The Embryo Project is an international group of researchers who pursue goals related to the sciences of developmental biology and reproductive biology. Those goals include: communicating science to diverse public audiences, training people to conduct digital and scholarly projects, and researching the history and philosophy of science in new ways.
The Embryo Project (EP) exists primarily at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. It is administered by the Center for Biology and Society in ASU's School of Life Sciences. The EP contributes to ASU's Charter by providing inclusive education, research of lasting public value, and responsibility for the cultural health of society. The primary product of the Embryo Project is the Embryo Project Encyclopedia.
The Embryo Project began in 2005 when a group of researchers at Arizona State University (ASU), led by Jane Maienschein and Manfred Laubichler, received ASU and soon National Science Foundation grants to use digital methods to examine how science changes over time. The team developed infrastructure and university courses related digital science communication, the history of science, and developmental and reproductive biology.
First version of the Embryo Project Encyclopedia
The Embryo Project becomes a founding member of the Digital History and Philosophy of Science Consortium.
Marine Biological Laboratory History Project begins as a sister project to the EP.
The EP partners with ASU's Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics to launch Reproductive Health Arizona.
With the help of ASU's Libraries, the team launched the first version of the Embryo Project Encyclopedia in 2007. A new website replaced the old one in 2009, with the help of the ASU Visualization Lab and the Marine Biological Laboratory/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Library in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The third and current iteration of the encyclopedia launched in 2012, again with the technical support of the MBL/WHOI Library. The project also collaborated with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, Germany.
In 2011, the Embryo Project became a founding member of the Digital History and Philosophy of Science Consortium, an international group of research teams who use digital tools to study science. In 2012, the Marine Biological Laboratory History Project began as a sister project to the EP. In 2016, the EP partnered with ASU's Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics to launch Reproductive Health Arizona (RHAZ), which records the history of reproductive healthcare in the EP's home state of Arizona.
In 2018, History of Science Society awarded ASU’s Embryo Project with the Joseph P. Hazen Education Prize. The prize is generally awarded to individuals with exemplary teaching and educational service. This was the first time it has been extended to a group education effort like the Embryo Project.
Since its inception, the Embryo Project has included hundreds of researchers, from students to developers to senior researchers.
Throughout, the Embryo Project Encyclopedia has been the primary product of the Embryo Project. Today, researchers cite the encyclopedia in scholarly articles, as do authors for venues like Newsweek, Pacific Standard, CNN and Popular Science, and millions of people access it every year.
The Embryo Project acknowledges supports from ASU's Center for Biology and Society, School of Life Sciences, and ASU's Office of the President. In addition, the EP has received funds from greater than a dozen grants totaling more than $3.4 million. The EP acknowledges especially the following grants and organizations for support.