Faculty + Scholars

Kenneth

Oye

Professor, Political Science
Professor, Data Systems and Society
Director, Program on Emerging Technologies (PoET)
Interim Director, Seminar XXI

oye@mit.edu

E40-437

617-253-3412

CV
PoET

Expertise:

Emerging technologies (synthetic biology, ubiquitous computing, energy technology; economic, environmental, social and political effects), political economy, foreign policy, science and technology

Extended Details

Biography

Kenneth Oye holds a joint appointment in Political Science and Engineering Systems, with research and teaching on international relations, political economy and technology policy. His books include Cooperation under Anarchy, Economic Discrimination and Political Exchange, and the “Eagle” monographs on American foreign policy. His recent studies on technology policy has been published in Science, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Politics and the Life Sciences and Issues in Science and Technology. He serves as director of the MIT Program on Emerging Technologies (PoET), as a member of the MIT Synthetic Biology Center and the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation, and as Director of Policy and Practices for NSF SynBERC. In the past several years, he has served as an invited expert to the UN BWC, the WHO, PCAST and the National Research Council. Professor Oye is a recipient of the Levitan Award for Excellence in Teaching (2011), the Graduate Council Teaching Award (1998) and the Technology and Policy Program Faculty Appreciation Award (2003). Before coming to MIT, he taught at Harvard, the University of California, Princeton and Swarthmore. He holds a BA in Economics and Political Science from Swarthmore with Highest Honors and a PhD in political science from Harvard with the Chase Dissertation Prize.

Research

He has published six books on international relations, including Cooperation under Anarchy and Economic Discrimination and Political Exchange. His current research applies theories and methods from political economy to problems of science and technology policy, with emphasis on appraising market and nonmarket institutions and processes in light of uncertainty over risks, benefits, and interests. His current project on adaptive regulation combines retrospective case studies on environmental, health, safety and security risks with the experimental application of case based theories to two current policy areas. He has partnered with the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation, payers, sponsors, regulators from EMA and FDA and the White House on development of adaptive approaches to pharmaceuticals licensing. He has partnered with the Smithsonian Wilson Center, NSF, EPA, UNBWC and WHO, biotech firms and NGOs to improve assessment and management of risks associated with synthetic biology. His other current projects focus on uses of compensation to rectify distributional consequences of reforms and on credible assessment of scientific and technical knowledge in areas of uncertainty, complexity and controversy.

Publications

“Revisit NIGH Biosafety Guidelines.” (with Maureen O’Leary and Margaret Riley), Science Vol 357, Issue 6352, p 627, August 2017.

IRGC, Transatlantic Regulatory Patterns and Implications for International Trade, Sections 23.4 and 25.4, February 2017.

“Pharmaceuticals Licensing and Reimbursement in the European Union, United States and Japan,” (with KA, Eichler HG, Hoos A, Mori Y, Mullin TM and Pearson M),Volume 100 Number 6 December 2016. Received 26 July 2016; accepted 28 August 2016; advance online publication 12 September 2016, doi: 10.1002/cpt505.

"The Next Frontier: Fostering Innovation by Improving Health Data Access and Utilization" Oye, KA, Jain G, Amador, M, Arnout R, Brown, JS, Crown W, Ferguson, J, Pezalla, E, Rassen JA, Selker JP, Trusheim, M and Hirsch G, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 98 (5) Nov 5, 2015, pp 515-521.

“From adaptive licensing to adaptive pathways: Delivering a flexible life-span approach to bring new drugs to patients.” (with Hans Georg Eichler et al), Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 95 (3), Feb 4, 2015, pp 234-246.

“Regulate Home Brew Opiates,” (with JC Lawson and T Bubela), Nature. 521 (7552), May 21, 2015, pp.281-283.

“Regulating Gene Drives,” (with Kevin Esvelt, Evan Appleton, Flaminia Catteruccia, George Church, Todd Kuiken, Shlomiya Bar-Yam Lightfoot, Julie McNamara, Andrea Smidler, James Collins), Science. 345 (6197), August 8, 2014, pp. 626-628.

“A Proposal for Integrated Efficacy-to-Effectiveness (E2E Clinical Trials).” (with H.P. Selker), Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2014, 95 2, pp. 147-153.

“Designing Safety Policies to Meet Evolving Needs: iGEM as a Testbed for Proactive and Adaptive Risk Management.” (with Julie McNamara, Shlomiya Bar-Yam Lightfoot, Kelly Drinkwater, Evan Appleton) ACS Synthetic Biology. (12) December 3, 2014, pp. 983-985.

“Shaping Ecological Risk Research for Synthetic Biology.” (with T. Kuiken, G. Dana, D. Rajeski), Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 2014, 4:191-199.

“Legal Foundations of Adaptive Licensing” K Oye et al (September 2013) and “Adaptive Licensing: Taking the Next Step in the Evolution of Drug Approval,” H Eichler, K Oye et al (March 2012), Nature Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

“Proactive and Adaptive Governance of Emerging Risks: The Case of DNA Synthesis and Synthetic Biology, Kenneth A. Oye, International Risk Governance Council, June 2012.

“Guide to US Federal Regulations Governing Synthetic Biology,” Kenneth Oye et al in Markus Schmidt (ed), Assessing Synthetic Biology Applications, Wiley, 2012, 17 pages.

Books