Synthetic Biology UK 2016

14—16 November 2016: Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, UK

Synthetic Biology is a field that has rapidly expanded. It relies on multidisciplinary approaches and delivers transdisciplinary advances that have the potential to redefine our understanding of the natural world and to significantly contribute to our society and economy.

The UK is a world leader in science and engineering, and Synthetic Biology has been identified as an important area for our continued success. Key to that success is a cohesive, vibrant and multidisciplinary community, open to collaboration, open to advances and driven to exceptional research with meaningful outcomes.

That cannot be delivered by a single research centre, single funding body or hosted by a single learned society. The SynBio UK conference aims to showcase UK Synthetic Biology research and to create a focal point for the community, embracing its diversity and fostering its growth and its engagement with society.

Topics covered in this meeting will be published in Biochemical Society Transactions

Abstract deadline: 12 September 2016 Abstract submission is now available

Earlybird registration deadline: 12 September 2016

Oral communication slots are available at this meeting. All attendees, particularly researchers in the early stages of their career, are invited to submit a poster abstract for consideration as an oral communication.

Student Bursaries are available for this meeting. Not a member of the Biochemical Society? Join today and save up to £100 on your registration fee.

For more information, including the full program, please see here.

SYNENERGENE Forum 24-25th June 2016 Amsterdam

Synthetic Biology – visions of the future

SYNENERGENE Forum 24-25th June 2016 Amsterdam

The SYNENERGENE Forum is a large public event which will discuss the promises and implications of synthetic biology from a societal perspective.

Synthetic biology From the beginning of this century synthetic biology has emerged as a new engineering science of life. It uses the rapidly increasing possibilities for both “reading” and “writing” DNA to design and synthesize living cells and biological systems with functions that do not exist in nature. Synthetic biology offers new options for innovation in the fields of health care and sustainable production of energy and materials, but may also more and more become a subject of public controversy about potential risks and commercial exploitation of natural resources.

Responsible research and innovation In order to deal with the governance challenges resulting from this tension, we need to establish conditions for responsible research and innovation (RRI) in the field. As a European mobilization and mutual learning action plan, involving nearly thirty parties from all over Europe, SYNENERGENE contributes to this aim. During the two-day Forum event we want to share our RRI experiences and achievements with relevant stakeholders and publics, including scientists, civil society organizations, industry and policy makers, and discuss the development of a synthetic biology agenda for the (near) future. Addressing the synthetic biology agenda implies a focus on: • Opportunities of synthetic biology relating to societal challenges • Concerns about synthetic biology relating to possible negative implications • Engagement with synthetic biology as a contribution to responsible research and innovation

Program The SYNENERGENE Forum offers a two-day program on Friday and Saturday 24-25th June in the Amsterdam Science Centre NEMO (http://www.e-nemo.nl/en/). The first day is a conference with plenary and parallel sessions focusing on core issues and activities addressed by SYNENERGENE. During the second day SYNENERGENE partners will put “synthetic biology on stage” through debates, theatrical performances and a BIO·FICTION film festival.

For full program and to register, please see here: https://www.rathenau.nl/en/agenda/synenergene-forum-2016

Agri-Tech Career Workshops inc. Synthetic Biology Theme

Do you want to raise your profile? Experience presenting to a multidisciplinary audience? Find ideas and inspiration? Find out how it really looks like to work in industry?

CambPlants is organising THE event to go to if you are thinking of what’s the next step in your career.

WHAT: This two part workshop series starts with a half day skills and training workshop (11th May) followed by a showcase event highlighting career options and a lot of networking opportunities with Industry representatives (5th July)

REGISTER HERE >>>

Part 1 - Career Workshop: paving the way to your career If you want to let industry know about what you doing by presenting at FarmRound, an agri-tech career afternoon, you need to participate in this workshop! A bespoke workshop focusing on ‘business-like’ presentation skills preparing you for the flash presentation to be given at FarmRound: an agri-tech career afternoon. Researchers will be given coaching. If you want to present in Part 2, this workshop is compulsory. An ‘industrial prize’ is at stake…. Register here

Part 2 – FarmRound: an agri-tech career afternoon A half day event including a keynote speaker, talks from industrialists about their careers, flash presentations from PhDs and Postdocs and lots of time for discussions. There will be an ‘Industry fair’ Drinks Reception where early career researchers can interact closely with industrialists by visiting a wide range of industry stands. The best flash presentation presented by early career researchers will win a super exciting mystery prize. programme available soon. This day will be a unique opportunity for researchers to meet with industry representatives and to understand what it is like to work in the industry sector by being aware of different career paths. Register here

FOR WHOM: Early career scientists (PhDs & Postdocs) working in plants, synthetic biology, big data, agricultural, environmental, food and other relevant sciences contributing to our food supply.

