It’s always good at the start of the new year to take a step back and see where things are going right and where one can improve. I am so proud to be a part of the synthetic biology community, but it can always improve. Here are some themes I would like to see the field embracing (and that I plan on embracing as much as I can), and some concrete actions for doing so.
Make sure synthetic biology is serving all communities, not just the ones that have been historically served by new technologies.
We need to be building products and providing opportunities for everybody. Let’s not become like the tech world. Let’s push for having a positive impact on people and the planet.
Actions: Work with and support iGEM teams both in your community and in underserved communities abroad. Consider supporting groups like Beneficial Bio. Research your local community college and how you can help those students participate in this field.
Improve our outreach outside of the scientific community.
People are paying more attention to biology today than ever before right now. Let’s focus on telling stories of how our work is making a direct impact.
Action: Learn from great science communicators in the field like Marianna Limas and Karl Schmieder.
Measure our environmental impact.
We say that we are developing greener products, but we need to prove it.
Action: Develop and publish life cycle analysis of products being developed. Here are some overviews of life cycle analysis applied to synthetic biology and the ways it can be improved to better understand a company’s and technology’s impact. Consider reaching out to these authors.
Which of these do you think is most interesting? Am I missing out on any? Let me know!