Synthetic Biology: Engineering, Evolution and Design (SEED) Conference 2017
Abstract
Synthetic Biology is an emerging discipline that seeks to accelerate the process of engineering biology.As such, the tools are broadly applicable to application areas, including chemicals and biofuels,materials, medicine and agriculture. A characteristic of the field is to look holistically at cellular design,from sensing and genetic circuitry to the manipulation of cellular processes and actuators, to controllingmetabolism, to programming multicellular behaviors. Further, the types of cells that are manipulatedare broad, from in vitro systems to microbes and fungi to mammalian and plant cells and living animals.Many of the projects in synthetic biology seek to move biochemical functions across organisms.Underlying these capabilities is the development of new tools that operate in diverse hosts. Forexample, the CRISPR-Cas9 system that serves to ~immunize~ bacteria from phage has provided thefundamental chemistry that is used to edit the genomes of diverse organisms, including human stemcells, crop plants, and livestock animals. Other tools that need to be developed include computer aideddesign software and algorithms, large scale and low cost DNA synthesis and assembly, reliable geneticparts, and tools to program gene regulation. SEED 2017 will serve as the next primary meeting at whichinternational synthetic biology centers and related infrastructure (synthesis/software/foundries) meetto discuss technology, standards, and education.The SEED meeting occurs annually in the late spring/early summer to create a regular and reliable timeand venue for the field. We have avoided partnering with specific universities to ensure a sense ofinclusiveness for anyone working in the field. We have also implemented an open abstract submissionprocess and many of the talks will be chosen from this pool. All of these decisions were made to conveyan open and inclusive invitee list that encourages participation from early career scientists and thosethat are outside of the field. There are also many speaking slots that are available to young scientists(graduate students and postdocs) both integrated in the main sessions and in a dedicated section.Similar to the previous conferences, we will also have a focus on industry, with both large companiesand start-ups represented and actively participating as exhibitors and in special session of the technicalprogram in which companies can give short talks.To distinguish SEED 2017 from the from previous SEED conferences, SEED 2017 will have a uniquetheme. While SEED 2017 will continue to maintain its multidisciplinary breadth, it will also look to focuson ~building foundations of synthetic biology, scaling it up, and applying it to critical problems.~ Sessionssuch as ~Molecular Programming,~ ~DNA Synthesis, Assembly, and Sequencing,~ ~Applications ofSynthetic Biology,~ ~High Throughput Design Space Exploration,~ and more will help target this specialtheme. The full list of topics to be covered in the SEED series includes:~ Molecular Programming~ Gene Editing~ DNA Synthesis, Assembly, and Sequencing~ High Throughput Design Space Exploration~ Directed Evolution~ Protein Engineering~ Mammalian Synthetic Biology~ Plant Synthetic Biology~ Microbiome Engineering~ Metabolic Engineering~ Mathematical Modeling and Design~ Computer Aided Design~ Educational Tools~ Applications of Synthetic Biology
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 05, 2017
- Source ID
- N000141712268
Entities
People
- Eric Klavins
Organizations
- American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy