Paul Dunshirn is a PhD student at the research platform “Governance of digital practices” (University of Vienna). He is an affiliate researcher at the ERC-funded project MARIPOLDATA. Paul has a background in political science and anthropology. His current research focuses on questions of governance and global equity around marine genetic resources. Using computational methods, he traces marine genetic resource pathways from the moment of sampling to scientific research and patenting to provide a better empirical grounding to current debates in the context of the BBNJ negotiations and the CBD.

Bob Kreiken is a PhD researcher at the sections Biotechnology & Society and Ethics & Philosophy of Technology of Delft University of Technology. Bob researches what a just distribution of genetic biodiversity entails in the context of the ABS regulation of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and Nagoya Protocol. Applying concepts from research ethics, international relations, environmental and data justice, Bob explores how users of Digital Sequence Information (DSI) can maintain open access to DSI while addressing the needs of developing countries and indigenous peoples, and helping biodiversity conservation.

Pierre Walckiers is a PhD candidate at the Center for Philosophy of Law of UCLouvain. Pierre has a background in Law (Université libre de Bruxelles), Philosophy (UCLouvain) and European studies (College of Europe).  He is currently undertaking a PhD in philosophy of law and international environmental law, under a FNRS grant. His research concerns the functions and limits of the scientific narrative and argument in legal discourse, precisely in discussions on the status of DSI and dematerialized seeds. In this case study, his project aims to shed light on how scientific arguments are used to orient, consolidate, or put pressure on legal discussions. 

Alex Reep has a background in Environmental Science, Urban Planning, and Sustainable International Development. As a Fulbright researcher from 2023 to 2024, Alex explored what Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and farming communities in Colombia consider to be fair and equitable benefit-sharing from the use of DSI that originated in their territories. Alex is currently the Convener of the Ethics and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Expert Council for the Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI), where she works to ensure this effort to catalog the biomolecular composition of the world’s food supply respects ethical and legal frameworks on ABS compliance.

Erik Zhivkoplias is an interdisciplinary researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, specializing in ocean governance and the role of marine genetics in socio-ecological systems. With a background in international law and bioinformatics, he now focuses on integrating computational methods with normative analysis to explore the functional diversity of marine genetic resources and the systemic challenges in their use and provision that hinder the unlocking of their potential.

KatieLee Riddle (Rongowhakaata) an ENRICH Scholar, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga and SING Alumni, and enrolled Solicitor and Barrister of the High Court of New Zealand, specialises in Māori and Indigenous Intellectual Property, DSI, Genetic Resources, and Indigenous Data Sovereignty. She advises on these issues for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and is a representative for New Zealand and the Pacific at the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity.

Arthur van Buitenen (he/his) is a PhD Candidate at the Leiden University Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs with an extensive background in governance and advocacy work, including at the International Development Law Organization in the Hague. His research focuses on the role of non-state actor engagements in the negotiations of access and benefit sharing from DSI under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Applying a public - private interests theoretic lens, his research aims to explain the power dynamics in multilateral climate and biodiversity policy negotiations.

Manon Lemaire is a PhD candidate in public international law at the University of Artois (France), where she is preparing a dissertation on the legal challenges related to genetic resources in an international context. Passionate about biodiversity, her research focuses on the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities, intellectual property rights, and the dematerialization of genetic resources. Alongside her research, Manon shares her expertise as a lecturer at the University of Lyon 3 and the University of Artois, where she contributes to the education of law students.

Elsenoor Wijlhuizen is a PhD candidate in innovation studies and environmental governance at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University. She has a background in human geography and has worked on justice in the energy transition before turning to the concept of ABS. She tries to understand the role ABS can have in establishing a just bioeconomy by conceptualizing ABS in different international fora. The justice lens she uses in her research is that of relational justice, where she tries to understand how ABS shapes new relations between users and providers of genetic resources. She, for example, tries to understand how regulations on DSI shape relations amongst user parties and whether we could consider them as just. Focus: CBD, ITPGRFA, BBNJ, PIP

Shyama Kuriakose is an independent legal researcher based out of India. She has over fourteen years of experience researching on enviro-legal subjects ranging from ABS, open access to ecological data, and documentation and recognition of traditional knowledge, policy analysis and capacity-building, to implementation of international and national laws on biological diversity and biodiversity conservation especially of medicinal plants, wildlife and marine life. She has also published several popular opinion pieces and academic papers on natural resource management laws and engaged in negotiations. Shyama holds a Bachelor's in law (National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi) and a Master's in Intellectual Property Rights (National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad). 

Eduardo Relly (he/him) is from southern Brazil and studied history (Bachelor), environmental sciences (M.A.) and Law. He earned his PhD in History from the Free University of Berlin. Eduardo has an extensive publication record across multiple countries and has taught environmental-related subjects in both Germany and Brazil. Currently, he serves as an associate researcher at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, and as a specialized promotor (Fachpromotor) for international sustainable development within the “Eine-Welt” project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). His research focuses on the implementation of access-and-benefit-sharing policies in Brazil, as well as the influence of power dynamics on the conceptualization and negotiation of intellectual property rights related to traditional knowledge and (digital) genetic resources.

Solenne Correard (she/her) is a molecular biologist and bioinformatician passionate about the complexity of human and non-human genomes, interested in using genomic to help navigate some of today’s worldwide challenges, such as ensuring equal access to personalized medicine to everyone around the globe, regardless of their origin or economic background, and studying climate change repercussions on earth biodiversity and fresh water / food supply to help prevent future dramatic events. She worked in academia for several years, processing large amounts of genomic data in projects related to human health and biodiversity. She is now a bioinformatic consultant working with labs and NGOs across the globe to ensure that DNA sequencing and bioinformatics is accessible to all, providing support to groups exploring its benefits for the first time or to expert teams needing extra support.