Virtual Workshops – Technical Roadmap for Materials from Engineering Biology

EBRC – with support from the Division of Materials Research at NSF – invites you to contribute to a technical roadmap for materials from engineering biology.

The roadmap is currently in a drafting stage and we need experts to help continue to define and describe the 20+ year future for basic research and development at the intersection of materials science and synthetic/engineering biology. At a time like this, we believe that it is more important than ever for scientists to help guide policymakers and funding agencies in how to best support scientific research, and technical roadmaps are a highly-impactful way to do that.

EBRC is facilitating a series of virtual mini-workshops (2.5 – 3 hours each) focused on specific biomaterials subtopics to construct the roadmap. Workshops are organized as follows:

  • Workshop participants will engage in discussion and drafting of roadmap content covering a variety of topics.
  • Roadmap content will include description of current state-of-the-art science and engineering, milestones for technical achievements, and overarching goals and capabilities that will contribute to the next generation of bio-inspired, bio-enabled, and living materials.
  • Participants can expect to review instructions for contributing and a summary of the current content prior to the workshop, and are encouraged to continue contributing and providing insight, feedback, and review as we work toward a final product.

Details about each workshop, including dates/times, select topics to be covered, can be found below (registration deadline one week prior to workshop). Zoom videoconferencing links will be emailed to registrants. For more information, please contact roadmapping@ebrc.org

Wednesday, June 17 | 8:00am – 10:30am Pacific (Registration by June 11)

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED; for more information, please contact roadmapping@ebrc.org

Workshop topics will include:

    • Designing and producing materials dynamic materials capable of closed-loop feedback systems, including1Drachuk I, Harbaugh S, Geryak R, Kaplan DL, Tsukruk VV, Kelley-Loughnane N. Immobilization of Recombinant E. coli Cells in a Bacterial Cellulose–Silk Composite Matrix To Preserve Biological Function. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 2017 3 (10), 2278-2292. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00367; Tay PKR, Nguyen PQ, Joshi NS. A Synthetic Circuit for Mercury Bioremediation Using Self-Assembling Functional Amyloids. ACS Synth Biol. 2017;6(10):1841‐1850. doi:10.1021/acssynbio.7b00137; Gilbert C, Ellis T. Biological Engineered Living Materials: Growing Functional Materials with Genetically Programmable Properties. ACS Synth Biol. 2019;8(1):1‐15. doi:10.1021/acssynbio.8b00423; Nielsen AA, Der BS, Shin J, et al. Genetic circuit design automation. Science. 2016;352(6281):aac7341. doi:10.1126/science.aac7341; Liu X, Tang TC, Tham E, et al. Stretchable living materials and devices with hydrogel-elastomer hybrids hosting programmed cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017;114(9):2200‐2205. doi:10.1073/pnas.1618307114; Weisenberger MS, Deans TL. Bottom-up approaches in synthetic biology and biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018;45(7):599‐614. doi:10.1007/s10295-018-2027-3
      :

      • Sensing, signal encoding, and storage,
      • Signal integration and management,
      • Communication and response,
      • Computation (e.g., logic functions)
    • Integrating and functionalizing the biology-material (biotic-abiotic) interface2Heyde KC, Ruder WC. Programming Biomaterial Interactions Using Engineered Living Cells. Methods Mol Biol. 2018;1772:249‐265. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-7795-6_14; Chen AY, Zhong C, Lu TK. Engineering living functional materials. ACS Synth Biol. 2015;4(1):8‐11. doi:10.1021/sb500113b
    • Tools and technologies to develop robust and reproducible materials properties testing for (dynamic) biomaterials3Boudot C, Boccoz A, Düregger K, Kuhnla A. A novel blood incubation system for the in-vitro assessment of interactions between platelets and biomaterial surfaces under dynamic flow conditions: The Hemocoater. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2016;104(10):2430‐2440. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.35787; Quinci F, Dressler M, Strickland AM, Limbert G. Towards an accurate understanding of UHMWPE visco-dynamic behaviour for numerical modelling of implants. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2014;32:62‐75. doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2013.12.023
    • Multi-scale modeling for biomaterial properties and dynamic activity4Gronau G, Krishnaji ST, Kinahan ME, et al. A review of combined experimental and computational procedures for assessing biopolymer structure-process-property relationships. Biomaterials. 2012;33(33):8240‐8255. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.06.054; Raffaini G, Ganazzoli F. Understanding the performance of biomaterials through molecular modeling: crossing the bridge between their intrinsic properties and the surface adsorption of proteins. Macromol Biosci. 2007;7(5):552‐566. doi:
      10.1002/mabi.200600278