Limited places available – Register your interest NOW

Exciting collaboration opportunity to test Oxford NanoPore device for soil/plant-related sequencing

Details from Simon Hazelwood-Smith at Science Practice "We are Science Practice, a design and research company focused on applying the principles of design to science. One of our interests is in ways of increasing access to scientific testing in agriculture, and we are currently developing a paper microfluidic device for testing soil nutrients like nitrates, at Imperial College London.

We also have a MinION (a pocket-sized genetic sequencing machine) from Oxford Nanopore and we would like to try using our last two MinION flow cells for agricultural testing. We are looking for a collaborator with lab access who would be interested in trying this out to see if we get any interesting results.

Currently our plan is to test nitrates in two different soil samples with our microfluidic device, and also to use MinION sequencing to identify organisms (bacteria, fungi etc.) found in these two soil samples. The aim is to see if it is possible in principle to detect a relationship between nitrate levels and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. This little project would be about two days of lab time (1 day to sequence each soil sample). However we are open to suggestions for other agriculture (e.g. plant) related sequencing projects from anyone who is interested in exploring this exciting new piece of technology with us."

If interested, please contact Jenny Molloy (jcm80@cam.ac.uk) for more information.

Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund: 2016 Call

image_preview

More info on Cambridge-Africa website >>>

The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund was established in 2012, with generous support from The ALBORADA Trust. The fund supports pairs of researchers (post-doctoral level and above) from the University of Cambridge (or an affiliated institution such as the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and NIAB) and sub-Saharan African institutions, across all disciplines, to initiate and/or strengthen research collaborations. This is achieved by providing funding ofbetween £1,000 and £20,000, for:

• research costs (such as reagents, fieldwork and equipment)
• research-related travel between Cambridge and Africa
• conducting research training activities in Africa (e.g. setting up courses/workshops).

Please read carefully the Terms & Conditions, including eligibility criteria, before applying. 

How to apply

The online application form has been designed to allow both applicants (Cambridge- and Africa-based) to log in, update, save and eventually submit electronically. 

To access the form, the Cambridge based applicant mustRegister Here. Only applicants with@cam.ac.uk, @sanger.ac.uk and @niab.ac.uk email addresses can register.

The Cambridge-based applicant must then log in to the ALBORADA application form, where they will see the words "Invite a 2nd applicant to view/edit this submission". Click on this link in order to invite the Africa-based applicant to register and edit the forms.

If you are eligible to apply, but are unable to register on the page above, then please contact Sophia Mahroo on szm21@cam.ac.uk.

If you have already registered, please Log Into access the form.

The deadline to submit an application for collaborative research funding is Sunday 5th June 2016.

Gene Discovery for Synthetic Biology: Exploring the Novel Natural Product Biosynthetic Capacity of Eukaryotic Microalgae

OpenPlant PI Professor Rob Field at the John Innes Centre has published work of relevance to those working on algae and microalgae.

O’Neill, G. Saalbach, R.A. Field (2016). Gene Discovery for Synthetic Biology: Exploring the Novel Natural Product Biosynthetic Capacity of Eukaryotic Microalgae. Methods in Enzymology 576, p 99-120.

Abstract

Eukaryotic microalgae are an incredibly diverse group of organisms whose sole unifying feature is their ability to photosynthesize. They are known for producing a range of potent toxins, which can build up during harmful algal blooms causing damage to ecosystems and fisheries. Genome sequencing is lagging behind in these organisms because of their genetic complexity, but transcriptome sequencing is beginning to make up for this deficit. As more sequence data becomes available, it is apparent that eukaryotic microalgae possess a range of complex natural product biosynthesis capabilities. Some of the genes concerned are responsible for the biosynthesis of known toxins, but there are many more for which we do not know the products. Bioinformatic and analytical techniques have been developed for natural product discovery in bacteria and these approaches can be used to extract information about the products synthesized by algae. Recent analyses suggest that eukaryotic microalgae produce many complex natural products that remain to be discovered.

