Explaining SynBio to your grandparents - with Dr. Jenny Molloy
In this new blog post series, we are asking researchers in the field of SynBio to explain their research topic in plain language. This comes from our need to improve our ability to explain our work to the people who don’t have the same skill set to understand the complex scientific jargon, for example: our grandparents! This can be done by “translating” our scientific language into plain language, which is defined as a language that is clear and easy to understand, without unnecessarily difficult words or jargon terms (1).
Key words for this blog post:
Synthetic Biology (SynBio) is an emerging discipline that aims to use unnatural (synthetic) parts to recreate existing functions, as well as using existing parts, like specific genes, to create new functionalities (2).
Evolutionary genetics studies the changes that happen in the genes can affect the and how these can affect the evolution of the species over time (3).
iGEM (international genetically modified machinery) is a Synthetic Biology competition where teams from all over the word compete with innovative projects that aim to solve a real-life problem.
Polymerase chain reaction (abbreviated PCR) is a laboratory technique that allows for rapid production of a DNA fragment (4). It has a wide variety of applications ranging from diagnostic to biotechnology research.
Open science consists in a framework of principles and practices that allow both society and scientists to access all kinds of scientific research and benefit from it (5).
Dr. Jenny Molloy is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, where she leads the Open Bioeconomy Lab, and recently became the Biomanufacturing group leader at the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in Trieste. In her work, she uses Synthetic Biology approaches to provide solutions for biomanufacturing in settings where resources are limited, primarily countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. She obtained her PhD at the University of Oxford on an industrial studentship, through which she spent time at Oxitec, a biotechnology company that provides solutions to combat mosquito species that transmit deadly diseases around the world. And that is where she got in contact with the field of genetic engineering. Moreover, throughout her university studies, she was interested in the intersection of science, society and law with open sharing and collaboration. With Jenny, we spoke about her research, how to explain it in plain language but also about communication between different disciplines and openness in science.
We firstly asked Jenny if she could explain what her research is about: “I use synthetic biology approaches to engineer solutions for manufacturing biotechnologies in resource-limited settings, primarily low- and middle-income countries where research and innovation get held up because the supply chains for biotechnology tools are very expensive and slow”. Furthermore, Jenny explained to us: “This project was born with the idea to put together an end-to-end protein biomanufacturing pipeline that is deployable and accessible for labs around the world. For example, by including a library of protein expression plasmids for really useful enzymes, like DNA polymerases, and all kinds of standard molecular biology reagents in one place.” This reminds us of something very familiar: iGEM distribution kit! By providing a toolkit that is openly available and tailored to producing molecular biology reagents at low cost, the idea of the Open Enzyme Collection is to improve access for all researchers who need enzymes for their work, whether that is in disease surveillance, crop engineering, biodiversity monitoring or any other field.
“How would you describe your research topic but in plain language, this time?” we then asked. She started with a very good tip: “I generally begin from the things that everybody knows about, for example how access to health technologies and to science is very uneven around the world. I think everybody understands that some countries have a lot of resources and others don't.” From this, she explains that to improve the research workflow and access to diagnostics in developing countries, it is fundamental to gain autonomy in biomanufacturing, but this is quite an obscure concept for many people. Giving examples that people are familiar with, helps them to visualise the problem and solution. For example, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most members of the public now know that PCR techniques are critical for research and for diagnostics. So people see the importance of easy access to PCR reagents, and hence familiarise themselves with the goals of Jenny’s research. When we asked Jenny for one more plain language exercise - how would you describe the word “biomanufacturing” - she told us that, to describe this word, she would make a comparison with agriculture. For example, since we have been using biology to produce (manufacture) things that we need, such as sugar, oils and chemicals, for a long time, we can just describe “biomanufacturing” as a different way to produce interesting and useful material with biology, but this time in different organisms and potentially with genetic engineering.
This exercise of describing our own research topic without scientific jargon is something that we are not used to doing. But it helps to reach people outside our SynBio field. This becomes useful, not only when we want to explain SynBio to our grandparents, but also to improve our communication, and hence collaboration, with researchers of different disciplines. Jenny is also interested in global health challenges, sustainability and policy, so we asked her if she finds any challenges during her policy engagement with professionals from a wide range of backgrounds. “It’s almost like speaking another language. I still wouldn't say that I'm fluent in policy or social science concepts and terminology, but I feel like I understand enough to get by and communicate effectively, in ways that can bridge some of the disciplinary differences in perspectives and priorities. I enjoy stepping outside my comfort zone in that way”. Jenny has always been interested in the interface between science and society and law, and used to be the president of a science magazine in Cambridge, called the Triple Helix, which published articles bridging all three topics. Moreover, she highlighted that when working on a multidisciplinary project, we should be more open to the fact that our viewpoint is not necessarily the most important one or the correct one all the time, and should be curious and listen to others. Only in this way, can we converge on a better understanding of each other's research, which will lead to better collaborations, decision making and overall achieve the common objectives.
Lastly with Jenny, we discussed her thoughts on open science. She told us how she has been involved in open data and open science movements since she was an undergraduate, but feels that general advocacy is a less productive use of her time now that these ideas are strongly embedded in research policy, funding and practices. Her interest is now in open hardware and biological research tools, which she first encountered during her PhD. At that time, the SynBio field was blooming and she found the approach of this discipline very interesting due to the sharing and open source working practices that were embedded from its origins. Now she specifically focuses on the area where she feels her specific experiences and expertise can make the most difference: open science platforms and tools to make biotechnology and biomanufacturing more equitably distributed around the world. Building such platforms, though, requires people and time: about 50 years to see a significant transformation of the field, Jenny estimates. But this doesn’t get her down: “You've got to be in for the long haul and quite motivated by making small changes along the way!”.
Understanding how to communicate with different audiences is a key skill for a scientist. Jenny gave us some interesting food for thought, such as how to explain SynBio with examples close to everyday life, how important communication is among different disciplines and the importance of open science. During our chat, Jenny remarked how it is important to enjoy the work and projects you are involved in. Specifically, she says that for her to feel motivated and fulfilled, it is important that she is working on mission or challenge-led research, but that basic science and curiosity-driven research is also essential. While that’s not her niche in the scientific ecosystem, she greatly enjoys reading about fundamental discoveries, because biology is always full of surprises. We share Jenny´s curiosity for science (especially SynBio!) and we recognize how crucial it is to have platforms to freely access and share science with fellow SynBio (but not only) peers as well as with our grandparents!
We thank Dr. Jenny Molloy for taking part in the first blog of this new series and you can find her latest publications here. And you can get in touch with us here, if you are also interested in sharing your research topic in plain language!
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