Types of participant-expertise we’re looking for (but not limited to): circuit/pathway engineering, cell biology, computational biology, molecular dynamics, materials science

—

Past workshops:
Thursday, May 28 | 8am – 11am Pacific (Registration by May 21)

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED; for more information, please contact roadmapping@ebrc.org

Workshop topics will include:

    • Integrating and functionalizing the biology-material (biotic-abiotic) interface5Heyde KC, Ruder WC. Programming Biomaterial Interactions Using Engineered Living Cells. Methods Mol Biol. 2018;1772:249‐265. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-7795-6_14; Chen AY, Zhong C, Lu TK. Engineering living functional materials. ACS Synth Biol. 2015;4(1):8‐11. doi:10.1021/sb500113b
    • Templating and patterning of biomaterials6Chen AY, Deng Z, Billings AN, et al. Synthesis and patterning of tunable multiscale materials with engineered cells. Nat Mater. 2014;13(5):515‐523. doi:10.1038/nmat3912; Lagziel-Simis S, Cohen-Hadar N, Moscovich-Dagan H, Wine Y, Freeman A. Protein-mediated nanoscale biotemplating. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2006;17(6):569‐573. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2006.10.005
    • Designing and producing materials dynamic materials capable of closed-loop feedback systems, including7Drachuk I, Harbaugh S, Geryak R, Kaplan DL, Tsukruk VV, Kelley-Loughnane N. Immobilization of Recombinant E. coli Cells in a Bacterial Cellulose–Silk Composite Matrix To Preserve Biological Function. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 2017 3 (10), 2278-2292. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00367; Tay PKR, Nguyen PQ, Joshi NS. A Synthetic Circuit for Mercury Bioremediation Using Self-Assembling Functional Amyloids. ACS Synth Biol. 2017;6(10):1841‐1850. doi:10.1021/acssynbio.7b00137; Gilbert C, Ellis T. Biological Engineered Living Materials: Growing Functional Materials with Genetically Programmable Properties. ACS Synth Biol. 2019;8(1):1‐15. doi:10.1021/acssynbio.8b00423; Nielsen AA, Der BS, Shin J, et al. Genetic circuit design automation. Science. 2016;352(6281):aac7341. doi:10.1126/science.aac7341; Liu X, Tang TC, Tham E, et al. Stretchable living materials and devices with hydrogel-elastomer hybrids hosting programmed cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017;114(9):2200‐2205. doi:10.1073/pnas.1618307114; Weisenberger MS, Deans TL. Bottom-up approaches in synthetic biology and biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018;45(7):599‐614. doi:10.1007/s10295-018-2027-3
      :

      • Sensing, signal encoding, and storage,
      • Signal integration and management,
      • Communication and response,
      • Computation (e.g., logic functions)
    • Multi-scale modeling for biomaterial properties and dynamic activity8Gronau G, Krishnaji ST, Kinahan ME, et al. A review of combined experimental and computational procedures for assessing biopolymer structure-process-property relationships. Biomaterials. 2012;33(33):8240‐8255. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.06.054; Raffaini G, Ganazzoli F. Understanding the performance of biomaterials through molecular modeling: crossing the bridge between their intrinsic properties and the surface adsorption of proteins. Macromol Biosci. 2007;7(5):552‐566. doi:
      10.1002/mabi.200600278

Types of participant-expertise we’re looking for (but not limited to): circuit/pathway engineering, biomolecular and cellular physiology, membrane engineering/dynamics, nanomaterials, polymers, metals and ceramics

——
Friday, June 5 | 8am – 11am Pacific (Registration by May 29)

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED; for more information, please contact roadmapping@ebrc.org

Workshop topics will include:

