Ellen Jorgensen

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Ellen D. Jorgensen [1] (born 2 June 1955) is a New York-based molecular biologist leading the do-it-yourself biology movement. She works to increase scientific literacy in the general population, particularly in the fields of molecular and synthetic biology. [2] [3] She is a co-founder of both Biotech Without Borders and Genspace. [2] In 2017, Ellen Jorgensen was named one of the Most Creative Leaders in Business by Fast Company. [3]

Contents

Education and career

Ellen Jorgensen graduated from New York University (NYU) in 1977 with a B.A. in Biology. She then went on to earn both her MA and MPhil in Biological Sciences from Columbia University in 1979 and 1981, respectively. [4] Jorgensen returned to NYU where she obtained her Ph.D. in Cell and Molecular Biology in 1987 from the Sackler Institute. [5] She later went to SUNY Downstate as a post-doc to continue research in protein structure and function. [5]

Jorgensen devoted many years of her career to various positions within the biotechnology sector. [5] She spent eight years, from 2001 to 2009, as the Director of Biomarker Discovery and Development at Vector Research, researching early biomarkers of tobacco-related lung disease. [5] In 2009, she co-founded the community biohacker space, Genspace. [6] In 2017, Jorgensen founded Biotech Without Borders, a second nonprofit community biotechnology lab. [3]

Ellen Jorgensen is currently adjunct faculty at The Cooper Union in New York City. [2] She has given two TED talks: "Biohacking -- you can do it, too" and "What you need to know about CRISPR", which have received over two million views. [2]

Genspace

In 2009, Ellen Jorgensen co-founded Genspace, the first nonprofit community biotech lab. In 2010, Jorgensen initiated Genspace's curriculum of informal science education, leading to the company being named one the World's Top 10 Innovative Companies in Education. [2] [7] [8] The goal of Genspace is to increase scientific literacy in the general public by providing classes and workshops, as well as a space for community members to get involved in a biotechnology laboratory. [9] In March 2017, Ellen Jorgensen stepped down from her role as execute director, to be replaced by Genspace co-founder, Daniel Grushkin. [10] Jorgensen became president emeritus. [10]

While Genspace was created with the goal of making scientific literacy more accessible, the organization was met with criticism by those that felt that hands-on science should be left to the professionals. [9] Despite this criticism, Genspace has continued on, along with a larger community of hacker spaces opening worldwide, fostering an open environment of scientific collaboration and learning between amateurs and professionals. [9] [6]

Genspace is located in Brooklyn, New York. The lab follows Biosafety Level 1 restrictions. [11] Different membership tiers are offered providing access to events, classes, lab access, participation to community projects, and more. [12] In the spring of 2018, community projects will be offered in the fields of mycoremediation, open plant collaboration, and optogenetics. [13]

Accolades

Biotech Without Borders

In 2017, Ellen Jorgensen stepped down from her leadership role at Genspace in order to found Biotech Without Borders, where she now acts as President. [3] [2] Biotech Without Borders is a Brooklyn, New York based nonprofit public charity dedicated to enabling communities underrepresented in the biotechnology field to gain hands-on biotech lab experience. [15] Biotech Without Borders focuses on providing a Biosafety Level 2 lab space, distributing biotech resources to labs worldwide, and engaging the public through hands-on lab classes, workshops, and events. [16] It is the first Biosafety Level 2 lab open for public projects. Compared to Genspace, Biotech Without Borders seeks to facilitate engagement with more authentic high-level science.

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

Chromatin is a complex of DNA and protein found in eukaryotic cells. The primary function is to package long DNA molecules into more compact, denser structures. This prevents the strands from becoming tangled and also plays important roles in reinforcing the DNA during cell division, preventing DNA damage, and regulating gene expression and DNA replication. During mitosis and meiosis, chromatin facilitates proper segregation of the chromosomes in anaphase; the characteristic shapes of chromosomes visible during this stage are the result of DNA being coiled into highly condensed chromatin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lung cancer</span> Malignant tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in lung tissue

Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged airway cells gain the ability to multiply unchecked, causing the growth of a tumor. Without treatment, tumors spread throughout the lung, damaging lung function. Eventually lung tumors metastasize, spreading to other parts of the body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phytohaemagglutinin</span> Toxic lectin

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flow cytometry</span> Lab technique in biology and chemistry

Flow cytometry (FC) is a technique used to detect and measure physical and chemical characteristics of a population of cells or particles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passive smoking</span> Inhalation of tobacco smoke by persons other than the intended active smoker

Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called passive smoke, secondhand smoke (SHS) or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by individuals other than the active smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke diffuses into the surrounding atmosphere as an aerosol pollutant, which leads to its inhalation by nearby bystanders within the same environment. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes many of the same diseases caused by active smoking, although to a lower prevalence due to the reduced concentration of smoke that enters the airway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health effects of tobacco</span> Circumstances, mechanisms, and factors of tobacco consumption on human health

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Body hacking is the application of the hacker ethic in pursuit of enhancement or change to the body's functions through technological means, such as do-it-yourself cybernetic devices or by introducing biochemicals.

