Workshop 1: Genome Editing: Global Policy experience and what the future may hold
Tracks
Breakaway 1
| Tuesday, May 2, 2023 |
| 14:00 - 15:30 |
| Illinois / NY Central |
Details
Organized by Khaoula Belhaj Fragniere, International Seed Federation, Switzerland
An increasing number of countries have finalized policies focused on specific applications of genome editing. Still, others are in the process of reviewing current policies, legislation and regulations to determine if any revisions or changes are needed. At the same time, the range of possible uses of genome editing in breeding programs is evolving and expanding as the technology matures. Genome editing is known for its use in precisely inducing change to a specific gene(s) in a plant’s genome. However, it can also be used by researchers for basic gene discovery. It can be used to identify a gene in a plant’s wild relatives and then precisely recreate that gene into existing commercial varieties. It may be used in the future to maximize the performance of a crop in a given set of environments. And it may be used in the future to make breeding processes themselves more efficient by breaking detrimental genetic linkages. This workshop will focus on:
Chair: Bernice Slutsky
An increasing number of countries have finalized policies focused on specific applications of genome editing. Still, others are in the process of reviewing current policies, legislation and regulations to determine if any revisions or changes are needed. At the same time, the range of possible uses of genome editing in breeding programs is evolving and expanding as the technology matures. Genome editing is known for its use in precisely inducing change to a specific gene(s) in a plant’s genome. However, it can also be used by researchers for basic gene discovery. It can be used to identify a gene in a plant’s wild relatives and then precisely recreate that gene into existing commercial varieties. It may be used in the future to maximize the performance of a crop in a given set of environments. And it may be used in the future to make breeding processes themselves more efficient by breaking detrimental genetic linkages. This workshop will focus on:
- governments’ policy experiences regarding seed products developed with the use of genome editing,
- the experience of developers to date, and
- what the future holds for genome editing applications and resultant policy implications.
Chair: Bernice Slutsky
Speaker
Dr Khaoula Belhaj Fragniere
Regulatory Affairs Manager
International Seed Federation
Genome Editing: Global Policy experience and what the future may hold
14:00 - 17:00Biography
Dr. Khaoula Belhaj Fragnière is the Regulatory Affairs Manager at the International Seed Federation. She has 15 years of experience in the fields of agricultural innovation, private sector and government affairs. Previously she served as government officer within the Federal Office for the Environment, Switzerland, and then later worked as Senior Regulatory Scientist - Scientific Regulatory Affairs & Standards for Philip Morris International. In her role at the FOEN, she was responsible for law adaptation projects related to regulation of new breeding biotechnologies and synthetic biology. She also represented the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment in the United Nations (Biodiversity Convention) and in the European Food Security Authority (EFSA, GMO panel). Prior to this, Khaoula worked as a Senior Research Associate at the world-class research institute The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK where she led various projects and authored several publications on genome editing technologies, molecular mechanisms of plant-microbes’ interactions, autophagy mechanisms, etc. Khaoula holds an agricultural engineering degree in plant production and seed biotechnology, a master’s in plant breeding and a PhD in biology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
Chair
Bernice Slutsky
Consultant
Consultant
