Ethics, the Public, & Early-Career Researchers. Emily Costa shares the goals of the SEEDS project

On this episode of Questions of the Day on CivicSciTV, we sit down with Dr. Emily Costa, Civic Science Associate at Rockefeller University’s RockEDU program, for a rare early glimpse into a brand new civic science project — SEEDS: Stories of Ethics, Engagement, and Dialogue in Science.

Funded by the Kavli and Rita Allen Foundations and hosted by ComSciCon, SEEDS is just getting off the ground, making this conversation a unique look at the multidimensional project before the training takes place, case studies are written, the data collected, or the findings shared.

Costa explains that SEEDS was born from a big gap in how basic scientists engage with the ethical dimensions of their research. “There are folks out there doing this work, and we’re hoping to capture their stories,” she says. The team plans for the SEEDS case studies to illuminate how basic scientists are “taking action to better understand the broader societal impacts of their research and/or account for these implications in their research approaches.”

Important Links

(1) ComSciCon Flagship 2025 website & application

(2) SEEDS case subject nomination form

(3) SEEDS case study writers program application form

(4) Facts Machine

(5) About Emily Costa

Fanuel Muindi

Fanuel Muindi is a former neuroscientist turned civic science ethnographer. He is a professor of the practice in the Department of Communication Studies within the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University, where he leads the Civic Science Media Lab. Dr. Muindi received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology and PhD in Organismal Biology from Morehouse College and Stanford University, respectively. He completed his postdoctoral training at MIT.