The GeneConvene Virtual Institute aggregates, curates and shares knowledge to advance understanding of gene drive technologies and selfish genetic elements.
The GeneConvene Virtual Institute is an initiative of the GeneConvene Global Collaborative, a program within the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health that advances best practices for genetic biocontrol technologies such as those using gene drive.
Gene drive and other genetic biocontrol technologies are emerging technologies with implications for public health, conservation and agriculture. Conversations and discussions about these technologies will benefit from well-informed stakeholders and other interested parties.
Decisions by stakeholders regarding the research, development and possible use of gene drive and other biocontrol technologies will benefit from stakeholders having sources of knowledge of the scientific, social, safety and economic dimensions of these technologies.
Knowledge of gene drive and other genetic biocontrol technologies is growing rapidly but is fragmented and dispersed throughout the internet. The aim of the Virtual Institute is to bring knowledge of gene drive and other genetic biocontrol technologies together in one virtual location to make it readily accessible to those with interests in these technologies.
GeneConvene Virtual Institute eNewsletter
Of Special Interest
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health-GeneConvene Global Collaborative and The Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents (GBIRd) Partnership cordially invite you to participate in Considering the Case of Gene Drive Technologies Through Social Science Theories on Stakeholder Engagement. Through The Gene Drive Research Forum, The Genetic Biocontrol of Invasive Rodents (GBIRd) Partnership and The FNIH GeneConvene Global Collaborative are co-hosting a series of virtual panel discussions to provide a forum for social scientists, researchers and developers, funders, and other stakeholders engaged in or contemplating work in the gene drive technologies space to explore the case of gene drive technologies through social science theories on stakeholder engagement. A different panel will meet for 1.5 hours on the second Tuesday of each month for five months starting in February 2021 at 10 am US east coast time to discuss a specific topic and entertain questions from participants.
Panel discussions will be held virtually on February 9, March 9, April 13, May 11 and June 8, 2021.
The Latest About Gene Drive and Genetic Biocontrol
The GeneConvene Virtual Institute is built on a database of content in the categories shown in the tab labels below. Content coming into the Virtual Institute in these categories can be seen in each tab as well as all of the content in each of the categories, organized chronologically.
Featured Content
GeneConvene Webinar Series on: Ecological Modeling in Risk Assessment of Gene Drives
Hector Quemada and David O'Brochta, , 2021.
GeneConvene Global Collaborative
Webinar Series:
Ecological Modeling in Risk Assessment
of Gene Drives
March 10, 17, 24, 31
11 am- 12:30pm
(Washington, D.C.)
Risk assessment of gene drive organisms will require the development of new tools to complement established risk assessment methodologies for genetically modified organisms with the paradigm for risk assessment agreed to by most countries in the world being the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. One recognized need is the use of models to help predict the ecological consequences of released gene drive organisms. Unlike non-gene drive organisms, which can be limited in time and space and therefore provide data in small scale tests that can be relevant to large scale releases, the potential for large-scale spread gene drive-containing organisms even from a limited release and even in well-isolated trials, means that risk assessors will need to consider models and forecasts in their decision-making.
To date, this work has only started to receive attention. This series of four presentations deals with the development and use of models in ecology generally and some of these presentations will also deal with the use of models specifically to assess the ecological impacts of gene drive organisms.
Each seminar will be 45-50 minutes in length followed by questions and answers.
Not a convenient time? Each webinar will be recorded and promptly posted on the GeneConvene Virtual Institute, and questions will be taken for 48 hours after the initial presentation. The speaker’s responses will be attached to the original presentation.
| March 10, 2021 |
Use of models in environmental risk assessment for gene drive insects |
| Speakers: Drs. John Mumford1 and Michael Bonsall2, 1Imperial College London 2University of Oxford |
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| March 17, 2021 |
Qualitative Mathematical Modelling of Complex Systems |
| Speaker: Dr. Jeffery Dambacher, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization | |
| March 24, 2021 |
Embracing dynamic models for gene drive management |
| Speakers: Drs. Kim Pepin and Andrew Golnar, USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service | |
| March 31, 2021 |
The application of quantitative ecological risk assessment to the release of gene drives |
| Speaker: Dr. Wayne Landis, Western Washington University |