    • Biomolecular, metabolic, and chassis engineering for biomaterials9Basu A, Vadanan SV, Lim S. A Novel Platform for Evaluating the Environmental Impacts on Bacterial Cellulose Production. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):5780. Published 2018 Apr 10. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-23701-y; Becker J, Rohles CM, Wittmann C. Metabolically engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum for bio-based production of chemicals, fuels, materials, and healthcare products. Metab Eng. 2018;50:122‐141. doi:10.1016/j.ymben.2018.07.008
    • Synthesis, polymerization, and degradation of bio-enabled and bio-composed materials10Hoshino Y, Kodama T, Okahata Y, Shea KJ. Peptide imprinted polymer nanoparticles: a plastic antibody. J Am Chem Soc. 2008;130(46):15242‐15243. doi:10.1021/ja8062875; Stabenfeldt SE, Gourley M, Krishnan L, Hoying JB, Barker TH. Engineering fibrin polymers through engagement of alternative polymerization mechanisms. Biomaterials. 2012;33(2):535‐544. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.09.079; Yildirimer L, Seifalian AM. Three-dimensional biomaterial degradation – Material choice, design and extrinsic factor considerations. Biotechnol Adv. 2014;32(5):984‐999. doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2014.04.014
    • Enabling secretion and extrusion of biomaterials (polymers, functionalized biomolecules, etc.)11Nadell CD, Xavier JB, Levin SA, Foster KR. The evolution of quorum sensing in bacterial biofilms. PLoS Biol. 2008;6(1):e14. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060014; Mitra SD, Afonina I, Kline KA. Right Place, Right Time: Focalization of Membrane Proteins in Gram-Positive Bacteria. Trends Microbiol. 2016;24(8):611‐621. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2016.03.009
    • Templating and patterning of biomaterials12Chen AY, Deng Z, Billings AN, et al. Synthesis and patterning of tunable multiscale materials with engineered cells. Nat Mater. 2014;13(5):515‐523. doi:10.1038/nmat3912; Lagziel-Simis S, Cohen-Hadar N, Moscovich-Dagan H, Wine Y, Freeman A. Protein-mediated nanoscale biotemplating. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2006;17(6):569‐573. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2006.10.005
    • Tools and technologies to enable scale-up and process manufacturing of biomaterials13Gdowski A, Johnson K, Shah S, Gryczynski I, Vishwanatha J, Ranjan A. Optimization and scale up of microfluidic nanolipomer production method for preclinical and potential clinical trials. J Nanobiotechnology. 2018;16(1):12. Published 2018 Feb 12. doi:10.1186/s12951-018-0339-0

Types of participant-expertise we’re looking for (but not limited to): polymer engineering, bioprocess engineering, metabolic engineering, biomolecular dynamics, materials science

——
CANCELLED Thursday, June 11 | 8:30am – 11am Pacific (Registration by June 4)

REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED; for more information, please contact roadmapping@ebrc.org

Workshop topics will include:

    • Tools and technologies to enable scale-up and process manufacturing of biomaterials14Gdowski A, Johnson K, Shah S, Gryczynski I, Vishwanatha J, Ranjan A. Optimization and scale up of microfluidic nanolipomer production method for preclinical and potential clinical trials. J Nanobiotechnology. 2018;16(1):12. Published 2018 Feb 12. doi:10.1186/s12951-018-0339-0
    • Multi-scale modeling for biomaterial properties and dynamic activity15Gronau G, Krishnaji ST, Kinahan ME, et al. A review of combined experimental and computational procedures for assessing biopolymer structure-process-property relationships. Biomaterials. 2012;33(33):8240‐8255. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.06.054; Raffaini G, Ganazzoli F. Understanding the performance of biomaterials through molecular modeling: crossing the bridge between their intrinsic properties and the surface adsorption of proteins. Macromol Biosci. 2007;7(5):552‐566. doi:
      10.1002/mabi.200600278
    • Tools and technologies to develop robust and reproducible materials properties testing for (dynamic) biomaterials16Boudot C, Boccoz A, Düregger K, Kuhnla A. A novel blood incubation system for the in-vitro assessment of interactions between platelets and biomaterial surfaces under dynamic flow conditions: The Hemocoater. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2016;104(10):2430‐2440. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.35787; Quinci F, Dressler M, Strickland AM, Limbert G. Towards an accurate understanding of UHMWPE visco-dynamic behaviour for numerical modelling of implants. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2014;32:62‐75. doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2013.12.023

Types of participant-expertise we’re looking for (but not limited to): computational biology, molecular dynamics, material dynamics, bioprocess engineering, materials science

——

 

The following citations (indicated as footnotes above) are provided to suggest areas of science and engineering we will be considering for the roadmap topics covered in each workshop and how the topics might align with participants’ areas of expertise. These are representative works not intended to be inclusive or exclusive of what will be covered in the roadmap.

