Documenting the doable and doing the documented: Bridging strategies at the UK Stem Cell Bank

Abstract

We explore the local negotiation of regulatory practice at the UK Stem Cell Bank, the first Bank of its type in the world. Basing our empirical work on a detailed analysis of one aspect of the Bank's regulatory commitment--the completion of the Cell Line Information form--we make visible the necessary judgements and labour involved in interpreting and operationalizing externally imposed regulation. The discussion opens by detailing the problems encountered when the Bank completes the form: reconciling a bureaucratic system of accountability with craft-like laboratory skills involving multiple kinds of tacit knowledge. We follow this by explicating the emergent 'bridging strategies' pursued by the Bank to address these issues, highlighting their reliance upon the formation of trust and social networks. The closing discussion emphasizes the contingent assembly of regulatory practices that emerge in the local setting.

Analysing the role of virtualisation and visualisation on interdisciplinary knowledge exchange in stem cell research processes

“…These day-long threemonthly team meetings in particular were key moments for data collection as the team members communicated their progress and negotiated challenges in conducting interdisciplinary work. Stephens is an experienced ethnographer who has conducted multiple ethnographies of scientific practice in other contexts (Stephens et al, 2011, Stephens et al, 2013a, Stephens and Lewis, 2017.…”

“…However, like any scientific discipline at the cutting-edge, this is a site of specialist tacit knowledge (Stephens et al, 2011). It is not uncommon for tissue engineers to talk of the craft-like skills typical of passaging and differentiating cell colonies; this is a clear example of somatic tacit knowledge.…”

“…Long tail cell biologists recognise their in-house procedures as idiosyncratic, in recognition of the multiple non-standardised approaches employed. As we discuss later, trust also plays an important role in making knowledge explicit, as knowledge holders choose whom to provide information to, and knowledge seekers determine whose knowledge ownership claims to believe (Collins, 2007, ReyesGalindo, 2014, Stephens et al, 2011.…”

“…When scientists work closely together, with constant contact and minimal social distance, you find 'inter-personal trust' (see also Collins, 2001, MacKenzie, 2001, and for stem cell specific examples, Lewis and Atkinson, 2011, Morrison, 2017, and Stephens et al, 2011. Trust relationships of this type involve what Giddens (1990) calls 'facework commitments'; the labour of being with the people you want to trust, and want to trust you, and demonstrating competence and reliability through everyday interaction.…”

Relocation, realignment and standardisation: Circuits of translation in Huntington’s disease

“…Standardising the types of data collected turns HD into a doable problem (see Fujimura, 1987;Stephens, Atkinson and Glasner, 2011 Clinic portals such as these databases provide common recording standards that enable meaningful local and national comparisons -that is, patients can be compared against one another and laboratories can collate findings. Each site of clinic data collection has access to its own data immediately, whilst access to comparative sites may also be applied for.…”