Difference between revisions of "Team:Tufts/app scenario"

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On Friday, October 23, 2015 the Tufts Synthetic Biology team will be hosting a conference, Intellectual Property Law in the Age of Synthetic Biology: A Discussion on CRISPR/Cas9, with funding from Synenergene. We were inspired to hold a conference on this topic because of the current lawsuit between Dr. Jennifer Doudna and The Broad Institute of MIT over the patent rights to the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The conference will bring experts from a wide variety of fields including academia, law, policy, and business to have a public conversation with students and the general community on the implications of intellectual property law in the realm of synthetic biology.

Objectives:

The goal of the conference is to provide an opportunity for students to hear expert advice on the future of patent law related to synthetic biology. Attendees will learn about intellectual property issues they could face in the near future with regards to their own research, as well as hear opinions on current lawsuits related to this topic. The conference consists of two main components: speaker presentations and a discussion panel. Following the speakers’ individual presentations on their area of expertise, we will ask them a series of guided questions, which aim to delve deeper into the multi-faceted issues surrounding intellectual property law. We will then transition the discussion into an open forum, in which attendees can ask their own questions regarding their concerns.

Location – 51 Winthrop Street, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155
Date – Friday, October 23rd, 2015
Schedule

(8:00 – 8:30 AM)     Set-Up
(8:45 – 9:00 AM)     Speakers Arrival and Registration - Breakfast provided.
(9:00 – 9:15 AM)     Public Arrival and Registration - Refreshments provided
(9:15 – 9:30 AM)     Tufts Synthetic Biology Welcome and Introduction
(9:30 - 11:00 PM)     Speaker Presentations
                          David Taylor
                          Colm Lawler
                          Martha Bair Steinbock
(11:00 – 12:00 PM)   Lunch
(12:00 – 1:00 PM)     Keynote Speaker Presentation – Thomas Krause
(1:00 - 2:00 PM)       Discussion Panel followed by Open Forum
(2:00 – 2:30 PM)       Closing Ceremony

Sample Guided Questions

Should the government be able to grant patents over biological materials, such as specific genes or bioengineered systems?
The iGEM Foundation encourages student researchers to develop biobricks that are open-source and freely available to the scientific community. What is your opinion on this practice? Do you think students should be allowed to obtain patents for their research?
In regard to your area of expertise, do you think it is ethical to edit the human genome using CRISPR/Cas9? How do you foresee the government regulating this practice?

Thomas Krause – Patents and the Government

United States Patent and Trademark Office, Acting Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor

Thomas Krause is the General Counsel for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). An expert in his field, Mr. Krause has 13 years of experience defending patent cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. His work has also seen him assist the Solicitor General’s office in U.S Supreme Court cases involving copyrights and patents. Mr. Krause also teaches classes in Intellectual Property Appellate Advocacy and Intellectual Property Rights in Computer Software as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center.

David Taylor – CRISPR/Cas9 Research

Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University of California, Berkeley, California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, Postdoctoral Associate, Doudna Lab

David Taylor is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. Jennifer Doudna. He is currently researching cascade surveillance complexes, Cas9 RNA-guided endonucleases, and RNA-targeting type III CRISPR-Cas complexes. He graduated summa cum laude from Syracuse University with a B.S. in Biochemistry in 2008. Dr. Taylor received a M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University in 2010 and 2013 respectively, where he pursued research on the structural basis for RNA processing by human Dicer.

Colm Lawler – Technology Transfer and Licensing

Tufts University Technology Transfer & Industry Collaboration, Associate Director

Colm Lawler works with the Tufts University Technology Transfer and Industry Collaboration, primarily focusing his expertise to aid some of Tufts University's’ largest research hubs - Tufts Medical Center, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and the Humans Nutrition Research Center on Aging. As an Associate Director, Mr. Lawler plays a huge role in managing the intellectual property assets and licensing of technologies. Mr. Lawler is specifically skilled in dealing with patent issues regarding start-up company formation in the different life science fields.

Martha Bair Steinbock – Technology Transfer and Licensing

Tufts University Technology Transfer & Industry Collaboration, Associate Director

Martha Bair Steinbock is the Technology Transfer Coordinator for the Pacific West Area of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Her responsibilities include developing research partnerships with industry and negotiating licenses for ARS technologies. Prior to joining ARS, Ms. Steinbock worked in Washington, DC as an International Affairs Specialist for the USDA Office of Agricultural Biotechnology where she helped in the development of USDA biotechnology policies on such issues as international intellectual property agreements, and biosafety guidelines. Prior to joining to USDA, Ms. Steinbock worked for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. She received a M.A. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a B.A. from Portland State University.

Dr. Robin Pierce – Regulation and Policy, Translational Medicine

Senior Law and Ethics Associate, Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard Law School

Dr. Robin Pierce is Senior Law and Ethics Associate on Petrie-Flom’s collaboration with Harvard Catalyst. She obtained her PhD from Harvard University where she addressed policy, legal, and ethical aspect of integration of genetic technology into the healthcare system. Dr. Pierce is affiliated with several European institutions, including the Rathenau Instituut of the Netherlands. Dr. Pierce is a frequent international speaker on the policy, ethics, and legality of advancing biotechnology and translational medicine.

Robert Citorik – Bacteriophage Research

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Microbiology PhD Candidate, Lu Lab, MIT Synthetic Biology Center

Robert Citorik is a PhD Candidate in the lab of Professor Timothy Lu in the Microbiology Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He graduated with a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of New Hampshire where he explored toxin production in EHEC. Mr. Citorik continued in the field of pathogenic bacteria as a research assistant in the Infectious Disease department at Massachusetts General Hospital exploring the virulence factors in Salmonella and Vibrio cholerae. His current research focuses on the interface of synthetic biology and infectious diseases, specifically involving antibiotic resistance and enteric pathogens.

Dr. Sebastien Lemire – Bacteriophage Research

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Synthetic Biology Center

Dr. Sebatien Lemire is a post-doctoral fellow in the lab of Professor Timothy Lu in the Research Laboratory of Electronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He obtained his PhD in Microbiology and Bacterial Physiology from the University of Paris IX Orsay pursuing the genetic regulation of Salmonella prophages and their role in the spread of virulence factors. He then moved to Osaka to study an uncommon anti-T4 mechanism and its influence on the evolution of the T-even superfamily of phages. Mr. Lemire spent the last three years in Denmark where he got in touch with synthetic biology through mentoring two iGEM teams. His current research bring together his diverse

background in an effort to combat bacterial pathogens through the use of engineered phages.

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