With new gene technology regulations working their way through parliament, hear from researchers in different fields about what the new legislation might mean for everyday kiwis. The panellists will discuss what kinds of new research, products and technologies the bill might enable, and what kinds of oversight and regulation will guide this innovation.

Cash/Eftpos bar available and complimentary light nibbles will be provided post-talk.

The Science Festival is pleased to welcome Prof Dame Juliet Gerrard as Panel Moderator for this event.

Juliet trained at Oxford University and moved to New Zealand in 1993 where her career has included roles in both research institutes and universities. Her research background is in chemical sciences, and she has a broad range of governance and advisory experience. From 2018 to 2024, Juliet served as the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor in New Zealand, working from a base of four founding principles: rigour, inclusivity, transparency, and accessibility. She supported the science and science advisor community to provide advice to the PM, ministers, and the public on a wide range of topics, including advice on the Christchurch Mosque shootings, the response to the Whakaari | White Island eruption, the Cannabis referendum, and the Covid-19 pandemic. On her return to academic life at the University of Auckland, Juliet is pivoting her research interests towards the interface of research and policy. Particular interests include communicating science in contested spaces, science advice in crisis situations, waste management as an entry point to create social license for sustainability, and policy settings needed to embrace opportunities afforded by emerging technologies. 

Meet our Gene Technology Panellists:

Prof Neil Gemmell

Neil Gemmell is a Sesquicentennial Distinguished Professor and holds the AgResearch Chair in Reproduction and Genomics at the University of Otago. His research blends ecology, population, conservation, and evolutionary biology with leading-edge genomic technologies to provide new tools and research services to key end users in the conservation and biosecurity arenas. New genetic approaches to control pest species and approaches that survey the DNA in the environment (eDNA) to rapidly measure biological diversity are prominent areas of recent research.

Associate Prof Tim Hore

Tim Hore is an Associate Professor at the University of Otago, and uses genetic modification to understand fundamental questions of biology, such as ‘why are stem cells unique?’ and ‘how does aging affect DNA?’. His laboratory is currently probing the ‘dark genome’ – poorly understood regions of the genetic code that they found are essential for female development in fish. In addition to leading a genetics research group, Assoc Prof Hore is also chairs the Biological Safety Committee at the University of Otago, and is a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the Gene Technologies Bill.

Dr Megan Leask

Megan Leask (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe) is a Pūkeka Lecturer at the University of Otago. In 2014 she received her PhD in genetics from the University of Otago and her research interests centre on the genetics of complex disease, with specific expertise in the genetics of Māori and Pacific peoples.