Ximena Roman Grajeda — HTGAA Spring 2026
Subsections of Ximena Roman Grajeda — HTGAA Spring 2026
Homework
Weekly homework submissions:
Week 1 HW: Principles and Practices
First, describe a biological engineering application or tool you want to develop and why. This could be inspired by an idea for your HTGAA class project and/or something for which you are already doing in your research, or something you are just curious about. I would be interested in developing an approach to studying interactions between the gut mycobiome and host gut cells. Specifically to examine how fungal components contribute to chronic inflammation and downstream cellular stress responses in gut epithelial cells. And if this stress can promote to the development of colorectal cancer or other conditions such as IBS.
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Subsections of Homework
Week 1 HW: Principles and Practices
- First, describe a biological engineering application or tool you want to develop and why. This could be inspired by an idea for your HTGAA class project and/or something for which you are already doing in your research, or something you are just curious about.
I would be interested in developing an approach to studying interactions between the gut mycobiome and host gut cells. Specifically to examine how fungal components contribute to chronic inflammation and downstream cellular stress responses in gut epithelial cells. And if this stress can promote to the development of colorectal cancer or other conditions such as IBS.
- Next, describe one or more governance/policy goals related to ensuring that this application or tool contributes to an “ethical” future, like ensuring non-malfeasance (preventing harm). Break big goals down into two or more specific sub-goals.
A. Governance role 1 (Safety and security-Responsible research): Prevent misuse or unsafe utilization of immune-modulating research. a1. Sub-goal 1: prevent wrongful application of findings outside the context they were designed for: to make sure that findings are not used as direct causal proof or direct clinical input. a2. Sub-goal 2: ensure clear communication of model limitations: this to ensure that understanding of what exactly the model’s goals are and what it insight will be able to provide about the disease or other possible research areas
B. Governance role 2 (Equity): Ensuring equitable and representative research in mycobiome research models. b1. Sub-goal 1: Encourage inclusion of diverse mycobiome profiles in research design: to that models can reflect more accurately the variability of the mycobiome across populations. b2 Sub-goal 2: Ensure that model explicitly acknowledge variability of the mycobiome: to prevent results from being presented as universally representative of all human gut.
| Does the option: | Option 1 | Option 2 | Option 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enhance Biosecurity | |||
| • By preventing incidents | |||
| • By helping respond | |||
| Foster Lab Safety | |||
| • By preventing incident | |||
| • By helping respond | |||
| Protect the environment | |||
| • By preventing incidents | |||
| • By helping respond | |||
| Other considerations | |||
| • Minimizing costs and burdens to stakeholders | |||
| • Feasibility? | |||
| • Not impede research | |||
| • Promote constructive applications |