Program on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard

Harvard Kennedy School of Government | Harvard University

Bio + Society Collaboratory

Since its founding, the Harvard STS Program has advanced scholarship at the intersection of society and the biological and biomedical sciences and technologies. Over more than a decade, STS training and research collaborations at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels have given rise to an active international network. The Bio + Society Collaboratory seeks to strengthen and grow this network of STS scholars who share topical concerns and methodological approaches, theoretical commitments and disciplinary orientations. Profiles and publications of Collaboratory affiliates are listed below. Bioconstitutionalism is a core STS theory that unites much of this work, and a research platform on bioconstitutionalism will soon be available on this website. Individuals wishing to learn more about the Bio + Society Collaboratory or who are interesting in participating should contact the director or co-directors.

Leadership

Sheila Jasanoff, Director
Benjamin Hurlbut, Co-director
Krishanu Saha, Co-director

Major Outputs

Research projects

Since 2010, Sheila Jasanoff and co-directors Benjamin Hurlbut and Krishanu Saha have successfully won and administered a series of research grants aimed at understanding the intersections of biology, society, and law. These include a major NSF grant, grants from the Greenwall Foundation and Faraday Institute, and a residence fellowship at the Brocher Foundation. Together, these grants have laid the groundwork for Harvard’s unique role in investigating the politics and ethics of the life sciences and technologies.

Summer 2015 – Science and Governance at the Frontiers of Life (Brocher Foundation residence fellowship)
December 2012 – Biology and the Law (Uses and Abuses of Biology, Faraday Institute, University of Cambridge)
June 2011 – Life in the Gray Zone: Governance of New Biology in Europe, South Korea, and the United States (NSF)
May 2010 – The Constitutional Foundations of Bioethics: A Cross-National Comparison (Greenwall Foundation)

Selected Joint Publications

Collaboratory directors and affiliates have collectively written more than 200 books and articles exploring the themes of bio+society in venues that range from scientific journals to the popular media. A searchable database containing all publications by all affiliates in the Collaboratory is available here.

October 2015 – Ben Hurlbut, Kris Saha, and Sheila Jasanoff publish an article on CRISPR in Issues in Science and Technology.
October 2011 – Kris Saha and Ben Hurlbut publish “Research Ethics: Treat Donors As Partners In Biobank Research” in Nature
February 2011 – Kris Saha and Ben Hurlbut publish “Disease Modeling Using Pluripotent Stem Cells: Making Sense Of Disease From Bench To Bedside” in Swiss Medical Weekly

Summer Schools

Collaboratory directors have organized a succession of summer schools to advance STS research and education at the frontiers of bio+society. These summer schools have provided extraordinary opportunities for students and scholars from around the world to deepen their STS scholarship over several days in an immersive and collaborative environment.

Summer 2016 – “Disclosing/Enclosing Knowledge in the Life Sciences,” University of Wisconsin-Madison
Summer 2014 – “Science and Governance at the Frontiers of Life,” Cambridge, MA
Summer 2011 – “EMBL Science and Society Summer School: The Human Animal” (offered in collaboration with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory), Heidelberg, Germany
Summer 2008 – “Deconstructing and Reconstructing Life: From Classification to Design” (offered in collaboration with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the European School of Molecular Medicine in Milan), Heidelberg, Germany

News and Events

Through workshops and panels held across the country and the globe, Collaboratory directors and affiliates find venues to broaden the reach of their scholarship, networks, and impact.

May 2015 – “Making Sense of Clinical Translation: Ethical, Regulatory and Policy Challenges” workshop at Brocher Foundation in Switzerland organized by Erik Aarden, Alessandro Blasimme, Dustin Holloway, and Luca Morelli
March 2014 – “Bodies of Data: Public Participation, Governance, and the New Bioinformatics” workshop at Arizona State University convened by Benjamin Hurlbut features commentary by Sheila Jasanoff and Collaboratory members Kris Saha, Erik Aarden, and Jenny Reardon.
April 2012 – “Architectures for Life” workshop features keynote by Anne Wojcicki and commentary by Sheila Jasanoff and Collaboratory members Tania Simoncelli, Ruha Benjamin, and Ben Hurlbut.

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