Synthetic Biology is a relatively new field that sits at the intersection of biology and engineering, where practitioners use engineering tools and systems approaches to design novel biological systems, including genetic circuits and whole cells, with which to explore governing principles behind complex biological processes or to develop new functionalities that can be exploited. Given the increasing global nature of science, exchanges between leading researchers from different areas of the world are becoming increasingly important. The workshop will begin in Boston, MA on November 6-7, 2012, then move to Arlington, VA, Nov 8-9 and conclude in San Francisco Nov 12-13. This workshop will bring together leading scientists and policy makers from Europe with the best US practitioners in synthetic biology research; the best innovators in the translation of synthetic biology to the market place; representatives and policy makers from various US funding and governmental agencies to discuss investments, needs and concerns related to Synthetic Biology. The EU delegation will meet with leading innovators and companies in three cities, Ginkgo Bioworks (Boston, MA), J. Craig Venter Institute (Silver Spring, MD), Amyris (Emeryville, CA) and Refactored Materials (San Francisco, CA). These four companies represent different models for translation of synthetic biology.
The overarching goals of this meeting are to: (1) Inform one another on current and future activities related to the synthetic biology research from the perspective of the funding agencies, researchers and companies; (2) Discuss the translational potential, as well as the challenges and concerns associated with synthetic biology technologies; (3) Explore the educational needs to ensure a well-trained and responsible workforce in the area of synthetic biology; (4) Assess common ground and opportunities to collaborate and consider issues such as standards and repositories, societal and ecological concerns on an international scale.
Broader Impacts The workshop will contribute to the enhancement and improvement of scientific, engineering and/or educational activities by bringing together a leading group of European Union researchers and US researchers along with funders and policy makers from various member countries and their US counterparts. In addition, this meeting will provide the foundation for international collaborations between researchers in the US and Europe. The workshop chairs are leaders in the field of synthetic biology, with one being female. In addition, the workshop leaders have taken into the consideration the inclusion of early career scientists and underrepresented minorities in this workshop. Of the US scientists included, 7 out of 20 are women, and 2 out of 20 are African American. The synthetic biology field is rather young but among the scientists are members of the National Academy and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Finally, the meeting conveners will produce a report that will be distributed to the participants and sponsoring organizations (NSF and EC) and will be posted for the public on sys-bio.org.
Intellectual Merit: Synthetic Biology is a relatively new field that sits at the intersection of biology and engineering, where practitioners use engineering tools and systems approaches to design novel biological systems, including genetic circuits and whole cells, with which to explore governing principles behind complex biological processes or to develop new functionalities that can be exploited. The specific objectives of the workshop were to bring together leading researchers in the field of synthetic biology to: (1) Explore and identify areas of joint interests, needs, and opportunities associated with the rapidly emerging discipline of Synthetic Biology; (2) Examine the translational potential, as well as the challenges and concerns associated with synthetic biology technologies; (3) Explore the educational needs to ensure a well-trained and responsible workforce in the area of synthetic biology; and (4) Assess the need for transnational collaboration on issues such as standards and repositories, societal and ecological concerns on an international scale. Broader Impacts: The workshop contributed to the enhancement and improvement of scientific, engineering and/or educational activities by bringing together a leading group of European Union researchers and US researchers along with funders and policy makers from various member countries and their US counterparts. In addition, the meeting provided the foundation for international collaborations between researchers in the US and Europe. One of the most tangible outcomes of the workshop was the agreements between US and Europe to fund joint activities in the area of synthetic biology as part of the European Synthetic Biology ERAnet. Less tangible, and harder to directly attribute to the workshop, but potentially more important, is that several of the best US scientists and engineers in the field of synthetic biology formed collaborations with European partners to submit proposals to the SynBio ERAnet joint call. In addition, the workshop provided a forum for US funders and policy makers to exchange information about their activities in synthetic biology, which could be one of many factors contributing to greater collaboration and coordination between funding agencies in the area of synthetic biology.
