A few months ago I was invited to speak at the California Legislature Select Committee on Biotechnology. The other speakers covered a wide range of biotechnology, from the teachers leading an amazing high school biotech program in San Mateo (kids are getting 4 or 5 years of lab experience in high school), to Drew and Rob of synthetic biology fame.
Who makes innovation happen?
It was great to see that the committee was well aware that biotechnology is big, and getting bigger. But we’re missing innovators like the Wright brothers to get it off the ground. American innovators like Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright make innovation happen, and they started in a bicycle shop. The missing piece here is that biotech is hard. The face of global innovation in biotech will be teams of people working together, sharing, and learning, in hand with users and beneficiaries. The face of global innovation in biotech is a community lab, where everybodies and nobodies learn and share technology, safety, training, equipment, and an appreciation for respect for the biology that already surrounds us.
The idea of a community biotech lab is new and exciting, and at the same time very familiar in America. It’s shop class, a garage, a library, and a community center — with a biotech twist. If you’re interested in learning about the world’s first community lab, check out BioCurious.org. To get involved and put gas in the tank, consider become a Founding Member like me.
I’m proud to know that our leaders in California are excited about the future of biotechnology in the Bay Area. Open communication between communities is a luxury, not a right, and was a pleasure to have been given an open ear.
I’ve attached the agenda from the meeting, as well as the slides from my presentation.
Who-makes-innovation-happen-The-case-for-a-community-biotech-lab-in-the-Bay-Area
California Legislature Select Committee on Biotechnology: agenda – February 19
