This student story was published as part of the 2023 NASW Perlman Virtual Mentoring Program organized by the NASW Education Committee, providing science journalism practice and experience for undergraduate and graduate students.
Story by Asha Dees
Mentored and edited by John Baxt
In 2006, the advent of synthetic biology offered modern science a chance to reshape the world. In 2023, this promise has been upheld. The field’s application of engineering and design principles to biological systems has transformed drug manufacturing and healthcare research. Technological advances, such as CRISPR-Cas9, have been crucial, but the key contributor to recent successes in synthetic bio is very human. Innovation is coming from places that center our shared humanity.
UCLA anthropology professor Dr. Michael Scroggins notes that, “within large university academic and industry projects, there’s a whole world of ideas and angles to pursue that are just left dormant,” which DIYBio spaces have been exploring since the early 2000s. DIYbio, or do it yourself explorations of science, has spread in community labs and biohacking groups driven by passion, curiosity, and/or a desire for justice. This has led to projects like that of the Open Insulin Foundation which are disrupting typical approaches to human health issues.
From 2002-2013, the price of insulin in the United States tripled, making more than 8 million people bear the financial burden of the most expensive chronic condition in the US—diabetes. In 2015, a community biolab in Oakland, CA called CounterCulture Labs began to devise an open source protocol to make insulin more affordable using synthetic biology.
Their work became the Open Insulin Project which focuses on using microbial organisms, like yeast, to produce insulin through genetic engineering. Specific genes responsible for insulin production are inserted into these microbes, enabling them to synthesize insulin. These modified microbes are then cultured and optimized in controlled environments, allowing them to produce insulin that can be harvested and purified for medical use.
By integrating stakeholders in the research process, the Open Insulin Foundation is helping democratize biotech. Scientists on both coasts assist with molecular characterization, student interns help monitor protein yield, and regular discussions with stakeholders and interested members of the public shape possible manufacturing pathways.
Professor Tom Burkett is the chair of the Baltimore Underground Science Space’s board and leads the community lab’s work with the Open Insulin Foundation. He believes breaking down barriers to accessing scientific research is “absolutely critical” because it not only improves public engagement but also makes research more effective.
When BUGSS was assessing the expression of the lispro protein, Burkett recounts there was initially “confusion about whether the expression was getting targeted to the periplasm or to the cytoplasm.” In order for insulin to function properly, the protein needs to be located in a specific part of the cell in order to form disulfide bonds and be isolated from other proteins.
Professor Burkett explained that BUGSS was able to proceed with their research because they had access to the experimental results of another community lab working on the project (CounterCulture labs in Oakland) that were free to view online. Members of CounterCulture labs were also happy to further discuss their insight with BUGSS and experiments in Baltimore were adjusted accordingly. As a result of these joint efforts the project is closer to achieving its goal of
“optimizing cell culture conditions to produce the proinsulin lispro.”
In traditional research forums, intellectual property issues can be a barrier to such collaboration. A 2007 study found that “patent grant is associated with a reduction in the use (or attribution) of a discovery by approximately 1 in 10 to 1 in 6 follow-on research projects." But by adopting an open source framework, DIYbio ventures like Open Insulin nurture multiple
streams of knowledge instead.
This open source framework also paves the way for a more affordable means of obtaining insulin. While the cost of insulin has recently been reduced for those with Medicare due to the Inflation Reduction Act, its high price in the United States can be attributed to patent-protected pharmaceutical monopolies. As of 2021, three companies control “99% of the market by value and 96% of the market by volume.”
If the Open Insulin Foundation is successful in developing a local production or small scale manufacturing model, it is projected to reduce the cost of insulin by 98%. Ideal operation will yield 33.53 grams of pure insulin per day to support as many as 13,685 diabetics.
When dealing with synthetic biology breakthroughs, Senior Research Social Scientist at U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Dr. Benjamin Trump believes it is important to consider “who is exposed to risk? Are there any inequities there?” and “once you have mature, safe products that are desirable, what is the equity of access there?”
Proponents of Open Insulin see great potential in DIYBio to address these questions using a human centered approach to science. The prioritization of human experiences in ideation, research, and manufacturing in the foundation’s workflow may reshape healthcare. According to Dr. Scroggins “it's no longer just people tinkering in the lab, it is this point at which DIYbio [products] come out of the lab and have an impact in the wider world.”
Asha Dees is a rising junior at Dartmouth College majoring in biology. She is interested in the intersection of technology and human health as a Global Health Fellow and alum of the Stem Advocacy Institute research program. She is a contributing writer to her school’s undergraduate journal of science and published in Dartmouth’s 3D magazine.
The NASW Perlman Virtual Mentoring program is named for longtime science writer and past NASW President David Perlman. Dave, who died in 2020 at the age of 101 only three years after his retirement from the San Francisco Chronicle, was a mentor to countless members of the science writing community and always made time for kind and supportive words, especially for early career writers. Contact NASW Education Committee Co-Chairs Czerne Reid and Ashley Yeager and Perlman Program Coordinator Courtney Gorman at mentor@nasw.org. Thank you to the many NASW member volunteers who spearhead our #SciWriStudent programming year after year.
Founded in 1934 with a mission to fight for the free flow of science news, NASW is an organization of ~ 2,600 professional journalists, authors, editors, producers, public information officers, students and people who write and produce material intended to inform the public about science, health, engineering, and technology. To learn more, visit www.nasw.org
