I. EBICS VISION AND GOALS

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1 Strategic Plan for the Emergent Behavior of Integrated Cellular Systems (EBICS) Science and Technology Center (STC) Submitted by Roger Kamm (PI), Lizanne DeStefano, K. Jimmy Hsia, Robert Nerem, Linda Griffith August 2010 I. EBICS VISION AND GOALS I.1 EBICS Mission EBICS mission is to: Create a new scientific discipline for building living, multi-cellular machines that solve real world problems in health, security, and the environment. This mission will be achieved through EBICS s integrated research and education efforts, human resource development, diversity and outreach programs, and knowledge transfer activities. This strategic plan represents EBICS s approach to pursue these ambitious and transformative goals of the Center. The five goal areas addressed are: 1) Education, Human Resources and Diversity, 2) Leadership and Management, 3) Knowledge Transfer, 4) Integrative Research, and 5) Ethics. This strategic plan was developed over the last 6 months, during which time members of the EBICS STC met regularly through weekly Executive Committee teleconferences, Research Group teleconferences, and 2 multi-day face-to-face strategic planning sessions (May and June). Virtually all members, including the newly hired program managers at all three core institutions, and the three minority-serving partner institutions were directly involved in the planning process. The strategic plan for EBICS includes a mission statement, five goal statements, the outcomes for each goal, actions, measures, targets, responsible personnel, timelines, barriers and mitigating actions. I.2 EBICS Goals Goal 1: Education, Human Resources and Diversity. In Education, EBICS is committed to creating and disseminating models of innovative graduate education in the new discipline that are characterized by cross-institutional collaboration in research and curriculum development, co-advisement, faculty and student exchanges, and innovative strategies for preparing the next generation of researchers and leaders for success in multidisciplinary endeavors. In addition, as a means of increasing access to courses in the new discipline, EBICS will launch a teaching consortium in which top researchers will offer cutting-edge coursework and training opportunities in on-line, face to face, and blended formats to a significant number of core, partner and other collaborating institutions. International experiences are also an integral part of the EBICS education program, with students in core and partner institutions participating in international summer schools and research exchanges. A major component of EBICS Human Resources and Diversity (HRD) strategy is building strong research and education partnerships with minority serving partner institutions through the teaching consortium, Summer Undergraduate Research Programs, and student and faculty exchanges. Other HRD strategies include involving faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students from core and partner institutions in outreach to K-12 schools and community colleges. EBICS also seeks to promote public awareness through these outreach activities as well as through regular media releases aimed at the general public. Outcomes associated with Education, Human Resources and Diversity activities will be carefully monitored by longitudinal tracking of students short and long term accomplishments, demographics, satisfaction, enrollments, retention, and adoption of components of the program by other institutions. Goal 2: Leadership and Management. By forming a partnership among MIT, UIUC, and GT, the MSIs, and other partner institutions, the STC has assembled a truly interdisciplinary team of scientists and 1

2 engineers. EBICS is organized so that it can effectively act as an inter-institutional entity that serves the national and international community of those interested in integrated biological systems, working at the intersections of life sciences and physical sciences/engineering. Such an inter-institutional center poses tremendous management challenges with respect to communication among and coordination of the activities carried out at different institutions. It is, therefore, critical to have an optimized decision making process, and efficient operational procedures. EBICS will be based at MIT, but with close organizational and infrastructural connections to UIUC and Georgia Tech. As shown in the organizational chart, EBICS activities will be overseen by a Director, who will be assisted by an Associate Director from each of the three primary institutions. Six individuals have been identified to serve as Directors/co-Directors for Education, Research, Diversity, and Knowledge Transfer, respectively. Full-time staff positions have been filled for the Center Manager (at MIT), Diversity Manager (at Georgia Tech), and Education Manager (at UIUC). The Center is administered through a central office at MIT where the Center Manager resides. Several governing committees have been formed as a result of our interactions during the past several months. An Executive Committee is formed by the Director, the three associate directors, the three staff Managers, and the Directors or Co-Directors for Education, Knowledge Transfer, Diversity, and Research. In addition, two standing committees have been formed, the Education Committee and the Research Committee. While there is overlapping membership, each has distinct responsibilities. The Executive Committee will meet at least twice each month, and the other two committees will meet at least monthly. Notes will be taken at all meetings and circulated to the members of the committees. In addition, all Committees will meet face-to-face once each year at the Summer Retreat to review the past year s activities and to plan for the next year. A Student Leadership Council will be formed by elected student representatives from the three primary institutions and the minority-serving institutions. The role of the Student Leadership Council is to interface between the Executive Committee and the EBICS students to enhance the students educational experiences. An External Advisory Board will advise the EBICS Director on important policy issues. 2

