Engineering Biology Responsible Innovation Advisory Panel
The Engineering Biology Responsible Innovation Advisory Panel is a multi-stakeholder expert advisory group of experts from across the engineering biology, life science and biotech sectors.
The Engineering Biology Responsible Innovation Advisory Panel (RIAP) provides government with impartial and expert advice on emerging risks around responsible innovation and how to encourage good practice in this area.
The RIAP sits in the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST). °Õ³ó±ðÌýRIAP was formerly called the Ìý(BLC) when it was set up in 2023 but changed its name in January 2025.
Background
Engineering biology is one of the six frontier technologies in the UK government’s Modern Industrial Strategy. The UK’s engineering biology sector has the potential to grow at tremendous speed to grow the economy and is one of the most exciting new frontiers in science.
Engineering biology describes the application of rigorous engineering principles to biology, enabling the construction of new or redesigned biological systems, such as cells or proteins. It has the potential to change the way we grow food, create medical treatments and produce the fuel we need to run our cars, homes and offices.Â
In 2023, government published the  National Vision for Engineering Biology which outlines it’s collective ambition for engineering biology and sets the direction in which government investment, policy and regulatory reform will deliver through the strands of the Science and Technology Framework.
Responsible and trustworthy innovation is a key strand of the National Vision for Engineering Biology. Responsible and trustworthy innovation aims to ensure that unintended negative impacts of engineering biology are avoided, that barriers to dissemination, adoption and diffusion of research and innovation are reduced, and that the positive societal and economic benefits of research and innovation are fully realised. To achieve this, we are working to reduce biosecurity risks, create a safe and secure ecosystem and harness a culture of responsibility.
°Õ³ó±ðÌýRIAP is a key commitment in the 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy. °Õ³ó±ðÌýRIAP brings together academics, civil society, industry and government to discuss responsible use of engineering biology. As set out in the Biological Security Strategy and the National Vision for Engineering Biology, the UK is committed to becoming a world leader in responsible innovation, shaping international norms and standards. °Õ³ó±ðÌýRIAP is a critical part of delivering this ambition.
°Õ³ó±ðÌýRIAP:
- provides a two-way permanent feedback loop with UK industry/academia/civil society and government to support policy development for responsible innovation
- supports government in agreeing a proportionate approach towards security-conscious ways of working in this sector
- engages the UK Biotech and Life Science sectors on emerging risks
- feeds into broader horizon scanning practices to understand the emerging risks associated with engineering biology
- contributes towards BIST’s efforts to be a world leader in responsible innovation and shape global norms and standards
Members
Chair:Â Chris McDonald MP, Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment
- Professor Ian Abbs, Strategic Adviser, Guy’s & St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
- Linda Bedenik, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager, BioIndustry Association (BIA)
- Dr Ben Bleasdale, Director of Public Opinion, Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE)
- Kirsten Bound – Associate Director, Science Policy Labs, Wellcome Trust
- Dr Oliver Crook, Career Development Award Fellow, Oxford University
- Dr Joe Grove, Senior Lecturer (Virology), University of Glasgow
- Danielle Hamm, Director, Nuffield Council on Bioethics
- Chris Jones, Director of Policy, Royal Society
- Professor Natalio Krasnogor, Chief Technical Officer, Gitlife/University of Newcastle
- Dr Jill Makin, Chief Scientific Officer, Touchlight
- Zoe McDougall, Senior Vice President, Oxford Nanopore Technologies
- Dr Cassidy Nelson – Head of Biosecurity Policy at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience
- Steve Rees, Senior Vice President, AstraZeneca
- Duncan Ribbons, VP IP & Regulatory, Tropic Biosciences
- Oliver Sexton, Investment Director, Future Planet Capital
- Dr Lalitha Sundaram - Senior Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge
- Nick Talbot - Executive Director of The Sainsbury Laboratory at Norwich Research Park
- Dr Sana Zakaria, Senior Research Leader for Emerging Technology, RAND Europe