ESF-UB Conference in Biomedicine
EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY (ECSB): DESIGN, PROGRAMMING AND OPTIMISATION OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
Chaired by
CHAIR:
- AlfonsoValenciaE-Mail
- Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO)Structural and Computational Biology Programme (S-CompBio)MadridSpain
CO-CHAIRS:
- SvenPankeE-Mail
- ETH ZurichDepartment for Biosystems Science and EngineeringBioprocess LaboratoryBaselSwitzerland
Dates
24-29 November 2007
Location
Hotel Eden Roc, Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain
The conference will take place in Sant Feliu de Guixols, on the Spanish Costa Brava, 120 km north of Barcelona and 30 km south of Girona. Group transportation will be arranged from/to Barcelona airport, on arrival and departure days.
Final Programme & List of Accepted Participants
The field of synthetic biology holds a great promise for the design, construction and development of artificial (i.e. man-made) biological (sub)systems, by offering viable new routes to ‘genetically modified’ organisms, smart drugs and hybrid computational-biological devices. The informed manipulation of such biological (sub)systems could have an enormous positive impact on our societies, with its effects being felt across a range of activities such as the provision of healthcare, environmental protection and remediation to the construction of smarter more ubiquitous bio-integrated computing systems, etc.
The basic premise of synthetic biology is that methods commonly used to build non-biological systems, such as those employed in the computational sciences and the engineering disciplines that can deal with large and complex systems, could also be use to specify, design, implement, test and deploy novel synthetic biosystems. Synthetic biology lies at the interface of a variety of disciplines ranging from biology through chemistry, physics, computer science, mathematics and engineering. Although undeniably multidisciplinary, this nascent field of research has tended to be locked within the narrow remits of each of its constitutive disciplines. The specific overarching aim of this conference is thus to generate new vigorous interactions between the disciplines that impinge (and contribute to) Synthetic Biology.
ECSB 2007 will draw on international expertise from, on the one hand, Biological disciplines (e.g. Genomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, etc), and on the other hand, Computational and Engineering experts to present a balanced overview of the very latest key technologies and research advances as pertaining to Synthetic Biology in general and the quest for minimal living forms in particular. The conference will bring together some of the most well known international researchers in their respective areas to (1) present introductory tutorials, (2) showcase, through papers and posters presentations, the latest research outputs on this nascent field and (3) to sow the seeds for a more robust and well connected multi-disciplinary research community in synthetic biology. We expect this to be a major international and multi-disciplinary scientific and educational event.
Some, but not all, of the topics to be presented in the conference include: DNA sequencing and synthesis, chemical and biological networks, computational techniques (modelling, data mining, optimisation) for synthetic biology, minimal genomes, evolution (natural, directed and simulated), origins of life, biological systems, cell cycles and circuits, infrastructures for synthetic biology, minimal cells, etc.
Abstracts, Posters & Short Oral Contributions
RESULTS OF POSTER CONTEST:
1st place: Paul Gardner et al for:
Quorum Sensing of Formose by Vibrio Harvery
2nd place:Tamas Feher et al for:
Engineering a Rationally Designed Reduced Genome E. coli
3rd place: Javier Carrera Montesinos et al for:
Modelling and Inference of Genetic Networks from Integration of Transcriptomic Databases
Group Transportation & Practical Information Guide
Detailed information on all practical aspects of the conference (access to site, registration & fee payments, accommodation, travel reimbursements...) is available from the Practical Information Guide. Please read it fully and carefully...
GROUP TRANSPORTATION
Three buses will be arranged on arrival day from Barcelona airport to Sant Feliu. The journey takes approximately 90 minutes, depending on traffic.
Bus departure times – Saturday 24 November: 16.30 and 17.30 and 18.30
Airport departure point: the buses will wait in the special bus parking area located just before the A terminal. Each bus has been requested to be at the meeting point 20-30 minutes before scheduled departure. The coaches will have a sign in the window indicating “ESF Research Conferences” for easy recognition.
Group transportation back to Barcelona airport will be arranged in a similar way for the departure day.
Bus departure times – Thursday 29 November: 13.00 and 14.00
ACCOMMODATION
Please note that SINGLE accommodation can only be guaranteed to invited speakers. All other participants will have to share a TWIN room. In case single rooms would become available at the time of the conference, rooms will be attributed on a “first come, first served” basis. Only the TWIN conference fee should be paid to the ESF when registering. The supplement for single should be paid to the venue directly. Should you wish to be put on waiting list for single accommodation, please contact Ms. Jean Kelly.
Conference Fees
Fees | What the fees cover |
EUR 850 | conference, meals and single room |
EUR 750 | conference, meals and twin OR double room |
EUR 510 | non-resident: conference, meals (no room) |
Some grants available for young researchers to cover the conference fee and possibly part of the travel costs. Grant requests should be made by ticking appropriate field(s) in the paragraph "Grant application" of the application form.
Registration Form
All participants - including speakers & session chairs - are kindly expected to confirm their attendance (and, when applicable, to pay the conference fee) by filling in a Registration Form.
Closing date for registration & fee payment: 6 November 2007 
ESF Contact
- JeanKellyE-Mail
- Conference Officer
Phone: +32 (0)2 533 2025
Fax: +32 (0)2 538 8486
Please quote 07-241 in any correspondence.
Partnership
This conference is organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF) in partnership with the University of Barcelona (UB)
With Support from
Frontiers of Functional Genomics - An ESF Research Network Programme: Frontiers in Functional Genomics is a new ESF programme which will run from June 2006 to May 2011. This follows on from the very successful programme Integrated Approaches for Functional Genomics. The new programme aims to connect the most promising developments in functional genomics technologies with the expanding concept of systems biology, focusing particularly on applications in biomedicine, as well as the environment and implications for society at large.
Links of Interest
- ESAB - EFB European Section on Applied Biocatalysis
- BBSRC - Networks in Synthetic Biology (NSB): Call for Proposals The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) are issuing a joint call for proposals for Networks in Synthetic Biology. Closing date for submitting proposals: 24 October 2007.