3 Goal 3: Knowledge Transfer. An essential attribute of this field of integrated cellular systems is that it is highly interdisciplinary. In EBICS, we span beyond a single molecule, cell, or tissue and address the broader topic of multi-cellular machines and their integrative behavior. For this, we need to build a research community that bridges such diverse groups as developmental biologists and controls engineers, develops a common language, and fosters new interactions. At the same time, we need to engage the biotech industry and inform and educate the general public of the potential scientific and societal impact of our work. This is a daunting task, requiring a multi-pronged approach drawing upon existing infrastructures as well as creating entirely new ones. Here we outline a general approach to knowledge transfer and provide some specific examples, but our efforts will most certainly evolve as the community grows and becomes better defined. Goal 4: Integrative Research. The vision of the proposed STC is to address the grand challenge of engineering systems of living cells (multi-cellular biological machines) that can perform prescribed tasks. These biological machines (Fig. 1) will be comprised of cell clusters with distinct functional units capable of, for example, sensing, information processing, actuation, protein expression, and transport. Their collective functionality will meet a wide range of critical societal needs in energy, the environment, security, and healthcare. Critical to our vision is a fundamental understanding of interactions between cells and their environment, their control by biochemical and mechanical cues, and the coordinated behavior of functional cells in a machine. EBICS will therefore explore cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions and the emergent behavior of cell populations guided by mechano-chemical cues with the goal of creating engineered biological machines. To meet the challenges of creating biological machines EBICS has formed six project teams. The goals of three projects are to address fundamental scientific issues and emergent behavior at the stem cell, Figure 1 Integrated cellular systems cell cluster, and emergent 3D environment levels in order to build components of biological machines. The goals of the other three projects are to create specific biological machines with desirable functionalities. Outcomes, specific aims, measures, researchers responsible for carrying out the tasks, and timelines are given in the tables in section II. Goal 5: Ethics. EBICS faces several challenges in implementing a cross-institutional and multidisciplinary ethics program that will guide all members of the Center on ethical and responsible conduct of research. Realizing that disciplines currently have different requirements for ethics training and different academic traditions, that it will be difficult to add new requirements to an very full academic workload, and that the Center s research will likely produce ethically contentious issues that will challenge existing regulations, our strategic plan involves partnering with institutions who are doing cutting-edge exploration of ethical issues in the new biology, engaging Center members in constant, real-time dialogue about the ethical challenges associated with their work, and informing the public about the ethical implications of the new disciplines. We plan to use the strategic plan as a main organizer for our work, referring to it routinely in Executive and Research Committee meetings, using it as the basis for progress reporting, and revising it at least once per year as part of our annual reporting process. 3

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5 II. EBICS STRATEGIC PLAN Goal 1: Education, Human Resources and Diversity Mission Statement Create a new scientific discipline for building living, multicellular machines that solve real-world problems in health, security, and the environment. Goal 1: Education, Human Resources and Diversity Integrate cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research, education, and outreach efforts across the Center that will advance innovative training, diversity of the workforce, and public education for all. Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline Students are well prepared to become future researchers and education leaders in the new discipline, with expertise in both Biology and Engineering. Develop combined graduate programs at core institutions with strong cross-institutional collaboration and linkages to the minority-serving partners. Create a Teaching Consortium in which top researchers offer cutting edge courses to students across core, partner, and collaborating universities. Cross-institutional shared longitudinal tracking of student experiences and outcomes including: courses taken, research experiences, advisement, retention, graduation, awards, publications, and initial employment. Consistent array of high quality courses offered to consortia members. Expanded enrollment in teaching consortia at both institutional and student levels. 5 Retention/graduation rates/yr by group: : 90% : 90% : 90% # publications/ student/yr by group: : 0 pubs/yr :.5 pubs/yr : 1.0 pubs/yr % students engaged in research experiences: : 80% : 90% : 100% # of courses offered: : : : 6 # institutions participating: : : : 7 % students enrolled: : : : 60 Sept 2010 and

