ISSUE 04 . SPRING 2011 . GENOMIC S INNOVATION AND SOCIET Y
GENOMICS & SOCIETY
S O C I A L S C I E N C E A N D H U M A N I T I E S R E S E A RC H I N G E N O M I C S
LAW
ECONOMICS
HISTORY
ENVIRONMENT
KNOWLEDGE, CONVERGENCE AND INNOVATION
HEALTH
POLICY
SOCIOLOGY
PHILOSOPHY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
01 Feature Story
02 Researcher Profile
03 Project Profile
04 BC News
04 BC Updates
05 International News
05 National News
06 Snapshots
06 Upcoming Events and Opportunities
ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
It was written by Genomics & Society Intern Justin
Domareski, and edited by Genomics & Society Advisor
Dr. Robin Downey.
Please send comments and suggestions to:
gsnews@genomebc.ca
Help to improve the newsletter by taking the survey:
Innovations in genomics sciences have the potential to yield significant benefits
for society; however, a clear understanding of how those developments will influence
business models, policy tools and new information technologies is still emerging. These
themes were a topic at the global forum, Delivering Global Promise through the Life
Sciences, co-hosted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) and the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Genomics Network
in Paris in December, 2010. The meeting, which was attended by policy makers,
private sector representatives, and social and applied scientists, explored the role
social sciences and humanities (SSH) researchers can play in informing technical,
economic, and policy decisions. Generally, this involved discussions of how knowledge
is valued, owned and shared; how life science innovations are influencing information
technologies; and how those innovations are shaping interactions between business,
science and society. In the same spirit as the conference, several Genome BC projects,
funded under a recent Genome Canada competition, will enable social scientists to
contribute to research in the areas of forestry, watershed management and health and
help to develop new knowledge and applications.
In an international context, researchers are applying SSH expertise to help ensure
that stakeholder interests and societal benefits are accounted for in innovation
practices. The OECD conference was attended by key thinkers on integrated research
(see the Science and Society Convergence papers), notably Emma Frow, Jane Calvert,
and Stephen Yearley, and it featured presentations resulting from eight years of original
ESRC Genomics Network research. One of the main conference themes, ‘informatisation
and convergence’, focused on the societal, economic and environmental implications
of the converenge of bio-, nano- and information technologies. This key theme was
featured as a along with another, ‘knowledge networks and markets’. Through the study
of these areas, SSH researchers are helping to expand the possible social and economic
benefits that genomics and life sciences have to offer. Innovation scholar Joyce Tait,
contributed to the discussion in the final session of the conference by emphasizing that
SSH researchers can play important roles in the application of genomics research.
In 2010, Genome Canada had a call for proposals for a large scale competition with
a requirement for an integrated GE3LS (ethical, environmental, economic, legal and
social aspects of genomics) component and asked researchers to engage with similar
applied aspects of genomics and to contribute to social and economic benefits for
Canada. The competition results were announced on March 25th and several projects
from British Columbia were successful. Some of the GE3LS elements of the applied
genomics projects from BC employ methods such as stakeholder consultations and
http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/
a07e324q6zsgf00n9ey/start
Above Left: Double helix sculpture at the OECD conference site; Right: Joyce Tait; Photographs courtesy of Toni Frietas.
ENVIRONMENT POLICY LAW PHILOSOPHY ECONOMICS HEALTH SOCIOLOGY HISTORY
GENOMICS & SOCIET Y SPRING 2011 02
KNOWLEDGE, CONVERGENCE AND INNOVATION cont’d
collaborative governance strategies to build social interests into
research outcomes. Significantly, social scientists will play a key
role in helping to guide the development of the new technologies
and applications, such as biofuels. Using social and scientific
information, Genome Canada funded researchers Patrick Tang
and Judith Isaac Renton, will help to co-produce diagnostic tools
for use in watershed management and governance. Another
successful BC-based project, led by Sally Aitken and Andreas
Hamann, focuses upon using genomics to help forests adapt
to climate change and the project’s SSH team will engage with
stakeholders to help shape strategies and policy outcomes. Social
scientists, working alongside Richard Hamelin on genomics-based
He
forest health diagnostic tools, which will help to guide the product
through commercialization by considering social, organizational
and policy factors.
