Introduction to synthetic biology
by John Cumbers
The seminar was an introduction to the world of biology, biotechnology, and synthetic biology. We began with an input/output approach to biological systems and went on to explaining where biological molecules come from and how they are formed, what they look like, and how they perform such a wide variety of functions. The participants learned how these very same properties of a native cell function allow us to probe, manipulate, and modify cell function. We discussed state of the art industry applications, such as the ability of biological systems to produce a vast variety of chemicals including fuels, biomaterials, food and drugs, as well as the modern methods used for the manipulation of biological systems. We made some observations on the start-up and industry landscape and reviewed the latest technologies on the market.
The seminar was taught by John Cumbers, the founder of SynBioBeta, an innovation network which organizes conferences, educational courses and events for the synthetic biology industry. John is passionate about the use and adoption of biological technologies and has received multiple awards and grants from NASA and the National Academy of Sciences for his work in the field. He has a PhD in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry from Brown University, a MSc in Bioinformatics from Edinburgh University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Hull in Computer Science with Information Engineering.
