Lab to Land Institute

Research: Lab to Land is developing new climate resilience solutions for California and the arid West using the power of genomic technology in conjunction with our partner UC labs - the IGI at UC Berkeley the Paleogenomics Lab at UCSC and the Indigenous Futures Institute at UCSD. We have prioritized four distinct research pilots - each of which poses unique socio-cultural political and scientific challenges - in order to inform key scientific governance + regulatory roadblocks. The selected research pathways include: a deep-rooted and drought-tolerant native California grasses b Sudden oak death c resilient healthy California soil microbial communities d adaptation of native salmon species for warmer watershed conditions. Research is already underway related to soil microbial communities and together these four technologies offer a unique near-term and well-rounded set of concrete examples of biotechnology for conservation and climate resilience. In addition we have on-boarded for Lab to Land Fellows post-doctoral candidates who are participating in our in-person gatherings collaborating on research and authoring peer-reviewed publications to explore specific challenges in delivering biotechnology to wild lands climate resilience - effectively and ethically.

Industry Outreach and Network Growth: Lab to Land leadership is actively building the emerging ecosystem at the intersection of genomic technologies and climate resilience. We do this by: - Attending existing events and conferences like Aspen Ideas: Climate where Lab to Land's CEO hosted a roundtable discussion with roughly 40 attendees on the topic of Biotechnology for Resilience Keystone Policy Center's Gene Editing and Societal Engagement Workshop at the Innovative Genomics Institute Meridian Institute's Generation Climate Alliance gathering - Disseminating monthly newsletters sharing our up-to-date learnings acknowledging thought leaders in the field and inspiring folks to get involved interested in Lab to Land's work - Constant outreach to existing industry leaders resulting in more introductions and connections in the network

Facilitation and Convenings: While researching and developing these technologies listed above is a critical component of Lab to Land's work equally important is our focus on convening optimal blends of multidisciplinary stakeholders to ensure a healthy culture of societal engagement around these technologies and that these technologies deliver timely value for the land. In partnership with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Lab to Land is hosting four focused forums now through February 2024. These convenings will help us to: - Discern any positive or negative unintended consequences when deploying these technologies - Determine the ideal metrics and evaluation tools from which we will stay accountable to ethical and effective deployment of these technologies - Discover any additional technologies that should be added to Lab to Land's research portfolio