Sophia Tomatz

Sophia Tomatz is a fourth year PhD candidate in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at UC Berkeley. She works in the lab of Markita Landry, where she studies applications of nanoparticles for delivery of biological cargos to plant systems for agricultural and gene editing applications. Sophia is interested in exploring the nexus between plant gene editing and agricultural systems. In particular, she looks to use her time as a Kavli Ethics, Science, and the Public Graduate Fellow to explore the intersection between academic spaces, international regulatory policies, and consumer perceptions of gene edited technologies. Sophia is passionate about both science communication and policy, and seeks to investigate the development of policies surrounding gene edited products in order to integrate consumer concerns, biodiversity and regulatory safeguards, and intellectual property protections. Additionally, Sophia is interested in the ethical and policy concerns surrounding novel biological design tools and ongoing efforts to develop regulatory frameworks for these emerging technologies.