Speakers

Joy Y. Zhang is Professor of Sociology with a first degree in medicine. She is also the Founding Director of the Centre for Global Science and Epistemic Justice (GSEJ) at the University of Kent. An internationally recognised expert in the transnational governance of scientific risk, Zhang has initiated several landmark programmes, including the BioGovernance Commons (2021), the founding of GSEJ (2022)—whose research has informed G20 and G7 policy discussions—and, most recently, O.D.E.SS.I., a global “odyssey” for public engagement with the life sciences.  

Rooted in five core principles—Openness, Deliberation, Enabling, Sensibility and Sensitivity, and Innovation—the O.D.E.SS.I. initiative is informed by Zhang’s ongoing work in three cutting-edge social science projects examining the socio-ethical and ecological dimensions of engineering biology: Care-full Synthesis (Wellcome Trust) on synthetic human genomes; Futuring Biological Commons (ARIA) on programmable plants; and ELEMENTAL (BBSRC) on environmental remediation and critical minerals. Through sustained engagement with colleagues and communities across both the Global North and South, O.D.E.SS.I. reimagines how ethics, public engagement, and science diplomacy can meaningfully shape the governance of life sciences.