I completed my PhD in chemical engineering at MIT in 2022, where I improved the manufacturing of therapeutic proteins by protein engineering and yeast genome engineering. Now, I am a Fellow in the Synthetic Biology Hive at Harvard Medical School and am supported by a Schmidt Science Fellowship for postdoctoral research. I studied chemical engineering as an undergraduate at Northwestern University, and I am originally from San Diego, CA.
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia. I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology and later pursued my Master’s in Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Windsor.
My current research concentrates on employing machine learning to design cis-regulatory models, develop methods to interpret them, and explore ways to enhance their performance, contributing to a quantitative comprehension of cis-regulatory logic. I have expertise in various programming languages and machine learning libraries, publications in top-tier ML conferences, and experience of working as a machine learning engineer in software companies and startups.
I am a biotechnologist interested in bioengineering, especially the application of mathematical modelling to biomolecular systems and bacterial population dynamics. I work on plasmids, antibiotics, and genetic engineering.
I got my Master’s in Bioengineering at the University of Pavia – Italy, in the BMS lab headed by Prof. Paolo Magni, with a thesis on modeling metabolic burden in Synthetic biology. I then started a PhD in Bioengineering and Bioinformatics in the same laboratory, focusing on CRISPR interference genetic circuits and metabolic burden. I also spent a visiting period at the Del Vecchio laboratory – MIT.
In the last years, I moved to the University of Padova where I’m starting in collaboration with other Professors a research line in medical synthetic biology, focusing on quorum quenching and phage engineering against AMR. I’ve also been PI for the Italian iGEM team 2023
Dr. Atkinson’s research aims to use approaches from synthetic biology, protein engineering, biophysics and electrochemistry to understand and control how microbes and proteins transport electrons. The Atkinson Lab seeks to elucidate the critical role electron transport plays in energy and information processing in cells and microbial communities and to use this knowledge to engineer new biotechnologies that address societal challenges in sustainability, environmental monitoring & remediation, chemical synthesis, and resource recovery & extraction. Areas of current emphasis are the development and application of design rules for (i) how microorganisms use proteins to regulate electron transfer in metabolic networks, (ii) how electron flows shape the structure of microbial communities that impact geochemical cycles, and (iii) how living electronic materials can be built that couple the information processing and catalytic capabilities of biology with electrochemical devices.
I received my BS in Biomedical Engineering from University of Virginia where I conducted research in systems biology, tissue engineering, and neuroscience. I joined Lingchong You’s Lab at Duke University for my PhD where I studied microbial community ecology using synthetic biology approaches, machine learning, and microfluidics. I am currently a research scientist working with John Glass at JCVI on expanding the toolkit for whole genome transplantation, which is a foundational technology that enabled the construction of the minimal cells.
I hold a Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine and currently serve as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Synthetic Biology Group at JCVI. My career is defined by a deep commitment to leveraging synthetic biology to combat diseases and create a sustainable, secure environment for future generations and all life on Earth. This dedication drives me to seek innovative solutions for a healthier, safer world.
Sparky is a Master’s student at Columbia University. Her research at the J. Craig Venter Institute has focused on climate-related applications of synthetic biology and genetically engineering JCVI’s minimal cell. She fills her time outside of the lab as a writer and activist finding unexpected allies in unexpected spaces to develop unexpected solutions to problems, such as housing and gun violence, facing the community at-large.
Hi, my name is Nathan! I am a PhD student in the joint UC Berkeley and UCSF bioengineering program. I study metabolic engineering and protein engineering for the production of various chemicals and products. I have a background in economics, and I’d like to pursue commercializing industrial bioprocesses in the future.
Registration is now closed. If you are still interested in attending, please email us at helix@ebrc.org.
We are pleased to announce that our 2024 Annual Meeting will be held May 16-17, 2024 at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA! We have a series of exciting events held in coordination with this year’s Annual Meeting, we encourage everyone to check them out!
Schedule of Events (please see each event page to register):
Each year, we look forward to the Annual Meeting as an opportunity to come together to share science, build community, and collaborate to advance engineering biology to address national and global needs. Attendance at the Annual Meeting is open to all EBRC members, their lab members, employees of institutional members, and all SPA members. We also warmly welcome all those at Georgia Tech with an interest in engineering biology to join us.