6 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline Develop short training Tracking of EBICS students who % students enrolled: Jan 2011 and courses on core skills have participated in and completed : 10 including lab modules (cell the core skills training : 50 culture, nanofabrication, : 90 computation, and imaging), and the plus components (communication skills, leadership skills, ethics, IP, and patent, and entrepreneurship). Students are well prepared to become future researchers and education leaders in the new discipline, with expertise in both Biology and Engineering. Mechanisms exist to support, foster, and evaluate student coadvising across the Center. Recruitment, participation and retention of women and underrepresented minority (URM) groups increase significantly in all Center activities. Enrich students with international experiences by attending GEM4 summer schools and conducting research at international partner institutions. Establish policies and procedures, and identify resources for cross-institute co-advising of students. Cross-institutional tracking of co-advising by institution and by special interest subgroup. Develop tracking system for monitoring recruitment, participation and retention across all core and MSI partners (including Teaching consortium. Tracking of EBICS students who have participated in international activities. High level of co-advised students at all Center institutions. Participation rates for women and URMs in all Center activities compared to baseline, selected peers, and national averages. 6 % students enrolled: : : : 70 % institutions with co-advising procedures/yr: : 100% : 100% : 100% % students co-advised/yr: : 0-10% : 25% : 50% % women and URM participation in REU/student exchanges: : 50% : 60% : 75% % women and URMs holding RAs in Center: : 30% : 40% Jan 2011 and Jan-Feb 2011 April 2011 and Dec 2010 and

7 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline : 40% % women and URM enrollment in Teaching Consortium courses: : 20% : 30% : 40% % women and URM retention rates: : baseline : 70% : 80% Effective mechanisms exist to engage with K- 12, community college and undergraduate programs to promote interest, understanding, and participation. Establish Summer Undergraduate Research Program for URMs. Develop and evaluate mechanisms to engage students and teachers from other educational sectors. Track participation and impact in terms of satisfaction, interest, and continued involvement in STEM. Participation rates for women and URMs in Summer Undergraduate Research Program compared to baseline, selected peers, and national averages. Participation rates and impact for all students and women and URMs in all Center outreach activities compared to baseline. % women and URM participation in Summer Research Program: : 50% : 60% : 75% % Summer Research participants who continue in graduate school: : 50% : 60% : 75% # students from other educational sectors participating in outreach: : baseline : 8, : 26,600 % women and URM participation rates: : 40% : 60% : 70% May 2011 and Disseminate findings and effective programming to 7 % reporting high levels of satisfaction & impact:

8 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline other institutions and at professional conferences : 60% : 70% : 80% # of other institutions replicating outreach activities: : : 5 Increased public awareness of future challenges and opportunities in the new biology. Efficient dissemination of valid and effective new modes of design and delivery of multidisciplinary education/outreach materials and experiences. Maintain In the News web page on Center s website with links to all media exposures. Routinely disseminate press releases and OpEd articles. Disseminate Center marketing materials at professional conferences. Develop dissemination networks of interested institutions. Number of positive and accurate media exposures per year associated with Center faculty and students. Number of materials and experiences validated. Number of valid and effective materials disseminated : 10 # of positive and accurate media exposures: : : : 24 # of materials and experiences developed: : : : 12 # of materials and experiences disseminated: : : : 12 Nov 2010 and June 2011 and 8

9 Goal 2: Leadership and Management Mission Statement Create a new scientific discipline for building living, multicellular machines that solve real-world problems in health, security, and the environment. Goal 2: Leadership and Management Envision and enable the Center s mission through inclusive and transparent decision-making, as well as effective and responsible implementation; inspire Center participants; and facilitate collaborative efforts within and beyond the Center. Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline Management and administrative responsibility is distributed effectively across the Center. Assign responsibilities, as appropriate, for all Center activities within 2 weeks of identifying tasks. Cross-institutional tracking of Center task completion by group. All Center goals across all participating institutions are assigned and completed on time by task and by group. % of tasks assigned on time/yr by group: : % : % : %100 % of tasks completed on time/yr by group: : % : % : %100 Evaluate distribution of responsibilities and if necessary re-distribute tasks. Feb 2011 Aug 2011 and yearly thereafter Center members are aware of processes and content for Center decision-making. Develop and administer annual evaluation survey to monitor perceived Center transparency by members. Cross-institutional tracking of Center member views on transparency by group. % members self-reporting Center transparency/yr by group: : 35% : 60% : 85% July 2011 and yearly thereafter 9

