"Personally, the thought that no matter what steps I take there’s always going to be people who think my research will harm them is profoundly distressing, and feels really unfair."

Duh. That's the case of almost every very high professional job on this planet. Almost nobody cares. Almost everybody stays in their own little belief. Few try to learn. Even less will admit they were once wrong.

Tell people humanity has been modifying all kinds of life forms for thousands of years and they are flabbergasted. When you tell them it's about selecting plants and breeding dogs or cattle they tell you 'it's not the same', because it was a slower process.

They're scared we are going to mess up evolution and then tell us to stop playing god. Kinda paradoxal.