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Genetically modified plants have been engineered for scientific research, to create new colours in plants, deliver vaccines, and to create enhanced crops. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of Agrobacterium for the delivery of sequences hosted in T-DNA binary vectors. Many plant cells are pluripotent, meaning that a single cell from a mature plant can be harvested and then under the right conditions form a new plant. This ability is most often taken advantage by genetic engineers through selecting cells that can successfully be transformed into an adult plant which can then be grown into multiple new plants containing transgene in every cell through a process known as tissue culture.

Third-hand smoke is contamination by tobacco smoke that lingers following the extinguishing of a cigarette, cigar, or other combustible tobacco product. First-hand smoke refers to what is inhaled into the smoker's own lungs, while second-hand smoke is a mixture of exhaled smoke and other substances leaving the smoldering end of the cigarette that enters the atmosphere and can be inhaled by others. Third-hand smoke or "THS" is a neologism coined by a research team from the Dana–Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, where "third-hand" is a reference to the smoking residue on surfaces after "second-hand smoke" has cleared out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MDC1</span> Protein-coding gene in the species Homo sapiens

Mediator of DNA damage checkpoint protein 1 is a 2080 amino acid long protein that in humans is encoded by the MDC1 gene located on the short arm (p) of chromosome 6. MDC1 protein is a regulator of the Intra-S phase and the G2/M cell cycle checkpoints and recruits repair proteins to the site of DNA damage. It is involved in determining cell survival fate in association with tumor suppressor protein p53. This protein also goes by the name Nuclear Factor with BRCT Domain 1 (NFBD1).

Do-it-yourself biology is a biotechnological social movement in which individuals, communities, and small organizations study biology and life science using the same methods as traditional research institutions. DIY biology is primarily undertaken by individuals with limited research training from academia or corporations, who then mentor and oversee other DIY biologists with little or no formal training. This may be done as a hobby, as a not-for-profit endeavor for community learning and open-science innovation, or for profit, to start a business.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Staiano-Coico</span> American academic

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Choulika</span>

André Choulika is a biotechnologist, the inventor of nuclease-based genome editing and a pioneer in the analysis and use of meganucleases to modify complex genomes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genspace</span> Non-profit organization in Brooklyn, NY

Genspace is a non-profit organization and a community biology laboratory located in Brooklyn, New York. Stemming from the hacking, biohacking, and DIYbio movements, Genspace has focused on supporting citizen science and public access to biotechnology. Genspace opened the first community biology lab in 2010 and a Biosafety Level One laboratory in December of that year. Since its opening, Genspace has supported projects, events, courses, art, and general community resources concerning biology, biotechnology, synthetic biology, genetic engineering, citizen science, open source software, open source hardware, and more.

Ryan Bethencourt is an American scientist, entrepreneur, and biohacker best known for his work as co-founder and CEO of Wild Earth, Partner at Babel Ventures and cofounder and former Program Director at IndieBio, a biology accelerator and early stage seed fund. Bethencourt was head of life sciences at the XPRIZE foundation, a co-founder and CEO of Berkeley Biolabs, a biotech accelerator, and Halpin Neurosciences, an ALS therapeutics-focused biotech company. Bethencourt co-founded Counter Culture Labs, a citizen science nonprofit, and Sudo Room, a hacker space based in downtown Oakland, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zbyszek Darzynkiewicz</span> Polish-American cell biologist (1936–2021)

Zbigniew (Zbyszek) Darzynkiewicz was a Polish-American cell biologist active in cancer research and in developing new methods in histochemistry for flow cytometry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open Insulin Project</span> Project to develop an open source protocol for producing insulin

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References

  1. ↑ "Ellen D. Jorgensen". Bio Art, SVA NYC (bioart.sva.edu).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ellen Jorgensen". Global Community Bio Summit. Archived from the original on 2018-06-19. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Ellen Jorgensen- THNK School of Creative Leadership". THNK. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  4. ↑ "Ellen Jorgensen | LinkedIn" . Retrieved 2017-03-27.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Aiolova, Maria. "ONE Lab". www.onelab.org. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  6. 1 2 Jorgensen, Ellen. "Ellen Jorgensen | Speaker | TED" . Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  7. 1 2 3 "Support Us". Genspace. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  8. 1 2 "The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies In Education". Fast Company. 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  9. 1 2 3 Jorgensen, Ellen. "Transcript of "Biohacking -- you can do it, too"" . Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  10. 1 2 3 "Ellen Jorgensen stepping down as head of Genspace, Daniel Grushkin to replace - Technical.ly Brooklyn". Technical.ly Brooklyn. 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  11. ↑ "About the Lab". Genspace. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  12. ↑ "Join the Lab". Genspace. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  13. ↑ "Community Projects". Genspace. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  14. ↑ "Here's who won the Brooklyn Innovation Awards last night - Technical.ly Brooklyn". Technical.ly Brooklyn. 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  15. ↑ "About Us". Biotech Without Borders. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  16. ↑ "Our Mission And History". Biotech Without Borders. Archived from the original on 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
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