Strengthen Trust in Research
With the help of Burson, the Gen Suisse Foundation has been supporting the dialogue between research, politics, the public and schools for 25 years.
In the early 1990s, direct democracy almost spelled disaster for Switzerland as a research location. For fear of genetic engineering, the so-called "Gene Protection Initiative" was submitted by the people. The implementation of this initiative would have meant massive restrictions for scientific and clinical research in Switzerland. The population's fear of genetic engineering was mainly due to ignorance about the subject. That is why Burson was a co-founder of the Gen Suisse Foundation as a link between the public, politics and research. Evidence-based, credible, objective and sustainable, Gen Suisse changes misperceptions and strengthens Switzerland's trust in research.
Change of Mind in Switzerland
Today, Gen Suisse is a trustworthy source throughout Switzerland for future-oriented life sciences topics such as genome editing, gene and cell therapy or epigenetics and is frequently contacted by the public, politicians and the media.
Switzerland's Acceptance of Genetic Engineering
Significant contributions increased Switzerland's acceptance of genetic engineering. Gensuisse.ch achieves a high Google ranking for core topics such as CRISPR, genetic engineering, immunotherapy.