(97b) CRISPR in the Curriculum: A Genetic Engineering Elective for Chemical and Biomedical Engineers

The last 50 years have seen major strides in gene editing technology. Not only is this topic currently popular, but also increasingly relevant to society. As our students navigate decisions around genetically modified organisms in the food supply and genetic engineering for medical applications, a basic understanding of the technologies, their limitations, and potential impacts becomes almost a necessity. This talk will describe a relatively new genetic engineering elective designed for Chemical and Biomedical Engineering students. The course is designed to accommodate a breadth of biology backgrounds--students range from having last seen biology in high school to having several semesters of post-secondary biological courses--and focuses on understanding and assessing the technology in context. Topics within each of these modules are introduced through the lens of historic or current societal issues, with emphasis on defining the full context of the issue, including but not limited to the social, economic, political, geographic, religious, and historical contexts. The course runs in three modules: (1) basic biology and genetics refresher, (2) genetic engineering technologies, and (3) current applications and advances in genetic engineering. The term project challenges students to dive deeper into a societal issue of their choice, and ultimately propose and assess a genetic engineering solution to the issue. Students present the synthesis of their work through an educational board game, designed to teach players about their societal issue and technology, and equipping the students with the ability to engage in these topics with a broad range of audiences in the future.