Event 2: The Construction of the Environment in Epigenetics Research

Pinel and I after her presentation.

This presentation by Clemence Pinel piqued my curiosity because I learned about epigenetics in a previous course and wanted to learn more. To my surprise, Pinel is a social scientist from King’s College London, and the presentation was on how researchers can gain this intangible currency of credibility, and then “exchange” this currency for actual funding for research, not about epigenetics. This credibility currency could be earned by boosting a research lab’s resume in three fields: profitability, mobility, and versatility ("The Construction of the Environment in Epigenetics Research, Pinel). This credibility is exchanged between labs through research collaborations that involve exchanging human/laboratory resources and expertise. The goal of these exchanges was to maximize results while minimizing costs.

Clemence Pinel

I found it interesting how Pinel portrayed scientists as being forced out of their comfort zone of research and into the marketing world as entrepreneurs, or “wild capitalists” as Bruno Latour calls them. Latour advocates eliminating the distinction between the social and technical elements of science, thus blending one’s marketability with one’s research content (Vrieze). Similar to starving animals forced to leave their home territory in search of food, researchers are starved of funding and forced to adapt themselves to a new competitive playing field if they are to attain funding for their research.

However, researchers are now also forced to change their topics of research (i.e. environmental factors in epigenetics research) to maximize their marketability. Certain environmental factors such as smoking and alcohol provide strong, conclusive results, which is what many financial backers want to see come out of the research they invest in.

Smoking by a pregnant mother can lead to epigenetic effects
3 generations into the future

Lastly, I found it upsetting that, in the end, even science has been bought out by money and what is researched is controlled by the wealthy. I believe research can be exploratory and does not always have to yield market profit, but unfortunately, that is not the world we live in. In addition, funding by investors that have a financial interest in the outcome of experiments breed conflicts of interest that lead to biased conclusions (Belluz et. al.).

As a bioengineer going into this world of research, I found this presentation valuable, but slightly disheartening, to prepare myself to seek credibility through collaborations and market myself as a profitable investment opportunity. I would advise anyone who plans on going into the world of research to attend a talk hosted by Pinel or at least look into the conclusions Pinel presented on.

References

Belluz, Julia, et al. “The 7 Biggest Problems Facing Science, According to 270 Scientists.” Vox, Vox, 14 July 2016, www.vox.com/2016/7/14/12016710/science-challeges-research-funding-peer-review-process.

Pinel, Clémence. "The Construction Of The Environment In Epigenetics Research: A Social Study". 2018.

Pinel, Clémence. “Clémence Pinel (@Clemencepinel).” Twitter, Twitter, 14 May 2018, twitter.com/clemencepinel.

Shaw, Jonathan. “Is Epigenetics Inherited?” Harvard Magazine, 14 Apr. 2017, harvardmagazine.com/2017/05/is-epigenetics-inherited. 

Vrieze, Jop de. “Bruno Latour, a Veteran of the 'Science Wars,' Has a New Mission.” Science |

AAAS, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 10 Oct. 2017, www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/10/bruno-latour-veteran-science-wars-has-new-mission.