Vivian Zhong is a Ph.D. candidate in bioengineering at Stanford University, where she develops genetic engineering tools in plants and microbes with an eye toward furthering sustainable agriculture. She is also an intern at Fall Line Capital, where she is scoping out the complex regulatory field for novel agricultural biological products. She holds out hope that she can make a positive, tangible impact through engagement in science policy.
Given the unreliability of private market funding for agricultural biotechnology R&D, substantial federal funding through research programs such as AgARDA is vital for accelerating R&D.
The U.S. should increase funding on genetically-engineered organisms to power agricultural sustainability and resiliency.