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GES Center Lectures, NC State University

GES Center Lectures, NC State University

By: Patti Mulligan
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 Recorded live from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this show explores how biotechnologies move from lab to life: microbiome engineering in buildings, CRISPR in agriculture and forestry, gene drives and integrated pest management, data governance and benefit-sharing, risk analysis and regulation, sci-art collaborations, and practical models of responsible innovation and public engagement. Episodes feature researchers, students, and community partners in candid conversations about decisions, trade-offs, and impacts. Learn more at go.ncsu.edu/ges and sign up for our newsletter at http://eepurl.com/c-PD_T. Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC StateCopyright 2026 Education Nature & Ecology Science Social Sciences
Episodes
  • S13E8 - Khara Grieger – Innovating for Sustainable Agrifood Futures

    S13E8 - Khara Grieger – Innovating for Sustainable Agrifood Futures
    Mar 31 2026
    Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice. Innovating for Sustainable Agrifood Futures Khara Grieger, PhD, Assistant Professor, Director of the GES Center at NC State | Profile Nelson 4305 + Zoom | This talk highlights USDA/NIFA-funded GES research on the societal implications of genetic engineering and nanotechnology in food and agriculture, drawing on stakeholder perspectives to inform responsible innovation. New and emerging technologies have the potential to deliver significant societal benefits and contribute to more sustainable futures. Genetic engineering in food and agriculture, for example, may enable the production of nutritious foods aligned with consumer preferences, support more environmentally sustainable protein production, and help develop crops that are resilient to a changing climate. Similarly, nanotechnology may improve the efficiency of agrochemical delivery through innovations such as nano-pesticides and nano-fertilizers and extend the shelf life of fresh-cut produce through nano-emulsion coatings. At the same time, past experiences with novel food and agricultural technologies—such as first-generation genetic modification—highlight the importance of understanding and addressing societal concerns early in the research and development process. Integrating these perspectives can help identify potential risks, align technological development with stakeholder priorities, and support responsible innovation. GES-centered research conducted through a USDA/NIFA-funded project examines the societal implications of genetic engineering and nanotechnology in the food and agriculture sectors. Drawing on stakeholder perspectives from case studies involving these technologies, the research highlights key societal considerations and offers recommendations for ensuring that emerging innovations contribute to sustainable agrifood futures. These insights may be particularly valuable for researchers developing new food and agricultural technologies involving genetic engineering or nanotechnology, offering guidance on potential societal implications and stakeholder perspectives. The presentation concludes with reflections on future research directions that align with GES’s mission of integrating scientific knowledge and diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology. Related links: Horgan et al., Stakeholder perceptions of GE and nano-agrifoods, 2025Cimadori et al., Gene Edited Animals, 2025Lowry et al., Nanotech for precision delivery, 2024Grieger and Kuzma, Novel Plant Biotech, 2023Kuzma et al., Parameters and practices biotech, 2023Download seminar poster Khara Grieger, PhD Dr. Grieger is currently an Assistant Professor in Environmental Health & Risk Assessment and University Faculty Scholar at NC State. She is also the new Director of the GES Center. Her research focuses on risk analysis and risk governance of emerging technologies, including genetic engineering. Her work also focuses on extending and translating complex knowledge to diverse stakeholders to inform decisions. In addition to Directing the GES Center, she is a Project Director of USDA/NIFA funded grants, Associate Director for the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NC State, and Co-Director of the NSF-funded Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center. She has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles and 13 book chapters on risk governance and stakeholder engagement related to emerging technologies. She is an Editor for Environment Systems and Decisions, and serves on the board of the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA). Before joining NC State, Dr. Grieger was a Senior Environmental Research Scientist at RTI International in the Health and Environmental Risk Analysis Program (2012–2019) and a Duke University Scholar (2017–2018). In those roles, she led independent research and provided technical support for federal agencies, including the FDA, EPA, NIOSH, and the U.S. Army. She obtained her PhD and MSc in Environmental Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark, where she lived and worked for nearly a decade. The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes. GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305. Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as "" rel="...
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • S13E7 - Timothy Stinson – The Ark and the Archive: Genetics, Manuscripts, and Biocodicology