10 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline Evaluate perceived Center transparency by members and if necessary institute specific transparency policies. Aug 2011 and yearly thereafter Center has mechanisms ensuring that all members have the opportunity to provide input into the direction of the Center. Center members are engaged and enthusiastic across all partner institutions and activities. Establish input mechanisms for all Center groups. Develop and administer annual survey on Center input mechanisms and level of member participation. Evaluate level of perceived Center input by members and if necessary modify input mechanisms. All committees and projects will establish regular conference call and meeting times. All Center groups have opportunities for input defining the direction of the Center. Cross-institutional tracking of Center member views on input mechanisms by group. Cross-institutional tracking of member participation in relevant conference calls, meetings, seminars, courses and other Center activities. % groups with input mechanisms/yr: : 100% : 100% : 100% % groups providing input/yr: : 35% : 100% : 100% % members within groups providing input/yr: : 20% : 50% : 75% % member participation in Center/yr by group: : 75% (or measured baseline) : 80% (or baseline + 5%) : 90% (or baseline + 15%, ultimate target: 100%) Jan-Feb 2011 July 2011 and yearly thereafter Aug 2011 and yearly thereafter The significant contributions of all Center members are acknowledged and Establish mechanisms for students, staff, and faculty awards. Outstanding student, staff, and faculty efforts will be recognized. % groups with mechanisms for recognition/yr: : % : %100 Dec 2010 and 10

11 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline rewarded : %100 Implement mechanisms for awards and recognition across the Center and announce all awards in newsletter. Dec 2010 and Mechanisms exist to support, foster, and evaluate collaboration across all activities of the Center. Students will develop leadership skills through their Cross-institutional tracking of awards and recognition by group and by special subgroup interest. Establish mechanisms and identify resources for cross-institute collaborative non-research activities. Cross-institutional tracking of participation of in collaborative non-research activities. See Integrative Research section for collaborative research initiatives. See Education, Human Resources, and Diversity section for collaborative student co-advising initiatives. Create EBICS Student Council. High level of collaborative nonresearch activities across all Center institutions. Students actively involved in Student Council activities. 11 # individual awards/yr by group: : : : 15 % institutions with mechanisms and resources for collaborative activities/yr by group: : 100% : 100% : 100% % member involved in collaborative nonresearch/yr by group: : 0-10% : 25% : 50% % students involved in Student Council activities across institutions: : 25% Dec 2010 and Jan 2011

12 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline involvement with the : 50% Center : 80% Student Council will organize seminars, participate in leadership and operation of the Centers, develop programs, and assist with evaluation and planning. Student Council plans and implements a high quality program for students. Students participate in operation and governance of Center. % students involved in Center leadership activities: : 25% : 50% : 80% Goal 3: Knowledge Transfer Mission Statement Create a new scientific discipline for building living, multicellular machines that solve real-world problems in health, security, and the environment. Goal 3: Knowledge Transfer Develop effective mechanisms and pathways to facilitate intellectual exchanges between institutions and partners of various types that will support the sharing of knowledge, information, and application of new technology. Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline Industrial practices at biology-engineering interface are revolutionized. Promote interactions with industry. Actively involve faculty and students with technology transfer. Number of new start up companies. Number of licensed patents/applications. Number of new start up companies: : : : 3 Number of licensed patents/applications: : : : 10 Jan 2011 and 12

13 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline Organize symposia at Number of symposia organized. BMES, ASME/BED, ASCB, WCB, AAAS. New ideas and approaches are disseminated into broader R&D community through conferences, symposia, and workshops at professional conferences. Government agencies are stimulated to incorporate forward engineering of multicellular biological systems into their program areas. Public awareness of EBICS activities is increase through multimedia communications. Contact PDs at NSF and NIH, DOE and DOD concerning new PAs related to EBICS. Executive/Education/Diver sity Managers establish relationship with media contacts at EBICS institutions. Number of visits to the EBICS website. Number of presentations at different societies/organizations. Number of PAs initiated. Number of news releases. Number of museum exhibits and number of visitors. Number of publications in popular journals. 13 Number of symposia: : : : 5 Number of visits to the EBICS website: : : 10, : 30,000 Number of presentations: : : : 60 Number of PAs initiated: : : : 3 Number of news releases: : : : 24 Number of museum exhibits/visitors: : 0/ : 1/10, : 3/50,000 Number of publications: : : : 5

