Genspace is a nonprofit organization located in Brooklyn, New York, whose mission is to promote education in molecular biology for children and adults. The company, led by President and co-founder Ellen Jorgensen, PhD., opened the first community biotechnology lab that allows hands-on learning – a place where the public can learn how to perform biohacking in the lab!
In spite of the skepticism on the part of the media when they first opened their doors, Genspace have been very successful in their mission to allow collaberation between professional and amateur scientists. In the the words of Ellen Jorgensen “The press had a tendency to consistently overestimate [biohackers] capabilities and understimate our ethics.”
As you can see in this video, Ellen is passionate about her work and about allowing the public to get their hands dirty in the lab to help with growth of biotechnology.
Of course, biotechnology is just one area of biohacking, the goal being find ways for improvement with a high return. Advances in science often lead to discoveries that can do just that!
Reading about some of the courses that are offered at Genspace makes me (almost) wish I lived in New York so that I could participate!
- Biotechnology Crash Course
- Biohacker Boot Camp
- Intro to Syntehtic Biology
What a great place to discover your inner Scientist!