1. Drachuk I, Harbaugh S, Geryak R, Kaplan DL, Tsukruk VV, Kelley-Loughnane N. Immobilization of Recombinant E. coli Cells in a Bacterial Cellulose–Silk Composite Matrix To Preserve Biological Function. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 2017 3 (10), 2278-2292. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00367; Tay PKR, Nguyen PQ, Joshi NS. A Synthetic Circuit for Mercury Bioremediation Using Self-Assembling Functional Amyloids. ACS Synth Biol. 2017;6(10):1841‐1850. doi:10.1021/acssynbio.7b00137; Gilbert C, Ellis T. Biological Engineered Living Materials: Growing Functional Materials with Genetically Programmable Properties. ACS Synth Biol. 2019;8(1):1‐15. doi:10.1021/acssynbio.8b00423; Nielsen AA, Der BS, Shin J, et al. Genetic circuit design automation. Science. 2016;352(6281):aac7341. doi:10.1126/science.aac7341; Liu X, Tang TC, Tham E, et al. Stretchable living materials and devices with hydrogel-elastomer hybrids hosting programmed cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017;114(9):2200‐2205. doi:10.1073/pnas.1618307114; Weisenberger MS, Deans TL. Bottom-up approaches in synthetic biology and biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018;45(7):599‐614. doi:10.1007/s10295-018-2027-3

2. Heyde KC, Ruder WC. Programming Biomaterial Interactions Using Engineered Living Cells. Methods Mol Biol. 2018;1772:249‐265. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-7795-6_14; Chen AY, Zhong C, Lu TK. Engineering living functional materials. ACS Synth Biol. 2015;4(1):8‐11. doi:10.1021/sb500113b

3. Boudot C, Boccoz A, Düregger K, Kuhnla A. A novel blood incubation system for the in-vitro assessment of interactions between platelets and biomaterial surfaces under dynamic flow conditions: The Hemocoater. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2016;104(10):2430‐2440. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.35787; Quinci F, Dressler M, Strickland AM, Limbert G. Towards an accurate understanding of UHMWPE visco-dynamic behaviour for numerical modelling of implants. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2014;32:62‐75. doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2013.12.023

4. Gronau G, Krishnaji ST, Kinahan ME, et al. A review of combined experimental and computational procedures for assessing biopolymer structure-process-property relationships. Biomaterials. 2012;33(33):8240‐8255. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.06.054; Raffaini G, Ganazzoli F. Understanding the performance of biomaterials through molecular modeling: crossing the bridge between their intrinsic properties and the surface adsorption of proteins. Macromol Biosci. 2007;7(5):552‐566. doi:
10.1002/mabi.200600278

5. Heyde KC, Ruder WC. Programming Biomaterial Interactions Using Engineered Living Cells. Methods Mol Biol. 2018;1772:249‐265. doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-7795-6_14; Chen AY, Zhong C, Lu TK. Engineering living functional materials. ACS Synth Biol. 2015;4(1):8‐11. doi:10.1021/sb500113b

6. Chen AY, Deng Z, Billings AN, et al. Synthesis and patterning of tunable multiscale materials with engineered cells. Nat Mater. 2014;13(5):515‐523. doi:10.1038/nmat3912; Lagziel-Simis S, Cohen-Hadar N, Moscovich-Dagan H, Wine Y, Freeman A. Protein-mediated nanoscale biotemplating. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2006;17(6):569‐573. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2006.10.005

