GES Center Lectures, NC State University

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

Discussion of two questions from current literature review: is it possible to isolate the specific effects of individual GM traits in trends of farming practices; and whether/why blocks exist that prevent useful, translatable research work from making it to application in the field of agbiotech.

Links & Resources - https://go.ncsu.edu/agbiofews/

AgBioFEWS Cohort 1 Fellows - We are the first cohort of Agricultural Biotechnology In Our Evolving Food, Energy, and Water Systems (AgBioFEWS) NRT fellows. We represent a mix of expertise in physical and social sciences, and are currently working together to develop cooperative research projects.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Center - http://go.ncsu.edu/ges](http://go.ncsu.edu/ges)

Presented by the Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Center at NC State University, the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA), and RTI International.

In the 21st century, scientific uncertainty and divisive communication plague traditional risk-response formats of communication where experts identify best options for mitigating risks and recommend behaviors to diminish people’s risk to hazards. Today, engaging in most any risk reducing behavior may create a new set of problems related to real or perceived risks. This creates new communication challenges when public discourse increasingly focuses on these “secondary” risks.

While risk perception theories have celebrated many decades of use, they do not account for individuals’ perceptions of potential harms posed by the recommended response itself. That it, current theories fail to answer the question, “What happens when the cure itself may be perceived of as a risk?”

This presentation reports on the new theoretical developments that founded Secondary Risk Theory which explains and predicts how risks are perceived today and provides contemporary examples and new data regarding COVID-19 vaccine responses and anticipated responses for solar radiation management technologies.

Links & Resources - Cummings, C.L., Rosenthal, S. and Kong, W.Y. (2020), Secondary Risk Theory: Validation of a Novel Model of Protection Motivation. Risk Analysis. doi:10.1111/risa.13573

Christopher L. Cummings, PhD, serves as a Senior Research Fellow with the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at North Carolina State University and is the Founding Director of Decision Analytica, LLC. He currently is serving on a COVID-19 task force with the United States Army Corp of Engineers where he is evaluating and developing public health and risk models for use across various locations to allocate government resources to areas of imminent need.

GES Center -  Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

GES Mediasite - See videos, full abstracts, speaker bios, and slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite

Twitter - https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Despite limited scientific data, governments around the world are exploring COVID-19 immunity passport programs. At the same time, groups have emerged who have developed, promoted, and tested on themselves and others, “DIY” COVID-19 vaccines; potentially enabling more individuals to attain immunity passports; while the rest of the world waits for an approved vaccine. How do we respond, and what about ethics and equity issues?

Dr. Natalie Kofler (@nataliekofler) is the founding director of Editing Nature - a global initiative to steer responsible development and deployment of genetic technologies. She is a leading voice in technology ethics, governance, and scientific justice.

Alex Pearlman (@lexikon1) is an award-winning journalist and a bioethicist, reporting on emerging issues in science, and technology. Alex is also a Research Affiliate with the Community Biotechnology Initiative at the MIT Media Lab where she studies the intersection of the community biology movement with issues in ethics and policy.

Links & Resources

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM, Via Zoom, NC State University

GES Mediasite - Video w/slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite

More info at http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium | Twitter -https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Zoom Chat box with resource links: https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-usda-panel-chat-links

SlideShare - Download Presentation Slides: https://www.slideshare.net/GESCenterNCSU

GES faculty review how the new USDA rule changes regulation of GM crops in comparison to the agency's previous regulatory approach and in light of findings from the 2016 NASEM GM Crops committee. Diverse perspectives on the new USDA rule will be shared followed by Q&A and discussion with the attendees.

Presenters include:

Dr. Keith Edmiston, Professor of Crop & Soil Sciences & Extension Cotton Specialist

Dr. Zachary Brown, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM, Via Zoom, NC State University

GES Mediasite - Video w/slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite

More info at http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium | Twitter -https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Final Colloquium of the semester! Join us for a discussion with an all-star cast of GES faculty, scholars and graduate students as they reflect upon COVID-19, our preparedness, response, and its impacts on our global community.

LINKS

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM, Via Zoom, NC State University

GES Mediasite - Video w/slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite

More info at http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium | Twitter -https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Corporate and academic synthetic biology researchers are using sequence information from untold numbers of organisms to develop improvements in diverse product areas from agriculture to therapeutics. Quite often, such information is being used, and patented, without regard to the origin of the particular organism from which it was derived; in fact, the researcher may not even know or be able to easily trace the original geographic source. However, the Nagoya Protocol (NP) on Access and Benefit Sharing to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), requires that users of genetic resources share the benefits of such utilization with the providers of the original resources. Although copious monetary benefits are being generated from synthetic biology-based products, there is little evidence to indicate that any meaningful benefit-sharing is taking place.