The EBRC Annual Meeting provides an opportunity for the engineering biology community to come together to engage on matters important to advancing engineering biology. In addition to inspiring research talks and poster presentations, EBRC’s meeting holds time to consider the larger engineering biology research ecosystem in which we all exist and work together to move the field forward. We invite you to join us to present and discuss your latest research, build relationships with your colleagues in academia, industry, and government, and advance the member-driven work of EBRC. A draft agenda is available here! Note that we anticipate running until 5:00 PM on Friday, May 17.
Registration:
Please register here by April 15, 2024. To confirm your spot and offset some of the meal costs, there will be a nominal fee ($150 for faculty & industry and $75 for students & postdocs). If this fee is prohibitive for you or your lab members, please email helix@ebrc.org.
Abstract submissions for posters are now being accepted. Abstract submission is separate from registration. Submissions from all attendees are welcome! We encourage you to submit your latest, ongoing work as a mechanism to engage in community dialogue.
IMPORTANT DATES:
March 25: Last day to submit talk abstracts
April 10: Notification of talk selection
April 15: Registration closes* APRIL 17: EXTENDED REGISTRATION DEADLINE*
April 17: Deadline for hotel and travel arrangements by EBRC
April 26: Last day to submit poster abstracts
*registration may still be possible after this date but will incur additional costs
Annual Meeting Venue:
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA
Meeting Hotel:
EBRC has reserved a block of hotel rooms at the Georgian Terrace at 659 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30308 at $173.00 per night (includes breakfast and WiFi). Please indicate on the registration page if you will need hotel accommodations. We will reserve the room in our block. If your travel is not covered by EBRC, you can provide payment at check in. Parking is available at a discounted rate of $25 per day. Please contact helix@ebrc.org with any questions rather than contacting the hotel directly.
Transportation:
Transportation options to get to the hotel can be viewed here. The Georgian Terrace is conveniently located along public transportation lines, you can view maps and schedules here.
Travel Support:
We anticipate covering airfare and hotel expenses for:
Individuals who will receive travel support will be contacted by email to complete their flight bookings. The meeting will conclude at 5:00PM on Friday, May 17 and we encourage those receiving travel support to find an evening flight if at all possible. We will only cover Friday night hotel expenses with prior approval. Please contact helix@ebrc.org if you anticipate needing Friday night accommodations. Please also note that travel support does not include the confirmation/meal fee ($150 for faculty and $75 for students and postdocs). Email helix@ebrc.org if this fee is prohibitive. Please see EBRC’s full travel policy here.
We encourage you to make your travel plans early, as we will cap the level of airfare support provided by EBRC. Airfare must be booked by April 17 to be eligible for EBRC support.
Health and Safety:
We are committed to hosting a safe event. We will be closely watching CDC recommendations in addition to all relevant local and state guidelines leading up to the Meeting and make any changes necessary for health and safety.
Dress Code:
The EBRC Annual Meeting does not have a dress code. EBRC values diversity and individual expression — we encourage participants to come as they are and wish to present themselves to the world.
Ilenne Del Valle is a Research Staff Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Chile and her Ph.D. in Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology from Rice University, where she worked in the Silberg and Masiello lab. Following her Ph.D., she served as a postdoctoral researcher in the Eckert lab at ORNL. Currently, her research focuses on engineering new synthetic biology tools to facilitate ecosystem engineering, with a specific emphasis on environmental, energy, and sustainability applications.
Dr. Leili Rohani is a Stem Cell Scientist at the School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, and upcoming Research Scientist at MIT Synthetic Biology Center and Department of Biological Engineering. Her research has been focused on stem cells, regenerative medicine, cell therapy, and cell-fate engineering with the intent to provide a platform for future gene and precision therapies for heart diseases. She is passionate about combining tissue engineering, single-nuclei RNA sequencing and synthetic biology tools to create a human single cell atlas of heart disease as a basis for understanding, diagnosing, monitoring, and treating heart diseases. Her end goal is to look at the SynBio platform (tissue engineering, single nuclei RNAseq, synthetic biology) as a new vocabulary for disease studies to determine the ways in which cells and disease genes act, which cells are disrupted in disease, which programs change in them, what mechanisms underlie their (dis)regulation, how their cell-cell communications are affected, and what would be the impact of therapies. Beyond her research, she is passionate about science communication, networking, and collaboration.