Emma Frow
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Phone: 480-727-7798
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Mail code: 6002Campus: Tempe
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Emma Frow joined Arizona State University in 2015 and holds a joint appointment with the School for the Future of Innovation in Society (SFIS) and the School of Biological & Health Systems Engineering (SBHSE). Her research focuses on the governance of emerging biotechnologies, with a specific focus on governance of the STEM research community. She has been working with the synthetic biology community in the US and Europe since 2008.
After completing a PhD in biochemistry, Emma worked briefly in scientific publishing and then re-trained in the social sciences, gaining a master's degree in science & technology studies from the University of Edinburgh. She completed postdoctoral research at the ESRC Genomics Policy & Research Forum at the University of Edinburgh and at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and was an assistant professor in science, technology and innovation studies at the University of Edinburgh before moving to ASU.
- Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, UK
- M.Sc. Science and Technology Studies, University of Edinburgh, UK
- B.A. Natural Sciences (Neuroscience), University of Cambridge, UK
Science & technology studies; Sociology of Science; Engineering studies; governance of emerging technologies; synthetic biology; expertise and interdisciplinarity; values; representation in scientific practice
Emma's current research projects include:
Synthetic cells that can learn without evolution, in collaboration with researchers at University of Washington, Georgia Tech, University of New Mexico and UCLA (funded by the National Science Foundation, 2019-2023)
Toward lifelike synthetic cells via engineered control of DNA replication, in collaboration with researchers at Rice University and University of New Mexico (funded by the National Science Foundation, 2021-2024)
Reconfiguring Life: Care and control in bioengineering, CAREER award funded by the National Science Foundation (2021-2026)
Past projects include:
Engineering Life project, with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh (funded by the European Research Council, 2015-2020)
Cook, M., Richey, A., Brafman, D.A. & Frow, E.K. (2021) “Weighing up the evidence used by direct-to consumer stem cell clinics in the Southwest US.” Stem Cell Reports doi:10.1016/j.stemcr.2021.10.007
Karabin, J., Mansfield, I. & Frow. E.K. (2021) “Presentations of sustainability by US synthetic biology companies.” PLoS ONE doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0257327
Holowko, M., Frow, E.K., Reid, J., Rourke, M. & Vickers, C. (2020) “Building a biofoundry.” Synthetic Biology doi:10.1093/synbio/ysaa026
Frow, E., Brafman, D., Muldoon, A., Krum, L., Williams, P., Becker, B., Nelson, J.P. & Pritchett, A. (2019) ‘Characterizing direct-to-consumer stem cell businesses in the Southwest United States’ Stem Cell Reports 13(2): 247-253.
Kuzma, J., Gould, F., Brown, J., Collins, J., Delborne, J., Frow, E., Esvelt, K., Guston, D., Oye, K. & Stauffer, S. (2018) A roadmap for gene drives: Using institutional analysis and development to frame research needs and governance in a systems context. Journal of Responsible Innovation 5(Supp.1): 13-39.
Delborne, J., Kuzma, J., Gould, F., Frow, E., Leitschuh, C. & Sudweeks, J. (2018) Mapping research and governance needs for gene drives. Journal of Responsible Innovation 5(Supp.1): 4-12
Frow, E.K. (2017) From ‘experiments of concern’ to ‘groups of concern’: Constructing and containing citizens in synthetic biology. Science, Technology & Human Values, doi:10.1177/0162243917735382
Frow, E.K. (2017) ‘Negotiating the values of space exploration.’ In Visions, Ventures, Escape Velocities: A Collection of Space Futures, eds E. Finn & J. Eschrich. Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University, pp.253-259; available at http://csi.asu.edu/books/vvev/
McGurrin, P. & Frow, E.K. (2017) ‘Discussion Response: Governing citizen use of brain stimulation technologies: What role for scientists?’ Journal of Responsible Innovation, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2017.1359474
Frow, E.K., Smith, B. & Ankeny, C. (2017) ‘Freshman Design Course: Device design for low-resource settings,’ American Society for Engineering Education, Biomedical Engineering Division, Cleveland, 25-28 June; available at https://peer.asee.org/28387
Caplan, M. & Frow, E.K. (2017) ‘Promoting career reflection among freshman BME students,’ American Society for Engineering Education, Biomedical Engineering Division, Cleveland, 25-28 June; available at https://peer.asee.org/28771
Caplan, M. & Frow, E.K. (2016) ‘Work in Progress: Promoting career reflection among freshman biomedical engineering students,’ American Society for Engineering Education, Biomedical Engineering Division, New Orleans, 26-29 June
Balmer, A.S., Calvert, J., Marris, C., Molyneux-Hodgson, S., Frow, E., Kearnes, M., Bulpin, K., Schyfter, P., Mackenzie, A. & Martin, P. (2016) ‘Five rules of thumb for post-ELSI interdisciplinary collaborations.’ Journal of Responsible Innovation; doi:10.1080/23299460.2016.1177867
Balmer, A.S., Calvert, J., Marris, C., Molyneux-Hodgson, S., Frow, E., Kearnes, M., Bulpin, K., Schyfter, P., Mackenzie, A. & Martin, P. (2015) ‘Taking roles in interdisciplinary collaborations: Reflections on working in post-ELSI spaces in the UK synthetic biology community.’ Science and Technology Studies 3: http://www.sciencetechnologystudies.org/node/2573
Evans, S.W. & Frow, E.K. (2015) ‘Taking care in synthetic biology.’ In Absence in Science, Security and Policy: From Research Agendas to Global Strategy, eds B. Rappert & B. Balmer. Palgrave Macmillan, pp.132-153
Calvert, J. & Frow, E. (2015) ‘The synthetic yeast project as a topic for social scientific investigation’. Macquairie Law Review Journal 15: 27-37.