SSH specialists, working with scientists and stakeholders,
have the potential to help manage and integrate data from a
variety of sources, improve innovation strategies, co-develop
risk assessment tools and help to identify user interests. Both
the ‘Delivering on a Global Promise’ OECD event and the recent
Genome Canada funded projects demonstrate that social scientists
may contribute to the development of genomics technologies by
investigating the points where policy, science and industry meet.
RESEARCHER PROFILE
JUSTIN PAGE
Justin Page, an Environmental Sociologist
by training, is working as a researcher
in the field of metagenomics.
While completing his doctoral degree in environmental
sociology under the supervision of Professor Ralph Matthews
at the University of British Columbia, Justin Page came to
realize the importance of including community and stakeholder
groups in scientific and environmental research. He is now
working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Jan AtkinsonGrosjean’s Translational Genomics Research Group (TGRG) on the
Bioremediation of Mine Drainage (BMD) project. Led by Professor
Sue Baldwin, the BMD project is a genomics-based assessment
of microbial communities involved in the treatment of toxic
mine drainage and plays an important role in increasing the
acceptability of bioremediation strategies in the mining sector.
In the past, a lack of industry acceptance has served as an
obstacle to the adoption of bio-remediation technologies by the
mining industry. This is in spite of the technology’s potential
to replace the hazardous chemical treatments currently in wide
use. Though the technology the science team is developing is
technically feasible and may increase industry acceptance, it
might still prove to be unacceptable to the community. For this
reason, stakeholders – First Nations, government, industry and
local communities –need to be included in the innovation process.
Page’s doctoral research focused on the role of stakeholders
and First Nations in the Great Bear Rainforest land use agreement
and emphasized that they leverage a wide variety of resources
when they engage in the politics of natural resource management.
This experience has informed the TGRG’s approach to integrating
stakeholder views into the decision-making process of the BMD
project and the development of the Ecogenomics Network.
Particularly, he highlighted the importance of finding appropriate
methods to assess community and industry concerns about
bioremediation technologies and “bring [the findings] back into the
processes of science and technology development.” In addressing
this issue, he has found ways to include input from community
members in the social and scientific research processes to assess
unpredictable consequences. This has included the development of
an explanatory pamphlet and industry guidelines.
The TGRG has been developing an Ecogenomics Network,
which is currently in its working group phase and initially met in
October. The ‘Ecogenomics Working Group’ discussed the role
the network might play in helping to guide the development of
ecogenomics innovations for the mining industry. Page, who has
played a key role in these efforts, will apply the interdisciplinary
research experience he has acquired during his work on the BMD
project in his career as an academician. After he completes his
Postdoctoral Fellowship at UBC’s W. Maurice Young Centre for
Applied Ethics, he plans to continue his work as an environmental
sociologist.
ENVIRONMENT POLICY LAW PHILOSOPHY ECONOMICS HEALTH SOCIOLOGY HISTORY
GENOMICS & SOCIET Y SPRING 2011 03
PROJECT PROFILE
COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION: INTEGRATING INDUSTRY
PRACTICE WITH SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENTS
I
Andy Hira, a Professor of Political Science at SFU, has been
conducting research into innovation trends and the success of the
wineries in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley (OV). Hira is the
lead GE3LS researcher working on an integrated Genome Canada
project, as part of a team led by Professor Hennie J. J. van Vuuren
and Steve Lund of the UBC Wine Research Centre. The first phase
of the project began with surveys and interviews with OV wine
industry leaders into their perceptions of how genomics could help
the industry become more competitive. His main focus has been
on understanding how to get small and medium sized wineries to
include the latest scientific developments in their viticulture and
aging practices. He found that one of the main obstacles to this goal
was fragmentation of the industry’s structure.
The number of wineries has expanded five fold since 1990;
however, much of the growth has occurred in small and medium
sized vineyards that cater to tourists. These wineries do not
produce enough wine to both compete locally and nationally and to
export globally. As a result, though there has been overall growth
in Canadian and international wine consumption, the sales of
Okanagan wine have remained mostly BC bound and this has spurred
the development of a cottage wine industry. The ensuing reliance
on tourism acts as a disincentive to develop new markets, and is
complicated by a ban on interprovincial sales of Canadian wine.
“by building more robust social
networks, enhancing industry
association practices...the OV cluster
can be even more successful.“
In addition, Hira found that the structure of the industry has
separated the innovation and success of large estate wineries from
the rapidly multiplying number of smaller wineries. In particular,
Hira’s research has revealed that a significant challenge to adopting
new viticulture practices is a lack of coordination amongst OV
wineries and industry specific, commercially available genomics
technologies. The GE3LS team is helping to overcome these barriers,
by working with the OV cluster to identify and address its specific
vulnerabilities.
He is working to address a lack of industry association activity
through enhanced social networking between small and large
wineries. An example of this is his finding that the main relationship
between the scientists at the UBC Wine Research Centre and the OV
wine industry has emphasized personal relationships with the large
estate wineries. The ensuing application of scientific expertise to
Top: Anil Hira and Mark Hicken (left to right); Bottom left: Steve Lund ; Bottom right:
Grapes from a vineyard in the OV. Photographs courtesy of Anil Hira, Brian Hawkes, and
James Schlosser.
the viticulture practices of smaller wineries has been limited. His
research emphasized that if interaction and consultation between
the industry and the scientists were improved then it would be
easier to ”disseminate the innovative knowledge [the science
team] are producing.” In this case, the potential of the science
to responsibly yield societal benefits is shaped by understanding
how the technologies will ultimately adapt to the industry’s
needs. This means that by building more robust social networks,
enhancing industry association practices and developing indepth
educational programs to train winery personnel, the OV cluster
can be even more successful.
In March, Hira attended the “Breaking Down the Barriers: the
Canadian Wine Summit” wine industry conference as an expert
and he will be hosting a forum in July of 2011 to discuss improving
the integration of genomics science with industry practice. The
conference will bring together international viticulture and wine
industry experts from other wine regions such Australia, Chile,
Italy, and Spain along with OV wineries and vineyards to discuss
ways to better apply the innovative science. The meeting will
be proceeded by an investigation which will be developed by the
research team and industry participants to facilitate integration of
genomics research to help address the industry’s challenges.
ENVIRONMENT POLICY LAW PHILOSOPHY ECONOMICS HEALTH SOCIOLOGY HISTORY
GENOMICS & SOCIET Y SPRING 2011 04
BC NEWS
Left: Peter Chow-White, Assistant Professor in SFU’s
Communication department, and Jennifer Miller, founder
and Executive Director of Bioethics International (Left
to right);
Right: Sarah Neumann, hosted and organized the event,
and Paul Warner, Senior Litigator for Industrial Alliance
Pacific Insurance and Financial Services Inc., brought a
health insurance perspective to the panel discussions
(Left to right)
Photographs courtesy of Justin Domareski
GENOMICS, ETHICS AND INDUSTRY PRACTICE
The Student Biotechnology Network (SBN) hosted a conference, ‘Genomics, Ethics and Industry Practice,’ at SFU’s Harbour
Centre campus on March 23rd. It included lectures by Jennifer Miller
and Peter Chow-White that discussed the implications of genomics sciences for biotechnology research ethics, corporate practice,
and data mining. Each lecture was followed by a panel discussion
moderated by Genome BC’s Genomics and Society Advisor, Robin
Downey. The meeting was highly interactive and included a live
blog which generated questions and provided those without an opportunity to attend a chance to participate in the dialogue.
One of the conference highlights was Jennifer Miller’s lecture
on corporate ethics. Jennifer Miller, who is the founder of Bioethics
International, discussed the role of clinical trials on pharmaceutical companies and ethical research practices. Her lecture covered
the challenges of training clinical personnel, policymakers and
executives to understand decision-making in ethical terms and the
barriers this creates to public trust. She noted the potential of integrated research to help overcome these barriers and “improve the
ability of researchers and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical
industries to responsibly reach their stated missions of discovering
new and better ways to fill unmet medical needs, and improve
health and well-being worldwide.”
Peter Chow-White, an Assistant Professor in the School of Communications at SFU, lectured on the role of data mining in shaping
genomics sciences. He discussed the roles that the development of
new data collection systems can and have played in the shaping of
emerging technologies. Particularly, he suggested the need for a “bioethics 2.0” approach to the handling of genetic and health information where issues of privacy and consent take into consideration the
nature of new communication networks, digital information and data
mining technologies.