7. Drachuk I, Harbaugh S, Geryak R, Kaplan DL, Tsukruk VV, Kelley-Loughnane N. Immobilization of Recombinant E. coli Cells in a Bacterial Cellulose–Silk Composite Matrix To Preserve Biological Function. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 2017 3 (10), 2278-2292. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00367; Tay PKR, Nguyen PQ, Joshi NS. A Synthetic Circuit for Mercury Bioremediation Using Self-Assembling Functional Amyloids. ACS Synth Biol. 2017;6(10):1841‐1850. doi:10.1021/acssynbio.7b00137; Gilbert C, Ellis T. Biological Engineered Living Materials: Growing Functional Materials with Genetically Programmable Properties. ACS Synth Biol. 2019;8(1):1‐15. doi:10.1021/acssynbio.8b00423; Nielsen AA, Der BS, Shin J, et al. Genetic circuit design automation. Science. 2016;352(6281):aac7341. doi:10.1126/science.aac7341; Liu X, Tang TC, Tham E, et al. Stretchable living materials and devices with hydrogel-elastomer hybrids hosting programmed cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017;114(9):2200‐2205. doi:10.1073/pnas.1618307114; Weisenberger MS, Deans TL. Bottom-up approaches in synthetic biology and biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2018;45(7):599‐614. doi:10.1007/s10295-018-2027-3

8. Gronau G, Krishnaji ST, Kinahan ME, et al. A review of combined experimental and computational procedures for assessing biopolymer structure-process-property relationships. Biomaterials. 2012;33(33):8240‐8255. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.06.054; Raffaini G, Ganazzoli F. Understanding the performance of biomaterials through molecular modeling: crossing the bridge between their intrinsic properties and the surface adsorption of proteins. Macromol Biosci. 2007;7(5):552‐566. doi:
10.1002/mabi.200600278

9. Basu A, Vadanan SV, Lim S. A Novel Platform for Evaluating the Environmental Impacts on Bacterial Cellulose Production. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):5780. Published 2018 Apr 10. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-23701-y; Becker J, Rohles CM, Wittmann C. Metabolically engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum for bio-based production of chemicals, fuels, materials, and healthcare products. Metab Eng. 2018;50:122‐141. doi:10.1016/j.ymben.2018.07.008

10. Hoshino Y, Kodama T, Okahata Y, Shea KJ. Peptide imprinted polymer nanoparticles: a plastic antibody. J Am Chem Soc. 2008;130(46):15242‐15243. doi:10.1021/ja8062875; Stabenfeldt SE, Gourley M, Krishnan L, Hoying JB, Barker TH. Engineering fibrin polymers through engagement of alternative polymerization mechanisms. Biomaterials. 2012;33(2):535‐544. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.09.079; Yildirimer L, Seifalian AM. Three-dimensional biomaterial degradation – Material choice, design and extrinsic factor considerations. Biotechnol Adv. 2014;32(5):984‐999. doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2014.04.014

11. Nadell CD, Xavier JB, Levin SA, Foster KR. The evolution of quorum sensing in bacterial biofilms. PLoS Biol. 2008;6(1):e14. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060014; Mitra SD, Afonina I, Kline KA. Right Place, Right Time: Focalization of Membrane Proteins in Gram-Positive Bacteria. Trends Microbiol. 2016;24(8):611‐621. doi:10.1016/j.tim.2016.03.009

12. Chen AY, Deng Z, Billings AN, et al. Synthesis and patterning of tunable multiscale materials with engineered cells. Nat Mater. 2014;13(5):515‐523. doi:10.1038/nmat3912; Lagziel-Simis S, Cohen-Hadar N, Moscovich-Dagan H, Wine Y, Freeman A. Protein-mediated nanoscale biotemplating. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2006;17(6):569‐573. doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2006.10.005

13. Gdowski A, Johnson K, Shah S, Gryczynski I, Vishwanatha J, Ranjan A. Optimization and scale up of microfluidic nanolipomer production method for preclinical and potential clinical trials. J Nanobiotechnology. 2018;16(1):12. Published 2018 Feb 12. doi:10.1186/s12951-018-0339-0

14. Gdowski A, Johnson K, Shah S, Gryczynski I, Vishwanatha J, Ranjan A. Optimization and scale up of microfluidic nanolipomer production method for preclinical and potential clinical trials. J Nanobiotechnology. 2018;16(1):12. Published 2018 Feb 12. doi:10.1186/s12951-018-0339-0

15. Gronau G, Krishnaji ST, Kinahan ME, et al. A review of combined experimental and computational procedures for assessing biopolymer structure-process-property relationships. Biomaterials. 2012;33(33):8240‐8255. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.06.054; Raffaini G, Ganazzoli F. Understanding the performance of biomaterials through molecular modeling: crossing the bridge between their intrinsic properties and the surface adsorption of proteins. Macromol Biosci. 2007;7(5):552‐566. doi:
10.1002/mabi.200600278

16. Boudot C, Boccoz A, Düregger K, Kuhnla A. A novel blood incubation system for the in-vitro assessment of interactions between platelets and biomaterial surfaces under dynamic flow conditions: The Hemocoater. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2016;104(10):2430‐2440. doi:10.1002/jbm.a.35787; Quinci F, Dressler M, Strickland AM, Limbert G. Towards an accurate understanding of UHMWPE visco-dynamic behaviour for numerical modelling of implants. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2014;32:62‐75. doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2013.12.023

Yinjie Tang

Dr. Yinjie Tang did his BS/MS in chemical engineering at Tianjin University. He obtained his PhD at University of Washington and his research was on kinetic modeling of marine sediment remediation. He did his postdoc at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He joined Washington University In 2008 and was promoted to full professor in 2018. His research focuses on algal engineering, metabolic flux analysis, and process modeling.

[Virtual Meeting] EBRC Annual Meeting Poster Session

EBRC Annual Meeting Poster Hall & Live Poster Session
Virtual Meeting

In lieu of a poster session at the Annual Meeting, we are organizing a virtual “poster hall” that will be available from March 31 through April 3. On March 31, links to view posters will be provided to those registered for our virtual annual meeting.

On Thursday April 2 from 1:30pm – 3:00pm PST, we will host a Live Poster Session. Poster presenters will be divided into Zoom meeting rooms. Poster viewers will receive a list of poster presenters and associated Zoom links and may enter Zoom rooms to ask questions and hear more about the work of the presenter.

Agenda

[Virtual Meeting] EBRC Roadmapping Working Group

Register Here

EBRC Roadmapping Working Group
Virtual Meeting
Friday, April 3, 2020
11:00am – 1:00pm PST

We will discuss the dissemination and impact of the 2019 Roadmap (published June 2019), and review and discuss the progress, current status, and upcoming efforts of the 2020 Roadmaps: Materials from Engineering Biology and Microbiomes Engineering. Please join us to learn more about these roadmaps and how EBRC members can contribute.

Agenda

Participation instructions will be sent to you via email prior to the meeting date.

[Virtual Meeting] EBRC SPA SBIR Workshop

Register Here

EBRC SPA SBIR Workshop
Virtual Meeting
Friday, April 3, 2020
9:00am – 11:00pm PST

How to Apply for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Grant
Are you a graduate student or postdoc interested in entrepreneurship or looking to commercialize your research? Join the SPA for a panel on the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, a federal program that provides funding for startups and small businesses to engage in innovative research and development with commercialization potential. Our panel features Dr. Erik Pierstorff (SBIR/STTR Program Director at the National Science Foundation), Dr. Rachel Jordan (Research Scientist at Lynntech, Inc.), and Dr. Michael Heffernan (Principal at Fannin Innovation Studio).

Agenda

Participation instructions will be sent to you via email prior to the meeting date.

[Virtual Meeting] EBRC Policy & International Engagement Working Group

Register Here

EBRC Policy & International Engagement Working Group
Virtual Meeting
Friday, April 3, 2020
9:00am – 11:00am PST

The policy & international engagement working group will provide a recap of recent actions and events, including the 2019 Global Forum for Engineering Biology, and discuss efforts to engage the community around relevant policy and international issues. The discussion will focus on developing actions for the working group to focus on for the rest of the EBRC year. We are actively recruiting new and interested EBRC members and welcome anyone interested in this topical area.

Agenda

Participation instructions will be sent to you via email prior to the meeting date.

[Virtual Meeting] EBRC Education Working Group

Register Here

EBRC Education Working Group
Virtual Meeting
Thursday, April 2, 2020
11:00am – 1:00pm PST

We will discuss recent and on-going efforts in EBRC Education and Outreach, including the EBRC YouTube channel, current development of agile curriculum modules for engineering biology higher education, and future programs for engineering biology education in the K-12 landscape. Participants can expect to review and/or contribute to the curriculum modules and other plans.

Agenda

Participation instructions will be sent to you via email prior to the meeting date.

[Virtual Meeting] EBRC Security Working Group

Register Here

EBRC Security Working Group
Virtual Meeting
Thursday, April 2, 2020
9:00am – 11:00pm PST

The Security Working Group Chairman will provide a short presentation on the background and purpose of the Group. Dr. Mackelprang will talk about her project and provide some questions about the security ontology project. The majority of the time will be spent on discussions on the Malice Analysis program. This will include updates on the roadshow in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as discussions on how to adapt the program for industry and funders of research.

