Communities of DIYbio

[Andrew Bartlett]

Hello, and forgive me for intruding on your group.

I am an experienced sociologist of science based at the University of York. Recently, I have been given a small amount of time to conduct exploratory research on DIYbio communities. This will consist of a small number of interviews with UK and US-based DIY biologists, as well as two/three visits to UK DIYbio laboratories and meet-ups. Drawing on Science and Technology Studies analytical approaches, the research will begin the exploration of the epistemic and cultural dynamics of DIYBio, its boundaries and definition of ‘good science’, and its relationship with ‘orthodox’ scientific institutions. The hope is that this project will build a network of potential research participants that would be the basis for a funding application for further, more in-depth research.

Participating in the Project

If you are involved in DIYbio activities, you would be a suitable interviewee for this project. Your experience and expertise will make an invaluable contribution to our understanding of how and why DIYbio communities are developing in the UK and the USA. The interview will last between 40 minutes and 1 hour. With your consent, an audio recording will be made of the interview. Interviews will be organised at a time and location that suits you and will be conducted via video calling software if a face-to-face meeting would be impractical. The audio recording of the interview will be transcribed and anonymised for analysis. Findings, containing anonymised extracts from these transcripts, may be written up and published in peer-reviewed journals.

If you would like to participate in this project, or if you have any questions, please contact me. A full information sheet and consent form will be sent by email. This project has been reviewed by, and received ethics clearance through the University of York Economics, Law, Management, Politics and Sociology Ethics Committee (ELMPS).

Contact Details

Dr Andrew Bartlett

Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU), Department of Sociology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD.

Tel: 01904 32 3052.

Email: andrew....@york.ac.uk

Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU): https://www.york.ac.uk/satsu/

[Jonathan Cline]

Your time is better spent on a different topic.  Like investigating the attempted applications of synbio in the DoD.