The event provided a chance for students from an array of
disciplines to interact with the speakers. The interactivity of the conference was continued online with a podcast, blogs, and question and
answer sessions. This format provides students the chance to interact
with panelists and experts from the conference and the broader GE3LS
community. These online discussants include James O’Leary of Genetic
Alliance, Brian Wynne of CESAGen, and Frank Zinatelli of the Canadian
Health and Life Insurance Association. Panelists Don Enns, Emily
Marden, Jan Atkinson-Grosjean, and Alice Hawkins will all participate
in the ‘Genomics, Ethics and Industry Practice,’ online post-event
website project.
BC UPDATES
Measuring Social Benefits
The Centre for Hip Health and Mobility hosted an interactive
workshop, ‘Establishing a Metric to Assess Research Impacts,’
to better understand the social impacts of genomics and health
research. The forum brought together clinicians and social researchers, with community and industry stakeholders to discuss
links between social needs, innovation and research metrics. The
event, organized by Joan Sims-Gould and Heather McKay, was
attended by several members of the Genome BC community including Jan Atkinson-Grosjean, Jennifer Gardy, and Robin Downey,
among others.
Pathways to Integration
The integrated research funding model enables social science
and humanities (SSH) researchers to collaborate with scientists
on research projects. The Genomics Society and Ethics Advisory
Committee’s (GSEAC) subcommittee on integration has developed
a paper that outlines examples of integrated research and describes experiences from Genome BC. It traces the development of
integration and observes that SSH researchers have the potential
to significantly influence the direction of genomics research. Rosemary Ommer, Brian Wynne and Erik Fisher contributed to this effort through discussions at the 2010 GSEAC Retreat and their work
on the Pathways to Integration paper (http://www.genomebc.ca/
portfolio/genomics-and-society/integrated-research/pathwaysto-integration/) .
ENVIRONMENT POLICY LAW PHILOSOPHY ECONOMICS HEALTH SOCIOLOGY HISTORY
GENOMICS & SOCIET Y SPRING 2011 05
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Left: Responsible Innovation Forum
participants, including Paul Ellwood (far
left); Right: Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars;
Photographs courtesy of Francois Thoreau
Responsible Innovation Network
In Washington DC, the Socio-Technical Integration Research (STIR)
group, a US National Science Foundation funded project, hosted
a workshop on Responsible Innovation. The workshop took place
on February 16th and 17th presented updates on several lab-based
projects focused on nanotechnology, genetics and synthetic biology.
The projects were conducted in a dozen countries, and each includes
an integrated social science and humanities (SSH) component. STIR
Principal Investigator, Erik Fisher invited several researchers from
the project and experts from a variety of arenas to contribute to the
discussion. For example, Engineering Professor Roop Mahajan of
Virginia Polytechnic Institute emphasized the need to ask the right
(social) questions in innovation processes. Rene von Schomberg from
the European Commission suggested that researchers should be
mutually responsive and stakeholder assessment procedures that
incorporate feedback will be needed for responsible governance.
The participants discussed ways to promote lab-based integrated
research and the need for increased funding.
STIR doctoral students have had the opportunity to shape
lab-based practices related to safety, the environment, patient
outreach and other issues that can influence research decisions
through their interdisciplinary projects. For example, one project
examined the use of nanotechnology in dishwashers. Paul
Ellwood noted that during his lab-based collaboration with
scientists “a key decision point [in the research process] concerned
the switch from studying the ‘wet-cycle’ of the wash to the drying
phase, when it was found that nano-particles then accumulated
on surfaces (e.g. plates).” Social scientists and humanists can
raise important questions during the collaborative process and
this may lead to technical modifications.
NATIONAL NEWS
“Integrated Innovation” the new Grand Challenges Canada
approach
Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) has recently focused its funding
upon a “Point of Care Diagnostics” competition that aims to
develop and provide low-cost diagnostic technologies for the
developing world. In a recently published white-paper, “The Grand
Challenges Approach, January 2011,” GCC introduced a new funding
strategy it calls ‘integrated innovation.’ The strategy combines
scientific, business and social innovation strategies to develop
and apply technologies and solutions to complex health and social
challenges. This means bringing together scientists, industry
experts and social science researchers to find ways to lower the
cost of new technologies by converting them into easily accessible
services.