14 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline Number of talks given to the public. Number of talks: : : : 30 Goal 4: Integrative Research Mission Statement Create a new scientific discipline for building living, multicellular machines that solve real-world problems in health, security, and the environment. Goal 4: Integrative Research Produce transformative, synergistic research through an inclusive collaborative culture that crosses disciplinary and institutional boundaries and is embedded throughout the Center s activities. Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Timeline Mechanisms exist to support, foster, and evaluate collaborative research across the Center. Budget travel expenses for student/pd/faculty research exchanges. Implement seed grant program (with teams from at least 2 institutions) to fund student/pd/faculty research exchanges at Center institutions. Cross-institutional tracking of research exchanges by institution and by special interest subgroup. Funding allocated for research exchanges. All interested students/pd/faculty have research exchange opportunities with Center support. # of seed grant sources for research exchanges/yr: : : : 7 % research exchanges/yr by group: : 5% : 10% : 20% Sept 2010 and yearly thereafter Dec 2010 and 14

15 Establish EBICS joint seminar series. Videoconference joint seminars to all partner institutions. Cross-institutional tracking of number of seminar participants by institution and by special interest subgroup. Each partner institution has a Faculty Seminar Coordinator. Center members are aware of relevant research at partner and outside institutions. # coordinators/ institute: : : : 1 # seminars/yr: : : : 6 % participants/yr by group: : 20% : 30% : 50% Oct 2010 Jan 2011 Jan 2011 and Goal 5: Ethics Mission Statement Create a new scientific discipline for building living, multicellular machines that solve real-world problems in health, security, and the environment. Goal 5: Ethics Implement a cross-disciplinary and multi-institutional ethics program that will inform and guide all members of the Center on ethical and responsible conduct of scientific research. Engage in active dialogue with experts and the public regarding ethically scientific research. Engage in active dialogue with experts and the public regarding ethically contentious issues arising from the Center s research. Personnel Outcomes Actions Measures Targets Center members Offer Increased proportion of understand comprehensive, Center members responsible accessible, effective having access to and research conduct, ethics training at all completing training ethical concerns, institutions. requirements. % completion of training requirements: : 40% : 75% : 100% 15 Responsible Educational leads at core and partner institutions and Hsia, DeStefano, Timeline Aug 2010

16 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets and conduct themselves in an Reduction in incidents ethically responsible of misconduct. way. Center members anticipate and evaluate potential Identify the training program requirements across primary and minority serving institutions. Adapt and expand existing training programs to accommodate all students and faculty. Implement expanded programs across all partner institutions. Incorporate RCR and ethics into all newly developed courses and training programs. Track participation of Center students and faculty in RCR and ethical training. Identify speakers and appropriate activities that raise Personnel Responsible Lenear % reduction in incidents of misconduct: Educational : 20% leads at core : 40% and partner : 60% institutions and Hsia, DeStefano, Nerem, Lenear, Jackson TBD TBD Educational leads at core and partner institutions and Hsia, DeStefano, Lenear TBD TBD Educational leads at core and partner institutions and Hsia, DeStefano, Lenear TBD TBD Educational leads at core and partner institutions and Hsia, DeStefano, Lenear TBD TBD Education Manager (Lenear) Increased numbers of Center members who anticipate and evaluate % Center members who anticipate and evaluate ethical implications: : 50% 16 Educational leads at core and partner Timeline Aug 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Sept 2010 and Aug 2010 and Sept 2011 and

17 Outcomes Actions Measures Targets ethical implications ethics awareness. ethical implications : 70% of engineering new Track participation. using standardized : 90% life forms and scenarios in a pre/post conduct themselves Develop and format. in ethically administer pre and responsible ways. post assessments. Public is aware of and understands the ethical implications of the new discipline. Mentoring and authorship policies are articulated and communicated to all STC members. Routinely conduct public opinion poll using igem teams. Develop mentoring and authorship policies. Disseminate policies to all faculty, staff & students through seminars, coursework, retreats, & website. Increased percentage of public demonstrating awareness and understanding. % of public demonstrating awareness and understanding: :.1% : 2% : 5% % of participating units implementing policies: : 0% : 100% : 100% Personnel Responsible institutions and Hsia, DeStefano, Lenear Weiss and igems Educational leads at core and partner institutions and Hsia, DeStefano, Lenear, Bao, Gillette Timeline Sept 2011 and annually thereafter Jan