---

Image credit: microscopic-view-of-microalgae by Learn 2 Teach, Teach 2 Learn on Flick, licensed under CC-BY-NC 2.0

ERA-CAPS Third call pre-announced: “Europe-USA Call strengthening transnational research in the Molecular Plant Sciences”

The ERA-CAPS network is pleased to pre-announce the launch of its third Transnational Call for Proposals for Collaborative Research Projects on June 23rd, 2016. The Call is entitled: The ERA-CAPS network is pleased to pre-announce the launch of its third Transnational Call for Proposals for Collaborative Research Projects on June 23rd, 2016. The Call is entitled: “Europe-USA Call strengthening transnational research in the Molecular Plant Sciences” and the Call Notice will be published at www.eracaps.org and respective sources of information. The purpose of this pre-announcement is to enable interested parties to build their consortia and start preparing their proposals. The call for pre-proposals will close on the 28th of September 2016, 12.00 CET.

The objective of this call is to stimulate true collaboration between research teams of different countries in order to achieve the highest quality projects, to increase synergies between national programmes and to strengthen international research in molecular plant sciences. The funding partners agree that this unifying approach is a fundamental prerequisite to maximise the utility of the limited resources available and to meet the European and global demand for molecular plant science innovation with a long-term perspective.

To read more, visit the ERA-CAPS Third call page. and the Call Notice will be published at www.eracaps.org and respective sources of information. The purpose of this pre-announcement is to enable interested parties to build their consortia and start preparing their proposals. The call for pre-proposals will close on the 28th of September 2016, 12.00 CET.

UK Commons Select Committee calls for 'GM and gene editing' evidence check

ImageVaultHandler.aspx

The UK Commons Science and Technology Select Committee invites views on the strength of the evidence in relation to GM and gene editing.

 Please read the Government statement before submitting a comment.

• GM and Gene Editing: Government statement ( PDF 90 KB)

Comments will be pre-moderated.

Science and Technology 'evidence check' web forum homepage

The Science and Technology Committee invites views on the Government-provided evidence-check papers posted on this forum, in particular on the strength of the evidence and how well the Government's approach reflects the evidence.

• Show your workings, Institute for Government report (PDF 231.13 KB)

Taking forward the work of the Institute for Government, this exercise will help shape future Committee work, including identifying areas for scrutiny hearings or for launching inquiries. We would like submitters to address the following broad questions:

• Diagnosis: Does the Government show that it knows about the issue, its causes, effects, and scale?
• Actions/plans: Has the Government shown that any policy intervention is evidence-based, that it has assessed the strengths/weaknesses of the evidence base, and identified other policy options?
• Implementation:  Has the Government shown that the implementation method for the policy has been based on evidence on what works?
• Value for money: Are the costs and benefits understood and evidence-based?
• Testing and evaluation: Are plans for testing and evaluation adequate?

8th International Workshop on Bio-Design Automation (IWBDA), Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, August 16-18, 2016

The Eighth International Workshop on Bio-Design Automation (IWBDA) at Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK will bring together researchers from the synthetic biology, systems biology, and design automation communities to discuss concepts, methodologies and software tools for the computational analysis and synthesis of biological systems.

IWBDA offers a forum for cross-disciplinary discussion, with the aim of seeding and fostering collaboration between the biological and the design automation research communities. This year’s IWBDA will be hosted by the Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex BioSystems (ICOS) research group, Newcastle University.

OpenPlant is assembling a delegation to attend this highly relevant meeting - if you would like to attend with others from the centre, please contact Jenny Molloy on jcm80@cam.ac.uk.

Find out more at the event website >>

[Download flyer]

Topics of interest include

• Design methodologies for synthetic biology.
• Standardization of biological components.
• Automated assembly techniques.
• Computer-aided modeling and abstraction techniques.
• Engineering methods inspired by biology.
• Domain specific languages for synthetic biology.
• Data exchange standards and models for synthetic biology.

This year’s IWBDA will host the BDAthlon programming contest, where teams are given a set of programming challenges and then work to solve these challenges. In addition, there will be a satellite workshop on the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL).

Key Dates

• Abstract submission deadline: April 15, 2016
• Scholarship application due: April 30, 2016
• Abstract and scholarship notification: May 13, 2016
• BDAthlon team application due: May 20, 2016
• SBOL workshop: August 15, 2016
• BDAthlon Competition: August 16, 2016
• Main IWBDA workshop: August 17-18, 2016

Registration will be open soon.

