SynBYSS
The International SynBYSS Conference is focused on bringing together the synthetic biology community with the explicit goal of developing young scientists worldwide. As early-career synthetic biology researchers begin their own research, there are few conferences that provide an opportunity for them to express their ideas, network effectively, or collaborate widely. Moreover, these young practitioners are an increasingly diverse group without obvious representation.
The 2nd International SynBYSS Conference will be held June 8–11, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain at Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Speakers & Schedule
Planned sessions include:
- Metabolic engineering 1
- Engineering polymers
- Engineering health
- Genome engineering and beyond
- Non-model and synthetic organisms/microbiota arise
- Genetic sensors and circuits
- Metabolic engineering 2
- Physics and math meet biology
Monday, June 8
| Day 1 | |
|---|---|
| 8:45-9am | Welcome |
| 9-10:30am | Keynote Session Víctor de Lorenzo, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia, CSIC, Spain Ian Paulsen, Macquarie University, Australia Keynote conversation |
| 10:30-11am | Break |
| 11-12:30am | Speaker Panel Pablo Nikel, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Guillermo Nevot, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain Selected speakers from abstract submissions Q&A: panel discussion |
| 12:30-2pm | Lunch: meet the legend session |
| 2-3:30pm | Funder Panel Session Barbara Gerratana, European Innovation Council (or her representative), Europe Scott Walper, ONR Global, USA - participation pending Alessandra Ferrari, European Research Council, Europe Tammy Collins, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, USA |
| 3:30-4pm | Break |
| 4-5:30pm | Speaker Panel Irina Borodina, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Jorge Marchand, University of Washington, USA Selected speakers from abstract submissions Q&A panel discussion |
| 5:30-7pm | Poster Session Hosted reception |
Tuesday, June 9
| Day 2 | |
|---|---|
| 9-10:30am | Keynote Session Wilfried Weber, INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Germany Chase Beisel, Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering, Switzerland Keynote conversation |
| 10:30-11am | Break |
| 11-12:30am | Speaker Panel Cheemeng Tan, UC Davis, USA Emil Jensen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Selected speakers from abstract submissions Q&A: panel discussion |
| 12:30-2pm | Lunch: meet the legend session |
| 2-3:30pm | Editor Panel Session Alexandra Munro-Clark, Trends in Biotechnology, Cell Press, UK (editor) - participation pending Ross Cloney, Nature Communications, UK (chief editor) Mattheos Koffas, RPU, Metabolic Engineering Communications, USA (editor-in-chief) Tae Seok Moon, JCVI, New Biotechnology, USA (editor-in-chief) Pablo Nikel, Technical University of Denmark, Current Opinion in Biotechnology, Denmark (editor-in-chief) |
| 3:30-4pm | Break |
| 4-5:30pm | Speaker Panel Karen Polizzi, Imperial College London, UK Lin Su, Queen Mary University of London, UK Selected speakers from abstract submissions Q&A: panel discussion |
| 5:30-7pm | Poster session Hosted reception |
Wednesday, June 10
| Day 3 | |
|---|---|
| 9-10:30am | Keynote Session Sarah O'Connor, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany Byung Kwan Cho, KAIST, South Korea Keynote conversation |
| 10:30-11am | Break |
| 11-12:30am | Speaker Panel Claudia Vickers, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Maryam Raeeszadeh Sarmazdeh, University of Nevada, Reno, USA Selected speakers from abstract submissions Q&A: panel discussion |
| 12:30-2pm | Lunch: meet the legend session |
| 2-3:30pm | Roadmap Panel Session Danielle Tullman-Ercek, Northwestern University Marjan De Mey, Ghent University, Belgium Blake Simmons, LBNL, USA Mustafa Khammash, ETH |
| 3:30-4pm | Break |
| 4-5:30pm | Speaker Panel Dirk Tischler, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany Ilenne Del Valle Kessra, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA - participation pending Selected speakers from abstract submissions Q&A: panel discussion |
| 5:30-7pm | Award ceremony, followed by dinner (tentative) |
Thursday, June 11
| Day 4 | |
|---|---|
| 9-10:30am | Keynote Session Mark Isalan, Imperial College London, UK Radhakrishnan Mahadevan, University of Toronto Keynote conversation |
| 10:30-11am | Break |
| 11-12:30am | Speaker Panel Francesca Ceroni, Imperial College London, UK Javier Santos, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain Selected speakers from abstract submissions Q&A: panel discussion |
| 12:30-2pm | Lunch: meet the legend session |
| 2-3:30pm | Panel Session: Shaping the future of engineering biology |
| 3:30-4pm | Break |
| 4-5:30pm | Speaker Panel Baojun Wang, Zhejiang University, China Kaitlin Dailey, University of Rhode Island, USA Selected speakers from abstract submissions Q&A: panel discussion |
| 5:30-5:45pm | Closing remarks |
Travel
⚠️ Scam alert
Be aware that scammers are attempting to pose as travel agents to assist with booking to the SynBYSS Conference. We do not have a booking service. If you get an email like this, verify with your university or organization that it is from an official channel before engaging.
Recommended hotels near the PRBB
Tier 1
SLS Barcelona
Moll de Gregal, 08930 Sant Adrià de Besòs
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Tier 2
⭐ SB Icaria Barcelona (recommended)
Avinguda d'Icària, 195, 08005 Barcelona
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⭐ Hotel Paxton Barcelona (recommended)
Carrer de Llull, 160, 08005 Barcelona
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Catalonia Port
Passeig de Colom, 20, 08002 Barcelona
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Motel One Barcelona-Ciutadella
Passeig de Pujades, 11-13, 08018 Barcelona
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Hotel Ciutadella Barcelona
Avinguda del Marquès de l'Argentera, 4, 08003 Barcelona
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Tier 3
Residencia Universitaria Campus del Mar
Passeig de Salvat Papasseit, 4, 08003 Barcelona
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Organizers
Chairs
Tae Seok Moon, JCVI, USA
Marc Güell, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain
Guillermo Nevot, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain
Sara Molinari, University of Maryland, USA
Dirk Tischler, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
Kaitlin Dailey, University of Rhode Island, USA
Jorge Marchand, University of Washington, USA
Clement T. Y. Chan, University of North Texas, USA
Committee
Maryam Raeeszadeh Sarmazdeh, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
Emil Jensen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Lin Su, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Ilenne Del Valle Kessra, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA
Leopold Noel Green, Purdue University, USA
Archana Anand, San Francisco State University, USA
Daniel Plaza, University of Cambridge, UK
Bilal Ahmed, Purdue University, USA
Vikas Trivedi, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, USA
Alexander Fedorec, University College London, UK
Jaya Joshi, University British Columbia, Canada
Cheemeng Tan, UC Davis, USA
Conference support
Laura Fort, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain
Lucy Stewart, JCVI, USA
Matthew LaPointe, JCVI, USA
Previous conference information
The 1st International SynBYSS Conference was held at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, December 9-12, 2024.
Sponsor & Co-organizer
Co-organizer