The issue of whether or to what extent digital sequence information (DSI) is subject to such obligations is a point of significant controversy in CBD/NP and FAO Plant Treaty discussions. This talk will explore positions on both sides of these issues as well as on the related issues of the feasibility of a global multilateral benefit sharing mechanism as a vehicle for users to comply with benefit-sharing obligations which are not amenable to the current bilateral benefit sharing model.

Speaker Bio

Margo A. Bagley is the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. She rejoined the Emory faculty in 2016 after a decade at the University of Virginia, School of Law. She currently serves on the National Academies Committee on Advancing Commercialization from the Federal Laboratories, and previously served on the National Academies Committee on University Management of Intellectual Property: Lessons from a Generation of Experience, Research, and Dialogue. She is also an expert technical advisor to the African Union in several World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) matters and is the Friend of the Chair in the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. In addition, she served as a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Resources for the CBD and Nagoya Protocol. Her scholarship focuses on comparative issues relating to patents and biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and access to medicines, technology transfer, and IP and social justice.

LINKS

Related publications available on ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Margo_Bagley

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM, Via Zoom, NC State University

GES Mediasite - Video w/slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite

More info at http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium | Twitter -https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Any scientist doing public-facing work should occasionally be reflecting on what responsibilities they are willing to undertake--what roles they want to play. Using the familiar typology laid out by Roger Pielke, Jr., are they setting out to be pure scientists, science arbiters, honest brokers or advocates? We'll use a relatively minor corner of the broader controversy swirling around COVID-19 as an opportunity for reflection in this chaotic and confusing moment. If you have a moment to prepare, take a look at the publication below.

Speaker Bio

A twisty path through law and classical rhetoric has led Jean Goodwin (@jeangoodwin) to an interest in scientists' participation in civic controversies. As a member of the Leadership in Public Science cluster, "I not only 'think' but also 'do' that," helping with programming intended to foster commitment to, and capacity for, public-facing science at NC State University.

Goodwin received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and her J.D. from the University of Chicago, and her Ph.D. in communication arts from the rhetoric program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to more than 25 years in the classroom introducing undergraduates to the rhetorical tradition, she has mentored graduate students across a variety communication subfields and academic departments. Her essays have been published in international journals in communication, philosophy and the sciences. She has served as a consultant on initiatives by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Union of Concerned Scientists to define the appropriate roles of scientists as advocates.

LINKS

Presentation Poll - https://pollev.com/publicscience

Davies, A., Thompson, K., Giri, K., Kafatos, G., Walker, J., & Bennett, A. (2013). Testing the Efficacy of Homemade Masks: Would They Protect in an Influenza Pandemic? Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 7(4), 413-418. doi:10.1017/dmp.2013.43. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/testing-the-efficacy-of-homemade-masks-would-they-protect-in-an-influenza-pandemic/0921A05A69A9419C862FA2F35F819D55

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM, Via Zoom, NC State University

GES Mediasite - Video w/slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite

More info at http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium | Twitter -https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Emerging plant diseases threaten many foods crops including those we eat for breakfast such as coffee, oranges, banana and potatoes. Plant pathogens cause global losses estimated to be as high as $33 billion per year. The risk of introduction of pathogens into the US with trade requires continued monitoring and improved diagnostic capabilities at our borders. One of the largest challenges we face in agriculture today is to develop and deploy the appropriate technologies that will help reduce plant diseases and increase crop yield. New genetic tools are enabling scientists to piece together the evolution of emerging plant pathogens and track their spread. Jean Ristaino will discuss the latest research on P. infestans, the pathogen that caused the Irish famine, its impact on global food security and describe her use of genomic tools to track outbreaks and the evolution of new lineages using historic and recent specimens of P. infestans. Novel detection technologies combined with digital agriculture and bioinformatics tools will help mitigate outbreaks, improve deployment of host resistance and inform policy.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Jean Ristaino works on the population genetics of historical epidemics of the pathogen that caused the Irish famine Phytophthora infestans and studies the population structure and epidemiology of modern day late blight outbreaks. Her lab is interested in the impact of migration, recombination and hybridization on the evolution of Phytophthora species. Her work has tracked migrations of P. infestans from its ancestral home in the Andes to the US and Europe. She developed pioneering research techniques for use of 150-year-old historic herbarium specimens to track epidemics. She was also part of the team that sequenced the first genome of P. infestans. Her recent work with collaborators has used next generation sequencing to study historical outbreaks. Her lab also manages the disease surveillance network called USABlight.org. This system records late blight outbreaks, sends disease alerts to growers, and provides decision support tools for managing disease. She has recently developed novel VOC sensor-based technology for detection of late blight. She also conducts Phytophthora molecular diagnostics workshops globally. Her lab also has described new species including Phytophthora andina and Phytophthora acaciae and developed a Lucid-based taxonomic key. Dr. Ristaino was named a National Academy of Sciences Jefferson Science Fellow in 2012 and has worked on a range of emerging plant diseases that impact global food security with USAID. She currently directs a new faculty cluster at NC State on “Emerging Plant Disease and Global Food Security”. She was awarded a Fulbright Research Scholar Award in 2017 at the University of Catania in Sicily. Dr. Ristaino’ research impacts the science of plant pathology, epidemiology, population genomics, food security and science policy