Frow, E.K. (2015) ‘Rhetorics and practices of democratization in synthetic biology.’ In Knowing New Biotechnologies: Social Aspects of Technological Convergence, Weinroth, M. & Rodrigues, E. (eds). London: Routledge, 2015, pp.174-187.
Frow, E.K. (2014) ‘In images we trust? Objectivity in the digital age,’ New Representation in Scientific Practice, eds C. Coopmans, J. Vertesi, M. Lynch, S. Woolgar. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 249-268.
Calvert, J. & Frow, E.K. (2013) ‘Social dimensions of microbial synthetic biology,’ in Methods in Microbiology, Vol. 40, eds C. Harwood & A. Wipat. Burlington: Academic Press, pp. 69-86.
Frow, E.K. (2013) ‘Making big promises come true? Articulating and realizing the value of synthetic biology.’ BioSocieties 8: 432-448.
Davies, G., Frow, E.K. & Leonelli, S. (2013) ‘Bigger, faster, better? Rhetorics and practices of large-scale research in contemporary bioscience.’ BioSocieties Guest Editorial 8: 386-396.
Mackenzie, A., Waterton, C., Ellis, R., Frow, E.K., McNally, R., Busch, L. & Wynne, B. (2013) ‘Classifying, constructing, and identifying life: Standards as transformations of ‘the biological.’’ Science, Technology & Human Values 38: 701-722.
Frow, E. & Calvert, J. (2013) ‘The future(s) of synthetic biology.’ Futures 48: 32-43.
Frow, E. & Calvert, J. (2013) ‘Can simple biological systems be built from standardized interchangeable parts?’ Negotiating biology and engineering in synthetic biology. Engineering Studies 5(1): 42-58.
Schyfter, P., Frow, E. & Calvert, J. (2013) ‘Synthetic biology: Making biology into an engineering discipline.’ Engineering Studies Guest Editorial 5(1): 1-5.
Frow, E.K. (2012) ‘Drawing a line: Setting guidelines for image processing in scientific journal articles.’ Social Studies of Science 42(3): 369-392.
Wiek, A., Guston, D., Frow, E. & Calvert, J. (2012) ‘Sustainability and anticipatory governance in synthetic biology.’ IGI International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development 3(2): 25-38.
Frow, E. & Yearley, S. (2012) ‘People, Policy and Plant Genomics.’ In Principles and Practices of Plant Genomics - Volume 3: Advanced Genomics, eds C. Kole and A. Abbott (New Hampshire: Science Publishers, Inc.).
Frow, E.K. Ingram, D., Powell, W., Steer, D., Vogel, J. & Yearley, S. (2009) ‘The politics of plants.’ Food Security 1(1):17-23.
Frow, E.K., Reckless, J. & Grainger, D.J. (2004) ‘Tools for anti-inflammatory drug design: in vitro models of leukocyte migration.’ Medicinal Research Reviews 24(3): 276–298.
Grainger, D.J. & Frow, E.K. (2000) ‘Thrombospondin 1 does not activate transforming growth factor-b1 in a chemically defined system or in smooth-muscle-cell cultures.’ Biochemical Journal 350: 291–298.
Seed grants
Emma Frow. ‘Automating the biological: The future of work and life in bioengineering,’ ASU Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR), 2018-2019
Emma Frow. ‘Negotiating evidence and expertise around stem cell treatments,’ ASU Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR), 2016-2017
Emma Frow. Consortium for Promoting Reflection in Engineering Education (CPREE), 2015-2016
Courses
2025 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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BDE 799 | Dissertation |
BDE 795 | Continuing Registration |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
BME 294 | Special Topics |
BME 294 | Special Topics |
BDE 792 | Research |
2024 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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BME 598 | Special Topics |
BME 294 | Special Topics |
2024 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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BDE 792 | Research |
2024 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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BME 493 | Honors Thesis |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
BDE 792 | Research |
BDE 795 | Continuing Registration |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
FIS 403 | Governing Emerging Technologie |
BME 213 | BME Ethics |
2023 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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BME 213 | BME Ethics |
2023 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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BDE 792 | Research |
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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BME 493 | Honors Thesis |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
BDE 792 | Research |
BDE 795 | Continuing Registration |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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BME 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2022 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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BDE 792 | Research |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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HSD 602 | HSD II:Science Power&Politics |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
BDE 792 | Research |
BDE 792 | Research |
BDE 795 | Continuing Registration |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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HSD 601 | HSD I:Human Dimension Sci Tech |
2021 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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BDE 792 | Research |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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BDE 799 | Dissertation |
BME 182 | Biomedical Prod Dsgn & Dev I |
BDE 792 | Research |
BME 493 | Honors Thesis |
2020 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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BME 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BME 493 | Honors Thesis |
BME 592 | Research |
BME 599 | Thesis |
BME 792 | Research |
BME 493 | Honors Thesis |
BME 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
FIS 403 | Governing Emerging Technologie |
2020 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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BDE 792 | Research |
2020 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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BME 792 | Research |
BME 493 | Honors Thesis |
BME 592 | Research |
BME 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BME 599 | Thesis |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
BDE 799 | Dissertation |
BME 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BME 182 | Biomedical Prod Dsgn & Dev I |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
BDE 792 | Research |
BME 182 | Biomedical Prod Dsgn & Dev I |
BME 493 | Honors Thesis |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
2019 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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BME 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BME 493 | Honors Thesis |
BME 592 | Research |
BME 599 | Thesis |
BME 792 | Research |
BME 493 | Honors Thesis |
BME 492 | Honors Directed Study |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
BME 394 | Special Topics |
FIS 403 | Governing Emerging Technologie |
Selected Invited Talks
'Building a biofoundry,' Novo Nordisk Foundation Science Lecture, Copenhagen, 7 September 2023
'Reconfiguring Life: Care and Control in Bioengineering,' STIS seminar, University of Edinburgh, 16 January 2023
'Care and control in synthetic biology,' Fireside Chat @ Ginkgo Bioworks, Boston MA, 18 November 2021
'Automating laboratory life: A sociological perspective,' Science Friday talk (virtual seminar) for the synthetic biology company Zymergen, Emeryville CA, 22 January 2021
'Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness: the synthetic biology dream?' (virtual panel, with D. Endy, J. Kelly, R. Matthews), SynBioBeta 2020, 29 September-1 October 2020
'Automating laboratory life,' DoE Joint Genome Institute User Meeting, San Francisco, 1-5 April 2019
'Charting the landscape of for-profit stem cell clinics in the US,' keynote talk for National Biomedical Engineering Honor Society – Annual Ethics Session, Phoenix, 13 October 2017
‘Standards for Engineering Life?’ STS colloquium, University of Virginia, 7 April 2016
‘The Future of Life’, evening panel discussion (with K. Haynes), Barrett Honors College, ASU, 14 March 2016
‘Reframing the debate around CRISPR and genome editing,’ New Tools for Science Policy, CSPO - DC breakfast seminar series, 9 December 2015; available online at http://cspo.org/event/ntsp120915/
‘CRISPR in context’, CSHL Summer School on Synthetic Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 7 August 2015
‘A crisis of trust? Setting guidelines for image processing in scientific journals’, EMBL Forum Seminar on Science & Society, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany, 19 June 2015; available online at http://www.embl.de/aboutus/science_society/onlineseminars/
‘Synthetic Biology in Context’, iBio online course on synthetic biology, 19 June 2015; available online at http://www.ibiology.org/ibioeducation/taking-courses/synthetic-biology-course.html
‘The social life of standards’, seminar at Synthetic Biology in Action – EMBO Practical Course, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany, 18 June 2015
‘Standards and sustainability in synthetic biology’, Cell Factories and Biosustainability conference, hosted by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark 17-21 May 2015
‘Engineering Life,’ BME 591 graduate seminar, Arizona State University, 27 March 2015
ASU Lincoln Professor, ASU Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics 2015-
Elected to Young Academy of Scotland, 2013-2016
Editorial board member, Science, Technology & Human Values (since 2022)
Editorial board member, Synthetic Biology (since 2016)
Council Member, Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC), since Fall 2019
Society for Social Studies of Science (4S); American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE); International Network for Engineering Studies (INES)
Council member and Executive Steering Committee member, Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC)
Founder and convenor of the SFIS Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program, 2017-2022
Judge and Human Practices Committee Member, international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, since 2009
Organizing Committee member, Sixth International Meeting on Synthetic Biology (SB6.0), Imperial College London, July 2013