Dr. Fern Wickson is a senior scientist and program coordinator of the Society, Ecology and Ethics Department (SEED) at Genok Centre for Biosafety in Troms¸, Norway. Originally trained in both ecology and political science, Fern undertook an interdisciplinary PhD across the Arts and Science faculties at the University of Wollongong in Australia. Her research interests include: the theory and practice of transdisciplinary research, the concept and enactment of responsible innovation, ecophilosophy and environmental ethics, and the governance of new and emerging technologies. She currently has research projects on developing systems-based approaches to sustainable and ethical agricultures, integrating different models biodiversity conservation, advancing responsible forms of science and innovation, and improving the environmental governance of bio- and nano-technologies. As part of her work at Genok, Fern has also been involved in several capacity building courses held around the world on holistic approaches to biosafety assessment and is regularly sought after to give guest lectures and plenary talks on issues such as ethical aspects of science and technology and the management of risks and uncertainties in decision-making on innovation. She is an expert member of the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board and a past President of the international Society for the Study of New and Emerging Technologies (S.Net). She has also served on the board of the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER) and was recently appointed to a working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) examining the diverse conceptualization of values in nature. Dr Wickson is deeply committed to the importance of inter- and transdisciplinary research and not only regularly publishes her work for both social and natural science audiences, but also creates popular science articles, blog posts and short films to communicate with wider audiences. More information about her work can be found on her website (http://genok.no/ansatt/fern-wickson/), her research project blog (www.agriculturesproject.org) and through her Twitter account (@FernWickson).
