This website is developed and maintained by Econexus.
It is funded by the CS Fund and Econexus.
Members of the team who contribute to the website:
Ricarda Steinbrecher
Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher has a PhD in molecular genetics from the University of London, and a first-class honours MSc in biology from the University of Kiel, Germany, specialising in developmental biology and cytogenetics. Her research focused on gene regulation, gene identification and mutational analysis, initially working with insects, then flatworms and eventually mammalian systems, including for human gene therapy. Her research emphasis eventually shifted to issues pertinent to biosafety.
Since 1995, she has been closely involved in the UN-led international processes of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), and has served on its Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Risk Assessment and Risk Management of Genetically Modified Organisms from 2009-2013 and from 2023-now. Since 1998, Ricarda has also been involved in the processes of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and has been serving as a member of its technical expert group (AHTEG) on Synthetic Biology since 2015.
She is co-director of Econexus and designated representative of the Federation of German Scientists to the UN CBD and CPB processes.
Mark Wells
Dr. Mark Wells is a biochemist with nine years of research experience in molecular biology and biochemistry. He gained a first class MChem in Biological Chemistry from the University of Sheffield, before continuing there to complete his PhD studies in the biochemistry of prion diseases (of which BSE, or mad cow disease, is the best known example).
He then went on to work at the Medical Research Council Centre for Protein Engineering in Cambridge, focussing on molecular studies of the tumour suppressor p53. Following this he joined a bio-technology start-up developing metabolically engineered bacteria to produce biofuels.
More recently he has gained experience in the sustainability sector, and completed a PGCert in Sustainable Development in Practice at the University of the West of England. Mark joined Econexus as a researcher in 2017 focussing on gene drive applications.
Ruthi Brandt
Ruthi Brandt has two MScs in ecological sciences from Tel Aviv University and from the University of Oxford, and an MSc in sustainability and adaptation planning from the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales.