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2025 Central US Synthetic Biology Workshop

Join us October 16-17 for the Central US Synthetic Biology Workshop as we bring together researchers from universities and companies to help identify opportunities to work across academia, industry, and government to foster a vibrant synthetic biology-enabled bioeconomy. Topics include adapting to a rapidly changing R&D environment, strengthening opportunities for translational and applied research, advances in computational design, and more. Registration is free. 

 

October 16-17, 2025 I McNamara Alumni Center

Day 1: October 16, starting at 9:30 a.m. I Day 2: October 17, starting at 8:30 a.m.

Hotel and travel

Check out the hotel and travel information page for more information on getting to the conference and finding a place to stay.

Organizing committee

Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, Michael Smanski, Kate Adamala, Casim Sarkar, Allen Lee, Evan Kalb, Francois Gaascht

 

Program

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Program

Day 1 - Thursday, October 16

Johnson Room, McNamara Alumni Center

  • 9-10:30 a.m.   Registration & Continental Breakfast

  • 10-10:15 a.m.   Welcome & Logistics

    • Claudia Schmidt-Dannert, Director BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota & Organizing committee: Kate Adamala, Francois Gaascht, Evan Kalb, Allen Lee, Casim Sarkar, Mike Smanski.

  • 10:15-11 a.m.   Keynote Lecture 1: Jimmy Gollihar (Houston Methodist Research Institute): “AI-assisted immunogen design and translation”

    • Chair: Mike Smanski

  • 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.   Session 1 - Biomanufacturing (Chair: Claudia Schmidt-Dannert)

    • Cong Trinh (U of Tennessee): “Modular cell design principles for novel biocatalysis and biomanufacturing”

    • Ting Lu (U of Illinois):  “Engineering microbial division of labor for plastic upcycling”

    • Allen Lee (U of Minnesota): “Decoupling carbon and energy metabolism for improved carbon efficiency in Bioconversion”

    • Short Talk 1: Irem Iskender (U of Minnesota): “Cell-free expression of Salmonella phages”

    • Short Talk 2: Susan Hubbard (U of Wisconsin): “Using in vitro assays for troubleshooting the introduction of the heterologous type II fatty acid synthesis pathway into Yarrowia lipolytica”

  • 12:30-1:30 p.m.  Roundtable lunch and networking discussion

  • 1:30-2:30 p.m.   Panel Discussion – Rethinking the Academic R&D Framework

    • Moderator: Mike Smanski

    • Panelists: Jimmy Gollihar, Jerome Fox, Caleb Bashor, Cong Trinh

  • 2:30-3 p.m.   Coffee Break

  • 3-4:15p.m.  Session 2 – Engineering the Tree of Life (Chair: Mike Smanski)

    • Caleb Bashor (Rice University): “Engineering post-translational sense-and-respond function in human cells”

    • Hyeongmin Seo (U of Iowa): “Accelerating synthetic biology for sustainable 1,5-diaminopentane production through nanofabricated high-throughput assay”

    • Ashty Karim (Northwestern U):  “Data-driven cell-free design of proteins and pathways"

    • Short Talk 1: Benjamin Knox (Terra Bioforge): “Enhanced heterologous overproduction of fungal ntural products with MycoDrive fungal genome engineering”

    • Short Talk 2: Kaylie Richard (U of Minnesota): “A cell-free approach for engineering intracellular plant immune receptors”

  • 4:30-6 p.m.   Poster Session & Reception (Chair: Francois Gaascht)

  • 7 p.m.   Social Gathering at Malcom Yards

Day 2 - Friday October 17

Johnson Room, McNamara

  • 8:30-9 a.m.  Continental Breakfast

  • 9-9:45 a.m.  Keynote Lecture II: Roseanna Zia (U of Missouri): “Whole-cell model of bacteria: how colloidal physics regulate protein synthesis, ribogenesis, and more

    • Chair: Kate Adamala

  • 9:45-11: a.m.  Session 3 – Design and Modelling (Chair: Casim Sarkar)

    • Ben Hackel (U of Minnesota): "Modeling the protein sequence-function landscape to discover and design miniprotein ligands”

    • Kehan Zhang (MIT): "Deep generative design of RNA elements for translational control”

    • Short Talk 1: Evelyn Okal (U of Wisconsin): “Marionette engineering of sensor histidine kinases”

    • Short Talk 2: Wesley Wierson (LEAH Labs): “De novo protein design towards uplifted CAR-T cell therapies”

  • 11-11:30 a.m.  Group Photo & Coffee Break

  • 11:30 a.m.-12:55 p.m.  Session 4 – Frontiers in Metabolic Engineering (Chair: Allen Lee)

    • Ed Cahoon (U of Nebraska-Lincoln): “Oilseed biodesign for high-value carotenoid production”

    • Jerome Fox (U of Colorado-Boulder): “High-throughput enzymology”

    • Short Talk 1: Pandeeswari Jeeva (Northwestern U): “Metabolic engineering of Acinetobacter baylyi: Transforming nitrogen waste into value-added biopolymer”

    • Short Talk 2: Xinyu (Norah) Chen (Northwestern U): “Polymer-producing Comamonas remodels metabolic flux to resolve metabolic imbalance during nitrogen depletion”

  • 1-1:45 p.m.  Roundtable lunch and networking discussion

  • 1:45-2:45 p.m.  Industry & Career Panel Discussion

    • Moderator: Evan Kalb 

    • Meet professionals from industry, IP, and academia in a Q and A panel. Panelists include those in talent acquisition, academics – including from SLACs, patent attorneys, and local start-ups.

  • 2:30-3 p.m. Wrap-up – Prizes, Conclusion & Next Workshop

  • 3-4:30 p.m.  Optional Tour of New Biomanufacturing Facility on the St. Paul campus

    • Campus shuttle from McNamara bus stop to St. Paul campus

    • 3:45-4:30 Facility Tour