iGEM Digest Issue 5 - Letter From The Guest Editor

BY CHRIS ISAAC, Member of the Lethbridge team 2012 - 2019 and Advisor to the Lethbridge HS team from 2015 to 2019

Issue 5 of the After iGEM Digest

iGEM was my first exposure to the concepts of biosafety and biosecurity, and has fundamentally altered the trajectory of my career. It was through attending the Biological Weapons Convention as an iGEM Delegate that I realized how neglected biosecurity issues were and fully embraced the duty that scientists have to engage with policy-makers. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic also shines a harsh spotlight on the critical need to strengthen biosafety and biosecurity practices around the world. In this issue I hope that we are able to provide a look into biosafety and biosecurity issues related to iGEM at the global, team, and individual levels while featuring success of the past, ongoing work, and ways to contribute in the future. Science, synthetic biology, and global health security are cooperative endeavors and each of us has a role to play in making the world a safer place while safeguarding innovation. 

Beginning the issue, we have a global overview of legislation related to key concepts in biosafety and biosecurity that are relevant to iGEM. The article was informed by the Global Health Security Index and highlights that there is still work to be done on the international stage to protect the public and science itself from risks emerging from biology. 

Secondly, “Innovation in Biosafety and Biosecurity” takes a look at iGEM teams who have engaged with biosafety and biosecurity issues. Teams have an opportunity to make a real impact when they thoughtfully consider safety and security in their projects. It is my hope that this article will provide some inspiration for teams to refine or remix work that others have done in the biosafety and biosecurity space.

Following the teams article, “Uncharted Waters: the Experience of iGEM Delegates with Scientific Diplomacy” explores the experience of participants in the iGEM Delegate Program, addressing how they got there, how the experience of attending an international convention changes their career outlook, and what others who are interested in the intersection of science and policy can look forward to or what impactful actions they might take next. 

In the penultimate article “iGEM and the Value of Responsibility,” the authors take a deeper dive into the experience of the Bielefeld iGEM team and explore in greater detail the nuances of dual-use research. 

The final article, Dr. Piers Millet, the Vice President of Safety and Security, pens a letter on behalf of the Safety and Security Committee nicely summarizing the content of this issue: iGEMers are leaders and need to be involved in taking safety and security in biology to the next level. Guidance for teams wanting to work on COVID-19-related projects is also included. 

I would like to thank each and every author who contributed material to this special issue of the iGEM Digest and express my gratitude to all those who graciously donated their time to be interviewed for the delegate article. Lastly, I would also thank you, the reader, for your interest in this issue. I hope that you will be able to take something away from the articles and elevate biosafety and biosecurity issues in your projects and communities. 

Sincerely,

Chris R. Isaac
Guest Editor 

Chris Isaac (center) with his team, iGEM 2013 Lethbridge

Chris currently volunteers on the Safety and Security Committee and works on the Bio team at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a security-focussed non-profit in Washington, DC.
The NTI | Bio team works to increase global health security capacity around the world and reduce the risk of a catastrophic biological event.