Genomics and Policy in Ottawa
An International workshop on ‘Regulating biotechnology: At
the interface between science and ethics’ was held in Ottawa
on April 27th, 2011. Lyne Létourneau, an expert in the ethics of
animal biotechnology, was the main organizer of the event, which
featured research on public expertise, corporate responsibility
and misrepresentations of publics in the development of GM food
policies. The event was sponsored by VALGEN, EmbryoGENE and
several other genome centres and universities.
On April 28th, 2011, Genome Canada hosted a policy event on
Intellectual Property (IP) (see www.genomecanada.ca/en/ge3ls/
policy-portal/). Richard Gold and Jeremy De Beer presented a
paper on IP management and received comments from several
experts from across Canada, including Emily Marden (UBC) and
Angus Livingstone (University-Industry Liaison Office, UBC).
ENVIRONMENT POLICY LAW PHILOSOPHY ECONOMICS HEALTH SOCIOLOGY HISTORY
GENOMICS & SOCIET Y SPRING 2011 06
SNAP SHOTS
CECILIA BENOIT, Professor of Sociology at the
University of Victoria (UVic), studies health issues
in socially marginalized and vulnerable female
populations. Her research focuses upon the
relationship between gender, health and social
stigmas and is heavily informed by her community
outreach activities. The award winning scholar and community
advocate is the newest addition to Genome BC’s Genomics,
Society and Ethics Advisory Committee (GSEAC). Her communitybased research has focused upon improving the dignity of the
underprivileged by enhancing the delivery and range of social and
community resources available to vulnerable populations. This has
involved changing the way the health of Aboriginal females, obese
adolescents and homeless youths is assessed and by working to
develop client-based models for delivery of services.
Benoit’s interest in Genomics and Society issues is
its ability to “draw attention to the societal impact of genomic
investment, especially in regard to its capacity to reduce serious
medical problems and…[to address] health inequities in society.”
Benoit also believes that her current research into the social
determinants of health can help to improve the implementation
of technology. On the role of social scientists she notes that, “it
[is]…valuable to involve sociologists at the early stages of genedisease and gene-environment research…[they can] survey health
professionals and the general public about the societal value
of proposed research.” Benoit believes that social scientists, in
particular sociologists, can make significant contributions to the
application of genomics technologies in health and natural resources.
JUSTIN DOMARESKI is the Genomics and Society Intern for
2011. He recently graduated from Simon Fraser University with a
Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours), where he majored in Political
Science. He has research experience in natural resources policy and
will begin a masters degree in public policy at SFU in September.
The GENOMICS SOCIETY AND ETHICS ADVISORY
COMMITTEE’s annual retreat will focus upon the Socio-Economic
Contexts of Innovation. Economist Kees van Kooten of UVic and
Sharon Terry of Genetic Alliance will be the keynote speakers.
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Conferences
15th International Consortium on Applied Bioeconomy
Research Conference: Sustainability and the Bioeconomy;
Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy; Jun 26-29, 2011
Scientific Authority within Democratic Societies Workshop;
Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, Vancouver, BC;
June 27-28, 2011
5th International Conference on Communities &
Technologies; Queensland University of Technology,
Brisbane, Australia; June 29 - July 02, 2011
Atlanta Conference on Science Innovation
and Policy; September 15-17, 2011
Third Annual Conference of the Society for the Study of
Nanoscience and Emerging Technologies; Arizona State
University, Tempe, Arizona; November 7-10, 2011
Innovation, Diversity and Sustainable Development
in Areas of Social Vulnerability;
University of Massachusetts, Boston,
Massachusetts; November 17-18, 2011
Bridging the Gap between Research, Policy and Practice: The
importance of intermediaries in producing research impact;
ESRC Genomics Network, London, England; December 7, 2011
The American Society for the Advancement of Science conference:
Flattening the World: Building the Global Knowledge Society;
Vancouver, BC; February 16-20, 2012
Bio Wise 2012: Innovation and Sustainability;
Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia; April, 2012
Opportunities
Professional Masters degree in Science and Technology Policy,
Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes,
Arizona State University.
ABOUT US
Genome British Columbia is a catalyst for the life sciences cluster on Canada’s West Coast, and manages a
cumulative portfolio of over $450M in technology platforms and research projects. Working with governments,
academia and industry across sectors such as forestry, fisheries, agriculture, environment, bioenergy, mining and
human health, the goal of the organization is to generate social and economic benefits for British Columbia and
Canada. www.genomebc.ca
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