Institutional Review Board for Biohackers
Examines ethical review standards and institutional review boards adapted for independent biohackers and community labs.
Summary
In this governance session from the DEF CON Safe Mode Biohacking Village, Sarah Blossom Ware, founder of the BioBlaze community wet lab in Chicago, addresses the necessity of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) for independent scientific research. Opening at 00:00, Sarah outlines the growing community of citizen scientists operating outside traditional academia.
At 03:02, she defines the modern biohacker demographic, highlighting researchers pursuing independent biological experimentation in community labs and independent spaces. At 06:02, the talk examines the ethical mandate of IRBs in evaluating research protocols, protecting human subjects, and ensuring informed consent.
Concluding at 09:02 and 12:00, Sarah presents a framework for decentralized, community-driven IRBs, explaining how peer ethical review builds public trust, qualifies biohackers for institutional funding, and facilitates collaboration with established public health authorities. (AI summary — Gemini Flash)
Related talks
Biohacking Village·27 min
Mo Ali · Amy Abernethy
FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Amy Abernethy discusses medical device cybersecurity, big data, and regulatory collaboration.
Biohacking Village·26 min
Meg Doerr
Presents a clinical framework for cybersecurity informed consent to communicate device vulnerability risks to patients.
Biohacking Village·1 hr 16 min
Security researchers and medical device manufacturers share insights on coordinated vulnerability disclosure and addressing legacy devices.