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
Ecological Relationships of Mosquito Disease Vectors: Anticipating Risk Assessment of Gene Drive Technologies
Stephanie James, Hector Quemada and David O'Brochta, GeneConvene Global Collaborative, 2021.
GeneConvene Global Collaborative
Webinar Series:
Ecological Relationships of Mosquito Disease Vectors:
Anticipating Risk Assessment of Gene Drive Technologies
April 21, 28, May 5, 12, 19
11 am- 12:30pm
(Washington, D.C.)
An often-raised concern for the development of genetically modified mosquito technologies, particularly those involving gene drive, as tools to prevent disease transmission is the limitation of our understanding of the roles these species may play within the ecosystem. This series of webinars begins to explore what is known about the ecological relationships of mosquito vectors with regard to major types of species interactions. The speakers also will describe some of the methods by which potential interactions that may impact human or animal health and the environment can be examined in the context of case-by-case risk assessment and safety testing.
Each seminar will consist of two 30-minutes presentation followed by questions and answers.
There will be 2 speakers per meeting. Each will speak for 30 minutes followed by a joint question and answer session.
Not a convenient time? Each webinar will be recorded and promptly posted on the GeneConvene Virtual Institute,
| April 21, 2021 |
Theme: Interspecific competition |
Competition, coexistence, and exclusion among Aedes mosquitoes: insights from ecological theory.Speaker: Steven Juliano, Ph.D. Illinois State University |
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A systematic review assessing the potential for release of vector species from competition following insecticide-based population suppression of Anopheles species in AfricaSpeaker: John Connolly, Ph.D. Imperial College London |
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| April 28, 2021 |
Theme: Non-target effects and predator/competitor interactions |
Understanding the risks vs benefits of classical biological control programs for crop pests: Case studies from AfricaSpeaker: Ivan Rwomushana, Ph.D. CABI, Nairobi, Kenya |
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What does eat an Anopheles ? Potential ecosystem effects of focused species reductions.Speaker: Tilly Collins, Ph.D. Imperial College London |
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| May 5, 2021 |
Theme: Symbiosis and mutualism |
Mosquito-microbe interactions: are there implications for gene drives?.Speaker: Nsa Dada,, Ph.D. Mosquito Microbiome Consortium |
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Pollination of plants by mosquitoes: Do some plants depend on disease vectors to transfer their pollen?Speaker: Woody Foster, Ph.D. Ohio State University |
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| May 12, 2021 |
Theme: Hybridization and gene flow among African Anopheles species |
How likely is Anopheles hybridization and introgression?Speaker: Nora Besansky, Ph.D. Notre Dame University |
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Assessing the impact of landscape features on gene flow of malaria mosquitoes in Kenya.Speaker: Guiyun Yan, Ph.D. University of California, Irvine |
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| May 19 2021 |
Theme: Parasitism and vector competence |
Laboratory methods to study mosquito infections with pathogens.Speaker: Stephen Higgs, Ph.D. Kansas State University |
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Relative potential for harm of pathogens vectored by Anopheles gambiae s.l.Speaker: Geoff Hosack, Ph.D. CSIRO |