    S13E7 - Timothy Stinson – The Ark and the Archive: Genetics, Manuscripts, and Biocodicology
    Mar 10 2026
    Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice. The Ark and the Archive: Genetics, Manuscripts, and the Emerging Field of Biocodicology Nelson 4305 + Zoom | What can genetics tell us about old books? This talk explores how next-generation sequencing and other biomolecular tools are opening exciting new frontiers in medieval manuscript studies. Medieval parchment manuscripts have long been studied as repositories of textual and historical information, but they are equally remarkable as repositories of biological data. Biocodicology, or the study of books through the lens of the biological information they contain, is an emerging interdisciplinary field that brings together humanists, scientists, veterinarians, and conservation scientists to ask new questions of old cultural heritage artifacts. This talk introduces the field and traces its development, from early experiments confirming DNA survival in parchment to current collaborative work employing next-generation sequencing, palaeoproteomics, and microbiome analysis. Drawing on nearly two decades of research into the genetic analysis of medieval manuscripts, I will discuss the considerable potential of biocodicological methods for addressing long standing humanistic questions, including localizing and dating manuscripts, reconstructing dispersed leaves from books, tracing the medieval parchment trade, and resolving debates about individual books, while also opening entirely new lines of inquiry into animal husbandry, breed development, and the history of human-animal interaction. The talk concludes by reflecting on both the opportunities and challenges in conducting this work. Related links: Evaluating non-destructive sampling methods of parchment for genomic sequencing – Diaz, L.D., Scheible, M., Stinson, T.L. et al. npj Herit. Sci. , 2025The development of non-destructive sampling methods of parchment skins for genetic species identification – Scheible, M., Stinson, T. L. , et al. Plos One , 2024Download seminar poster Timothy Stinson, PhD Associate Professor at North Carolina State University | Profile Timothy Stinson is Associate Professor of English and a University Faculty Scholar at North Carolina State University, where his research focuses on Middle English poetry, codicology, history of the book, and digital humanities. He is a leader in applying digital technologies to medieval studies, serving as co-founder and co-director of the Medieval Electronic Scholarly Alliance, director of the Society for Early English and Norse Electronic Texts, co-director of the Piers Plowman Electronic Archive, and is editor of The Siege of Jerusalem Electronic Archive. Stinson has pioneered the use of DNA analysis to study medieval manuscripts, collaborating with colleagues in the biological sciences to analyze genetic material found in parchment. This innovative work has garnered international press coverage in outlets including the BBC’s The World Today, National Geographic, Science, and The Chronicle of Higher Education. His work has been supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Council on Information and Library Resources, and the Bibliographical Society of America. He has published in leading journals including Speculum, The Chaucer Review, Manuscript Studies, and The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America. The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes. GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great opportunity for our students to build their networks and grow as professionals. To support their efforts, we encourage you to join our in-person seminars, which will now take place in Nelson 4305. Remember, we regularly post colloquium seminars as "" rel="nofollow">videos on Panopto and on our "" rel="nofollow">GES Lectures podcast, allowing you to revisit or catch up on these recordings at your convenience. Please subscribe to the GES newsletter and LinkedIn for updates. Genetic Engineering and Society Center Colloquium Home | Zoom Registration | Watch Colloquium Videos | LinkedIn | Newsletter GES Center at NC State University—Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology. Produced by Patti Mulligan, Communications Director, GES Center, NC State Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co
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    54 mins
  • S13E6 - Carter Clinton - Soil Secrets Unlock Equitable Futures

    S13E6 - Carter Clinton - Soil Secrets Unlock Equitable Futures
    Mar 3 2026
    Soil Secrets Unlock Equitable Futures Carter Clinton, PhD, Assistant Professor at NC State University GES Colloquium 3/10/2026 | Learn how burial soil genomics paired with descendant community partnership and bioethical data governance, can reconstruct buried histories and inform more equitable, socially accountable biomedical futures. __ Recorded from NC State’s GES Colloquium, this podcast examines how biotechnologies take shape in the world: microbiome engineering in built environments, gene editing and gene drives, forest and agricultural genomics, data governance and equity, risk and regulation, sci-art, and public engagement in practice. __ This talk will describe how applications of biotechnology, specifically DNA sequencing and computational genomics, are reshaping what we can learn about past communities while raising important questions about ethics, governance, and public trust. My lab develops non destructive approaches that recover DNA from burial soils, enabling research that minimizes disturbance of human remains and expands the scientific toolkit for studying historical populations. I will share what this technology can and cannot tell us about ancestry, health, and environmental context, and why careful interpretation matters when working with complex, sensitive samples. Using the Hillsborough Legacy Project as a case study, I will show how we integrate burial soil genomics and archaeological evidence from a historically enslaved population with saliva derived DNA from local living descendants, paired with genealogical and health surveys and community interviews. I will demonstrate how this combined design strengthens inference by linking molecular signals to documented histories and lived experience, while also requiring explicit attention to bioethical practice, including consent, governance of data use, and responsible communication of results. A central theme is how scientific innovation and social responsibility must be built together. I will discuss how descendant community partnership, consent, and data governance influence research design, what counts as evidence, and how results are communicated and used. The broader impacts extend beyond any single site. These methods can broaden representation in genomics, inform more equitable approaches to precision medicine, and provide communities with scientifically grounded narratives that complement archival records and oral histories. The talk will highlight how biotechnology interacts with society through questions of ownership, benefit sharing, and the risks of misinterpretation, and why interdisciplinary collaboration across biological sciences, social sciences, and the humanities is essential for responsible, high impact research. Related links: Persistent human-associated microbial signatures in burial soils from the 17th and 18th century New York African burial ground , CK Clinton , FLC Jackson – ISME Communications , 2025Core issues, case studies, and the need for expanded Legacy African American genomics , F Jackson, CK Clinton , J Caldwell – Frontiers in Genetics , 2023www.carterclinton.comDownload seminar poster Carter Clinton, PhD Assistant Professor at North Carolina State University | Profile Dr. Carter Clinton is a genetic anthropologist, National Geographic Explorer, and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at North Carolina State University, where he directs the Ancestry, Soil, Health, and Evolutionary Studies (ASHES) Lab. He earned his PhD in Biology at Howard University and completed postdoctoral training at Pennsylvania State University. His research advances non-destructive genomics for historical populations, including work at the New York African Burial Ground that helped establish recovery and authentication of human ancient DNA (aDNA) from burial soils as an alternative to destructive skeletal sampling. The ASHES Lab applies these methods to newly documented burial sites in North Carolina, integrating soil derived human, microbial, plant, and animal aDNA using targeted and shotgun sequencing and unique bioinformatic pipelines (specific to highly fragmented, soil derived DNA) to connect molecular signatures with archaeological and archival context. With descendant community partnership, the lab compares human aDNA with genetic data from local living descendants, alongside health and genealogical surveys, and interviews, to support an evolutionary medicine framework that links ancestry, the environment, and social determinants of health to contemporary disease risk. Ethical stewardship, consent, data governance, and benefit sharing are embedded in each project. The Genetic Engineering and Society (GES) Colloquium is a seminar series that brings in speakers to present and stimulate discussion on a variety of topics related to existing and proposed biotechnologies and their place within broader societal changes. GES Colloquium is taught by Dr. Zack Brown, and the seminars serve as a great ...
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    1 hr and 1 min
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