Ensuring Our Project Is Responsible and Good for the World
From the beginning, our team aimed to ensure that our project addressed a real human need and was developed responsibly. Acne affects millions of people worldwide, often impacting confidence, mental health, and overall quality of life. To understand these challenges more deeply, we began with a survey that collected over 80 responses from individuals of different age groups.
The results were highly significant: over 55% of respondents reported that acne affected their daily lives, and more than 70% had been clinically diagnosed with acne. Many participants shared that their acne led to lower self-esteem, anxiety, and social discomfort. We also asked about existing treatments, ranging from over-the-counter products to oral antibiotics, and found that many were only moderately effective or came with undesirable side effects. These insights contributed to our project’s goal: to engineer a synthetic biology-based acne treatment that targets inflammation, one of the root causes of acne, with the potential to improve both skin health and emotional well-being.
Engaging with Experts and Stakeholders
Dr. George Liu (UCSD)
Dr. Liu is Chief and Professor, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, and Department of Pediatrics at UCSD. His research focuses on understanding how interactions between Gram-positive pathogens (including MRSA, GBS and P. acnes) and the host leads to a productive infection. He collaborated closely with us throughout the project. He helped us understand the biological mechanisms underlying acne and inflammation, emphasizing the importance of maintaining physiological balance rather than eliminating inflammation completely. His mentorship also guided us in designing our constructs and developing our laboratory protocols.
Dr. Vikram Sahni (Dermatologist)
He advised that for real-world use, our treatment should be minimally invasive (such as a topical cream or hydrogel) since patients prefer convenient, noninvasive options. He also cautioned us not to suppress all inflammation, since some degree of inflammatory response is essential for healing and immune defense. This feedback helped us refine our biological design and ensure safety considerations were built into our system from the start.
Dr. Loganathan Doraisamy (Logan Labs)
During our visit to Logan Labs, we learned how biotechnology research is translated into actual products. Because Logan Labs also works on acne-related solutions, the visit gave us an opportunity to compare our approach to theirs, understand how industrial labs balance innovation with regulation, and see how synthetic biology principles apply in real-world product development. Their company, Curcuma Beauty, has developed a wide range of skincare products and marketed globally including in the USA. Their sister company, Metacure, offers a range of supplements supporting various aspects of well-being, including immune support and cognitive function.
Dr. Sudhakar Chintharlapalli (RayzeBio)
Dr. Chintharlapalli encouraged us to critically evaluate our choice of signaling molecule, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and to justify the dual-plasmid biosensor design. He also emphasized the importance of biosafety and public perception, reminding us that even well-engineered treatments may raise public hesitation. His feedback pushed us to consider alternate delivery methods and ways to communicate our project’s safety to the public.
Parents, Biologists, and Pharmacists
Additional discussions with individuals from both scientific and non-scientific backgrounds provided feedback on our concept from the perspectives of patients, consumers, and professionals. Their input helped us refine our goals to ensure that our project remained safe, effective, and relatable to those it aims to help.
Integrating Human Practices into Design
The insights from our Human Practices efforts were directly integrated into the engineering cycle. The survey results highlighted acne’s emotional and social toll, motivating us to focus on the inflammatory mechanisms behind it.
Expert advice from Dr. Sahni and Dr. Liu helped shape our project design, ensuring that our treatment balanced anti-inflammatory effects with the body’s natural healing responses.
Industry and researcher feedback emphasized importance of biosafety, accessibility, and noninvasive application, for patient comfort, which influenced us to push our design towards topical, cell free implementation with strict safety parameters.
Our outreach activities and public discussions reinforced the need for clear communication, changing how we present synthetic biology solutions as safe, practical, and beneficial to different audiences.
Ethical, Safety, and Sustainability Considerations
- Ethical: We reflected on how acne treatments influence social perceptions of beauty and prioritized inclusivity, accessibility, and respect for diverse skin experiences.
- Social: We recognized the mental and emotional impact of acne and aimed to create a treatment that not only improves physical health but also confidence and quality of life.
- Safety: We followed strict laboratory protocols, used non-pathogenic E. coli strains, and received expert mentorship to ensure that all experiments were performed safely and responsibly.
- Security: We ensured that all synthetic biology work was conducted in controlled conditions to prevent any risk of misuse.
- Sustainability: We considered the environmental impact of our design, prioritizing safe biological components and environmentally conscious laboratory practices.
Reflection and Ethical Dilemmas
As our project developed, we continuously discussed ethical questions that guided our decision-making:
- How might new acne treatments influence social norms around “normal” skin?
- How can such treatments be made affordable and accessible globally?
- What safeguards are necessary to prevent misuse or overuse of engineered bacteria?
These reflections helped us ensure that our work remained responsible, equitable, and mindful of long-term impacts.
Assessing the Potential Impact
Our project holds strong potential for positive social impact:
- It could improve quality of life by reducing acne-related inflammation and discomfort.
- It could boost self-esteem and mental health among individuals who experience acne.
- It could strengthen public understanding and trust in synthetic biology by demonstrating its value in solving everyday health problems.
At the same time, we remain conscious of possible negative consequences, such as reinforcing beauty standards or creating disparities in access. We are committed to addressing these challenges through education, transparency, and a focus on accessibility for knowledge.
Survey Questions
To gather these insights, we designed a survey to understand the physical, mental, and social impacts of acne. Here are the questions we asked:
- What is your biological sex?
- What is your age range?
- How often do you get acne?
- When does acne affect your daily life?
- Please elaborate further on how acne affects you psychologically.
- What type of acne do you struggle with the most?
- Does acne affect your physical wellbeing?
- Does acne affect your mental wellbeing?
- What product(s) do you use for acne? (oral medications, antibiotics, serums, etc.)
- Any additional comments?