5 RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION
Both the future of yeast research and the synthetic cell movement have
wholly engaged with the discourse of responsible research and
innovation. Not only has this covered biosafety, bio-ethics, biosecurity
and the emerging world of cyberbiosecurity (McLennan, 2018; Peccoud et
al., 2018), but it now must contemplate and develop new models of
international engagement and collaboration that hedge emerging themes of
geopolitical risk (Dixon, 2021). The future of biology is full of basic
research questions that can only be achieved through international
collaborative consortia (Hillson et al., 2019). For example,
mega-projects that require modular approaches to decade-long initiatives
such as developing a synthetic cell. These kinds of projects are well
suited to scientific diplomacy objectives that keep communication lines
open between nations that might be competing in other economic, cultural
and political domains.
A Global Forum on Synthetic Biology has been proposed as a mechanism for
bringing together the global leadership of synthetic biology to ensure
responsible research and innovation continues to occur within meaningful
international collaborations (Dixon et al., 2022). The proposed Forum
has seven thematic objectives: (i) sharing information as a network
hub—benefits, risks, practical steps and lessons, and leveraging
scarce financial resources; (ii) developing agreed technical
consensus/guidance documents for use by policymakers and regulators that
do not prejudge different policy and political decisions; (iii) linking
synthetic biology practitioners more closely with multilateral
policymakers and international fora; (iv) facilitating increased global
collaborations and co-ordination, including initiatives for addressing
societal grand challenges or better integrating synthetic biology with
ongoing global efforts such as the UN’s Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) (French, 2019); (v) helping to ‘de-risk’ synthetic
biology, including security, governance, and finance/investment;
(vi) better integrating synthetic biology with broader initiatives
around the bioeconomy, sustainability, and bio-based production; and
(vii) developing systemic responses to issues of diversity and inclusion
in synthetic biology. Ensuring internationally engaged and collaborative
approaches to these objectives both advances and future proofs yeast
research at the highest levels internationally.