Agenda

Participation instructions will be sent to you via email prior to the meeting date.

Emiley Eloe-Fadrosh

Dr. Eloe-Fadrosh joined the JGI in 2014 to pursue her research interests in microbial ecology and metagenomics. Her current research focuses on leveraging thousands of metagenomic datasets from host-associated and environmental samples to identify novel microbial life and viral diversity. Prior to joining the JGI, she was a Bioinformatics Program Fellow at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation as part of the Marine Microbiology Initiative. She conducted her postdoctoral training in human microbiome research at the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She stepped into the Metagenome Program lead position in 2017. She additionally leads the National Microbiome Data Collaborative, a multi-lab partnership that support microbiome data exploration through a sustainable data discovery platform that promotes open science across a broad and diverse community of researchers, funders, publishers, and scientific societies.

Ramon Gonzalez

Dr. Ramon Gonzalez is a Professor and Florida World Class Scholar in the Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF) where he leads the laboratory for Metabolic Engineering and Biomanufacturing. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology. Before joining USF, Dr. Gonzalez was a Professor in the Departments of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and Bioengineering at Rice University, the Founding Director of Rice’s Advanced Biomanufacturing Initiative, and from 2012 to 2015 served as Program Director with the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) of the U.S. Department of Energy. Dr. Gonzalez’s work has been published in prestigious scientific journals, including Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Chemical Biology, PNAS, and Science. He is the lead inventor in 25 patents and patent applications, co-founded several biotechnology start-ups, and has given more than 100 invited talks. He is also a member of the editorial boards of Science, Biotechnology Journal, and Metabolic Engineering Communications. Dr. Gonzalez has received numerous recognitions, including elected Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, AIChE Division 15c Plenary Lecture, ASM Distinguished Lecturer, SDA/NBB Glycerine Innovation Research Award, and NSF CAREER Award. He obtained a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chile, an M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (Chile), and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Central University of Las Villas (Cuba).

Alanna Schepartz

BioInd Manufacturing Innovation Institute EBRC Team Meeting

Thank you for your interest in the EBRC’s Bioindustrial MII Team. Some of the links below may no longer be active as we progress in the proposal process. If you’re interested in joining or discussing our team, please contact bioindmii@ebrc.org.

The EBRC is hosting a second Bioindustrial MII Team Meeting on March 6, 2020 in Arlington, VA.  This meeting is scheduled the day following the Government Proposers’ Day and in the same location. Advance registration is required.

Register here

This meeting will include:

  1. A presentation and discussion of proposed institute framework developed based on your input.
  2. Breakout Sessions for each of the working group topic areas. The initial work product of each working group will serve as the basis for the breakout discussions, with a goal of further refining the details of an institutional model. Please see our recent email(s) about joining our working groups and teams to develop the institute. More detail can be found in our updated Q&A document.
  3. Plenary discussion of all topics.

This meeting is open to relevant biomanufacturing stakeholders and is subject to capacity limits. Organizations not US-owned and operated inside the United States should contact BioIndMII@ebrc.org prior to registering. Advance registration is required.

Read our Updated Q&A

IMPORTANT DATES

WORKSHOP VENUE & HOST HOTEL INFORMATION:

Marriott Crystal Gateway
1700 Richmond Highway, Arlington, VA | 703-920-3230

Negotiated room rate: $269/night plus taxes/fees at LINK or by calling 1-800-228-9290 and requesting the “EBRC Meeting” rate.

Point of Contact

You may contact the EBRC Team at BioIndMII@ebrc.org

Monica McNerney

Monica is a postdoc at Harvard Medical School in Pam Silver’s lab, and she is using synthetic biology to make new types of mammalian cell devices. She completed a Bioengineering PhD at Georgia Tech in Mark Styczynksi’s lab, where she engineered biosensors that could serve as equipment-free, point-of-care diagnostic tools.

Andrew Hunt

Andrew Hunt is a Postdoc in the Baker Lab at the University of Washington. Andrew works on designing new proteins and developing technologies to measure biological function. Andrew is the Chair of the EBRC In Translation Podcast.