LINKS

Ristaino Lab - https://ristainolab.cals.ncsu.edu/

A New Way to Fight Crop Diseases, With a Smartphone, New York Times, 7/30/2019 - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/science/tomato-potato-agriculture-blight.html

Portable Tech Sniffs Out Plant Disease In The Field, NC State News, 7/29/2019 - https://news.ncsu.edu/2019/07/handheld-tech-sniffs-plant-disease/

Genetics say the origins of the Irish potato blight were South American, Washington Post, 1/7/2017 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/genetics-say-the-origins-of-the-irish-potato-blight-were-south-american/2017/01/06/62bbb0a6-d1d0-11e6-9cb0-54ab630851e8_story.html

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM, Via Zoom, NC State University

GES Mediasite - Video w/slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite

More info at http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium | Twitter -https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

Demand for animal protein is projected to rise by 54% by 2050 (40% population increase, and 14% increase on per capita consumption). Given the current use of land and the pace of agriculture production, it will be extremely challenging to satisfy that demand with the traditional sources of animal protein, while achieving environmental sustainability. Animal production accounts for 15%-25% of global emissions depending on how we account the different components that support production. Overconsumption of animal protein (and fat) is in part responsible for the increase poor health and health risks worldwide. Replacing part of the demand for animal protein by plant-based protein foods has the potential to reduce the pressure on land resources, as well as greenhouse gas emissions, while improving human nutrition and health. The PBP market is growing by double digits every year, and is expected to reach $90 billion in 2030 from $ 5 billion in 2017. Several animal protein producers have recognize the potential of PBP and they are rapidly developing the PBP divisions. While PBP are gaining presence across the country, products are still quite expensive, putting them out of reach for a vast proportion of the population who would benefit from them. North Carolina is one of the top States in animal protein production, leading the turkey meat and pork production. It can also become a leader in the PBP market if the appropriate research support helps the industry establish and develop. The State is also well located to supply the demand for PBP to the large proportion of people living in the East Coast. We will take a look at the continuum of potential protein production markets and the significance of each technology in terms of sustainability, nutritional health, consumer acceptability, and the implications for future research at institutions like NCSU.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Carlos Iglesias grew up in a small farming community in SW Uruguay, getting his BSc at the University of Uruguay. He got his MSc and PhD in Plant Breeding at Iowa State University. Later in his career he got a MSc in Ag Econ from Purdue University and a MBA in Food and Agribusiness from Indiana University.

Carlos has experience in the public (University of Uruguay, and International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia) and private sectors (Weaver Popcorn and Syngenta). He has directly worked or managed programs in different species (corn, cassava, popcorn, wheat); and has experience in more developed agriculture production systems (North America, Brazil/Argentina), as well as production in less developed regions of the world (Sub-Saharan Africa).

He is the creator of several varieties and hybrids still being grown, and his major focus has been in linking plant breeding to high value markets. Recently at Syngenta he was managing the NA Wheat Business Unit, a self-sustain unit supported by royalties from the seed business ($16 M in royalties in 2019).

LINKS

NC State Plant Breeding Consortium - http://plantbreedingconsortium.ncsu.edu/

SYNTHESIS REPORT: Creating a Sustainable Food Future: A Menu of Solutions to Feed Nearly 10 Billion People by 2050, World Resources Institute - https://wriorg.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/creating-sustainable-food-future_2.pdf

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GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM, Poe 202, NC State University

GES Mediasite - Video w/slides https://go.ncsu.edu/ges-mediasite

More info at http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium | Twitter -https://twitter.com/GESCenterNCSU

In order to sprout, grow, photosynthesize, fight off pests, flower, or produce fruits, plants turn on different sets of genes in their genomes. To understand how these basic processes are brought about, scientists must first determine what individual plant genes do. To do this, researchers typically modify genes of interest in the laboratory by changing or disabling specific gene functions via mutation, or fuse DNA to a reporter tag such as GFP. However, manipulating large genes in a test tube is often technically difficult. A technology called recombineering makes working with large (e.g., 100 kilobases) DNA fragments much easier and scalable. We have streamlined the process of identifying the bacterial strain carrying the large DNA fragment with the gene of interest and made the recombineering protocols scalable and applicable to a wide set of plant species.

Speaker Bio

Dr. Jose Alonso obtained his undergraduate and graduate (1994) degrees from the University of Valencia, Spain. After his postdoctoral training with Dr. Joseph Ecker at U. Penn and The Salk Institute (1995-2001), he joined the faculty of North Carolina State University where he is currently a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Plant Biology and University Faculty Scholar. His main research interest focus on the study of the molecular circuits plants use to integrate environmental and developmental signals to produce specific responses.

LINKS

Alonso-Stepanova Lab - https://alonsostepanova.wordpress.ncsu.edu/

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