomics: Options for Governance (found here) includes recommendations for improving practitioner training in the social and ethical dimensions of research in synthetic biology.

Planning

TENTATIVE, needs development.

• Sept:
  • Present Outline at SynBERC retreat for community feedback.
  • Recruit sponsors, partners, planning team.
• October/November/December
  • Refine curriculum and choose tentative topics.
  • Set time/timing. Research Venues, determine budget.
  • Prioritize list of guests speakers. Contact/Confirm.
  • Contact additional sponsors.
• January
  • Call for Applications
• June/July
  • Workshop