Synthetic Biology for Future Health

Synthetic biology has been widely championed worldwide as a driving force for the ‘bioeconomy’. This new conference will showcase the latest research within synthetic biology that impacts human health. The conference will present how technologies from synthetic biology are delivering innovations across clinical health applications and leading towards improved global health.

The meeting will bring together researchers working on synthetic biology, biotechnology, genomics and medical sciences, along with industry members from pharma and biotech companies, and investors and funders in this growing research area. It will address how the technologies coming out of synthetic biology impact both advanced healthcare in developed countries (e.g. personalised medicines, T-cell therapies) and global wide-impact, such as very low-cost diagnostics and self-replicating living therapies. In addition, the conference aims to provide a reflection on where resources and work are succeeding and where more effort needs to be placed to ensure equitable global outcomes.

This conference will be a hybrid meeting – with onsite or virtual attendance.

On this blog, you can learn more about this growing field at the intersection of research, medicine and industry from our experienced Scientific Programme Committee.

The conference will start at approximately 12:00 on Monday 13 March 2023 and close at approximately 13:30 on Wednesday 15 March 2023. All times are given in GMT. See the time where you are here.

Discussions will focus on a variety of exciting topics, including:

• Engineering gene regulation
• Cells engineered as therapies
• Designing synthetic biomolecules
• SocioTechnological readiness and entrepreneurship
• Infectious disease and biosensing
• Synthetic genomes, cells, and multicellularity
• Panel discussion: Translating tools to therapies

Scientific Programme Committee

Yasunori Aizawa
Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan 

Sonja Billerbeck
University of Groningen, The Netherlands 

Tom Ellis
Imperial College London, UK

Katie Galloway
MIT, USA

Keynote Speakers

Yvonne Y. Chen
University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Jason Chin
University of Cambridge, UK

Confirmed speakers

Yasunori Aizawa – Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan
Sonja Billerbeck– University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Francesca Ceroni – Imperial College London, UK
Lei Dai – SIAT Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Hana El-Samad – UCSF & Altos Labs, USA
Roman Jerala – National institute of Chemistry, Slovenia
Mo Khalil – Boston University, USA
Megan Palmer – Stanford University & Ginkgo Bioworks, USA
Manuel Porcar – Universidad de Valencia, Spain
Velia Siciliano – Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy
Elly Tanaka – Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Austria
Chayasith Uttamapinant – VISTEC, Thailand

Organisers – Wellcome Connecting Science

Lucy Criddle, Conference & Events Organiser
Nagehan Ramazanoglu Bahadir, Scientific Programme Officer

Registration deadline: 14 February 2023 (in-person) | 6 March 2023 (virtual)

Deadlines close at 23.59 GMT.

The in-person registration fee includes:

• Full access to scientific programme: oral and poster presentations, and networking on campus
• Access to the online conference portal to network with online participants
• Meals (lunch and dinner) and refreshments during the conference. Breakfast will be provided for delegates who have booked onsite accommodation.
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, which will be available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends

Virtual registration fee includes:

• Access to the virtual event portal (Log in details will be emailed a few days before the event starts)
• Live-stream sessions, including posters and online networking channels
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends.

* To promote more inclusive scientific discussions with international colleagues at our conferences, virtual delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free (see list of countries here).

If you are an editor or journalist, please contact the conference organiser for more information about the discounted fee.

Payments: Please note that payment can only be made with Mastercard or Visa credit cards.

Accommodation
Booked accommodation is for the nights of 13 and 14 March 2023.
Please note: there is limited onsite accommodation and this will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, early registration is recommended. If you wish to book campus accommodation either side of the conference dates, please contact the Hinxton Hall Conference Centre directly.

Accommodation services phishing scam – please be vigilant. More information.

Travel visas
Citizens of many countries can travel to the UK to attend a course or conference without needing a visa. Please check the UK government website for visitor information: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor.

Confirmed attendees requiring a letter to support a visa application should contact the conference organiser.

Bursaries

Bursary deadline: 17 January 2023

A limited number of registration bursaries are available to attend this conference in person (up to 50% of the registration fee). Priority will be given to PhD students submitting abstracts who are facing financial barriers.

To apply, please use the dedicated bursary application link on the registration site. Please answer the bursary-related questions and submit an abstract before midnight UK time on the bursary deadline for your application to be considered.

Additional funding opportunities

Visit our support page for information on financial support, including carer grants to help delegates with the costs of caring for children or dependent family members while attending a course or a conference.

Abstract deadline: 23 January 2023

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting, for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted. Presenters of oral presentations are expected to be onsite for the duration of the conference, whereas those presenting posters can do so in person or virtually.

Abstracts will only be considered from registered delegates. Please use our online abstract submission system and follow the instructions given to ensure your abstract is submitted correctly. All abstracts must be submitted by the deadline. You can make changes to your submitted abstract before of the deadline by log into your account and following the instructions

If you have already completed your registration and subsequently wish to submit an abstract, or wish to submit a second abstract, please follow these instructions.

The scientific programme committee will assess your abstract after the deadline has passed and you will be notified whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation.

Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0- portrait) of printed material. Accepted abstracts will appear in the conference programme book; poster board numbers will be allocated at the conference.

All those accepted for a poster presentation will be given the opportunity to upload a short video describing their work.