Abstract submission

Abstracts for oral and poster presentations should be two pages long, following ACM SIG Proceedings format. Detailed instructions can be found at: http://www.iwbdaconf.org/

ACS Synthetic Biology IWBDA 2016 Special Issue

All attendees will also be invited to submit to ACS Synthetic Biology “IWBDA 2016” Special Issue. ACS Synthetic Biology has the highest editorial standards, offers rapid publication of your research findings and imposes NO author submission, page, color, or cover art charges. We are looking for high quality submissions, for peer-review, as either short Letters or full-length Articles. The submission deadline will be announced soon.

Organizing Committee

Please feel free to contact the organizers with questions at: iwbda-exec@lists.bio-design-automation.org

• Co-General Chair - Anil Wipat, Newcastle University
• Co-General Chair - Pietro Lio', University of Cambridge
• Finance Chair - Traci Haddock, iGem Foundation
• Co-Local Chair - Goksel Misirli, Newcastle University
• Co-Local Chair - Harold Fellermann, Newcastle University
• Publication Chair - Avi Robinson-Mosher, Harvard University
• Programme Committee Chair - Chris French, The University of Edinburgh

IWBDA is organized by the non-profit Bio-Design Automation Consortium (BDAC).

EUSynBioS Symposium 2016: Engineering Biology for a Better Future

EUSynBioS_Symposium

This weekend, the first EUSynBioS Symposium, themed Engineering Biology for a Better Future, will follow SynBioBeta at Imperial College London.

The Symposium kicks off with a Visionary keynote address from none other than synthetic biology pioneer Tom Knight (Ginkgo Bioworks). A former professor at MIT and one of the very first synthetic biology entrepreneurs, Tom will give an insight into the early days of synthetic biology and talk about what the future holds. Then, a session of scientific presentations exclusively by early career synbio researchers; providing graduate students and early career post-docs a platform to present their research to peers and senior scientists.

Post-lunch, the symposium will break into smaller breakout sessions on various topics from biodiversity to design and public engagement. Led by excellent fellow members, these sessions are a great opportunity to hear other people's views on important issues in synbio today. Two inspiring speakers - Luke Alphey (Oxitec) and Emily LeProust (Twist BioSciences) - will then talk about their career paths to setting up world changing synbio companies. A must for all budding synbio entrepreneurs! Michele Garfinkel (former Policy Analyst at the J.Craig Venter Institute, and currently at EMBO) will talk next, on the world of policy making and how we can make a difference in how synbio is legislated in the future.

Finally, the symposium will close with an Open Discussion on a topic chosen by you: Gene Drives! Gene Drives have gotten a lot of press in the last few months and we have none other than the scientist who coined the term, Austin Burt (Imperial College London), joined by Michele Garfinkel and Luke Alphey, giving an introduction to what this fascinating technology holds for the future. This session is a forum to express views and get answers from experts about gene drives: How do they work? Will they change the world for the better? Is it ethical to do so? ...and many more questions, we’re sure!

[spacer height="20px"] EUSynBioS Symposium 2016: Engineering Biology for a Better Future

Sat, Apr 9, 2016 - 8:00amSun, Apr 10, 2016 - 7:00pm

Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ

Get help to improve your research software - deadline April 29th

If you write code as part of your research, then you can get help to improve it - free of charge - through the Software Sustainability Institute's Open Call for Projects. The call closes on April 29 2016.

Apply here!

You can ask for our help to improve your research software, your development practices, or your community of users and contributors (or all three!). You may want to improve the sustainability or reproducibility of your software, and need an assessment to see what to do next. Perhaps you need guidance or development effort to help improve specific aspects or make better use of infrastructure.

We accept submissions from any discipline, in relation to research software at any level of maturity, and are particularly keen to attract applications from BBSRC and ESRC funding areas.

The Software Sustainability Institute is a national facility funded by the EPSRC. Since 2010, the Institute's Research Software Group[1] has assisted over 50 projects across all the UK Research Councils. In an ongoing survey, 93% of our previous collaborators indicated they were "very satisfied" with the results of the work. To see how we've helped others, you can check out our portfolio of past and current projects[2].

A typical Open Call project runs between one and six months, during which time we work with successful applicants to create and implement a tailored work plan. You can submit an application to the Open Call at any time, which only takes a few minutes, at http://bit.ly/ssi-open-call-projects.

We’re also interested in partnering on proposals. If you would like to know more about the Open Call, or explore options for partnership, please get in touch with us at info@software.ac.uk.