The future of engineering biology - with Angela McLean

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Join Dame Angela McLean, the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, as she discusses the transformative potential of the field of engineering biology.

This Discourse was recorded at the Ri on 25 April 2025. Find out more about Discourses here:

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The field of engineering biology uses the whole span of biological sciences in conjunction with technology and engineering to benefit multiple sectors and our society more broadly.

But as a relatively new field, scientists still have many unanswered questions. What are the key opportunities and risks it presents? What barriers stand in the way of engineering biology revolutionising society?

Dame Angela McLean, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, has been considering the scientific evidence behind the many claims – both utopian and dystopian – associated with research and innovation in engineering biology. In this Discourse, Dame Angela shares what she has learned from her “Year of Engineering Biology”, describing her vision for this suite of technologies and the applications she expects to emerge over the next decade and beyond.

Join Dame Angela to find out her perspective on this transformative area of science.

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Professor Dame Angela McLean DBE FRS has been the Government Chief Scientific Adviser since April 2023. She is also Head of the Government Science and Engineering Profession. Prior to this, Dame Angela was the Chief Scientific Adviser for the Ministry of Defence.

Dame Angela’s research interests lie in the use of mathematical models to aid our understanding of the evolution and spread of infectious agents, as well as the use of natural science evidence in formulating public policy. She has co-developed the Oxford Martin School Restatements: an activity which restructures and presents the evidence underlying an issue of policy concern or controversy in a short, uncharged, intelligible form for non-technical audiences.

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