Cholpisit Ice Kiattisewee

Ice is an Engineering Excellence Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT working with Prof. James J. Collins. Before that, Ice graduated from the University of Washington with a Ph.D. in Molecular Engineering and Sciences under the supervision of Prof. James Carothers and Prof. Jesse Zalatan. He worked on various projects surrounding bacterial engineering, genetic circuits, and biocatalysis, particularly the development of CRISPR tools in non-canonical microbes for various applications, such as Metabolic Engineering and Signaling. Ice is highly engaged with the EBRC and SPA community since 2019, serving in various roles.

Originally from Thailand, Ice graduated with B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Organic Chemistry from Mahidol University before shifting to the world of Engineering Biology, starting as a Research Assistant at the School of Biomolecular Sciences and Engineering, VISTEC, Thailand. Whenever the weather permits, Ice enjoys outdoor activities including hiking, surfing, and climbing. If forced to stay indoors, he will sneak into Thai boxing practice or enjoy cooking Thai cuisine with friends.

See further info about Ice at his personal website: https://theicechol.github.io/

Michael Sheets

As a graduate student in the Dunlop Lab at Boston University, Michael uses optogenetic tools to study the development of antibiotic resistance. His current work focuses on the design & characterization of light-inducible recombinases in bacteria. He is broadly interested in using synthetic biology to combat antibiotic resistance, and incorporating the DBTL cycle into K-12 and undergraduate education.

Malice Analysis, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Register Here

Biology is easier than ever to engineer. This reality requires researchers to take proactive steps to consider the security implications of their work. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is holding an interactive workshop to help you identify potentially malicious applications of your work, mitigation options, and what to do if you identify something and don’t know how to proceed. This four-hour, technically-focused workshop will include plenary presentations and discussion and small group analysis of participant projects. Refreshments will be served culminating with lunch as part of the final debrief. Participants that complete all aspects of the workshop will receive a certificate of completion which can be noted on your CV.

This workshop is supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number, 2017‐ST‐108‐FRG002.

[CANCELLED] Malice Analysis, Georgia Institute of Technology

The Engineering Biology Research Consortium’s Malice Analysis workshop at Georgia Tech on April 10 is cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We appreciate your interest. Feel free to reach out to EBRC at helix@ebrc.org if you would like more information on security in engineering biology.

Biology is easier than ever to engineer. This reality requires researchers to take proactive steps to consider the security implications of their work. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is holding an interactive workshop to help you identify potentially malicious applications of your work, mitigation options, and what to do if you identify something and don’t know how to proceed. This four-hour, technically-focused workshop will include plenary presentations and discussion and small group analysis of participant projects. Refreshments will be served culminating with lunch as part of the final debrief. Participants that complete all aspects of the workshop will receive a certificate of completion which can be noted on your CV.

This workshop is supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number, 2017‐ST‐108‐FRG002.

[CANCELLED] Malice Analysis, Clemson University

The Engineering Biology Research Consortium’s Malice Analysis workshop at Clemson University on April 9 is cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We appreciate your interest. Feel free to reach out to EBRC at helix@ebrc.org if you would like more information on security in engineering biology.

Biology is easier than ever to engineer. This reality requires researchers to take proactive steps to consider the security implications of their work. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is holding an interactive workshop to help you identify potentially malicious applications of your work, mitigation options, and what to do if you identify something and don’t know how to proceed. This four-hour, technically-focused workshop will include plenary presentations and discussion and small group analysis of participant projects. Refreshments will be served culminating with lunch as part of the final debrief. Participants that complete all aspects of the workshop will receive a certificate of completion which can be noted on your CV.

This workshop is supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number, 2017‐ST‐108‐FRG002.

Malice Analysis, University of Michigan

Register Here

Biology is easier than ever to engineer. This reality requires researchers to take proactive steps to consider the security implications of their work. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is holding an interactive workshop to help you identify potentially malicious applications of your work, mitigation options, and what to do if you identify something and don’t know how to proceed. This four-hour, technically-focused workshop will include plenary presentations and discussion and small group analysis of participant projects. Refreshments will be served culminating with lunch as part of the final debrief. Participants that complete all aspects of the workshop will receive a certificate of completion which can be noted on your CV.

This workshop is supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Grant Award Number, 2017‐ST‐108‐FRG002.