Difference between revisions of "Team:Virginia/Public engagement"

In an effort to broaden the horizons of the general public in regards to Synthetic Biology, team member Eddie Micklovic began a podcast, meant to elaborate on the work being done in the synthetic biology field, the opposing viewpoints that arise from that work, and how we all can stay informed. Eddie is a Poltics and Biology double major, and his unique cirriculum was very informative in the efforts to understand how our device could be implemented in the field. He utilizes this background to interview experts and discuss relevent topics in the field. In the inaugural episode of the podcast, Eddie interviews Hank Greely, professor of law and director of the Stanford Center for Law and the Biosciences, breaking down some of the legal and political ramifications that Synthetic Biology has posed. In his second episode, Eddie talks to UVA student Jacob Anish to discuss and explain Synthetic Biology from a surface-level perspective. These episodes are informative and enjoyable, and helped us to develop how we speak about the field itself. We hope you enjoy them as well.

Over the course of the summer, our team turned our focus internally in order to grapple with the current state of our country and the obligation and responsibility we have as scientists. As it turns out, our team has tons of diverse perspectives, and many of the routes we considered for HP research arose from these differing opinions.

Protests in late May, and the #ShutDownStem day initially inspired internal discussions about the role of scientists in social movements. We established formal,seminar-style discussions about how we as a team could respond and help to be part of the solution, and out of these discussions came an obvious need for a set of agreed team values. As a result, we sought to solidify our understanding through the writing of our own Code of Ethical Conduct. This document is a collection of our team’s stances and represents our dedication to standing by these principles. In this document, we outline our statement of values, specific laws, Diversity & Inclusion Rules, Safety and Security, and Implementation. The COEC serves as an internal guiding document that establishes a basis for the decisions we make, from how we bring in new members, to how we choose to impliment Manifold. The document holds us to a standard in which we maximize good and mitigate risk, and that sentiment applies to all uses of Manifold, including those who may license the technology from us. We created this as a code applicable to all iGEM teams, taking into account differing global perspectives and ideals in the everchanging bioethical landscape. We’ve checked this document through UVA faculty, including bioethicists and biology professors, and after a final review of our team members, it was ratified. Now we present it to all future iGEM teams to edit, debate, and implement as well. We hope you can take the framework this document provides and determine your own team values, all in the pursuit of being better, more conscious, scientists.