Technical Program

Keynote Speaker - Michael Elowitz, California Institute of Technology

Cell fate control circuits, from scratch

Session 1: Architecture of the Genome 

Chaired By: Lacramioara Bintu, Stanford

Invited Speaker: Karmella Haynes, Emory

Rationally designed Chromatin Reader-Effectors Activate a Tumor Suppressor Program in Breast Cancer

Invited Speaker: Gabor Balazsi, Stony Brook University

Mapping the fitness landscapes of cancer with the help of synthetic gene circuits

Selected Abstract: Cybergenetics Control of Stem Cells Pluripotency

Antonella La Regina, Universiity of Naples Federico II 

Selected Abstract: Deciphering the Splicing Code with Massively Parallel Reporter Assays 

Samantha Koplik, University of Washington

Keynote Speaker - Megan Levings, University of British Columbia

Engineering regulatory T cells for tolerance

Session 2: Therapeutic Circuits

Chaired by: Xiaojing Gao, Stanford

Invited Speaker: Michael Lin, Stanford

Synthetic signal transduction pathways for oncoselective activation of engineered viruses

Invited Speaker: Roman Jerala, University of Ljubljana

Design of regulation of mammalian cells for therapeutic applications

Selected Abstract: Development of a Synthetic Genetic Feedback Circuit to Sense and Modulate Neurodegenerative Protein Aggregation

Giulio Chiesa, Boston University

Selected Abstract: Programming Cell Therapies with Targeted Protein Degradation

Max Jan, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center

Session 3: Multicellular Systems

Chaired by: Leonardo Morsut, USC

Invited Speaker: Jamie Davies, University of Edinburgh

Goals, purpose, agency: going beyond engineering metaphors to work with, as well as on, biological systems

Invited Speaker: Wilfred Weber, University of Freiburg

Engineering intracellular liquid protein materials for tuning transgene expression

Selected Abstract: Reversible Logic Gates Using Synthetic Gene Circuits in Living Cells at E.coli Heterogenous Population and at E.Coli-Mammalian Cell Intercellular Levels

Rajkamal Srivastava, Homi Bhabha National Institute India

Keynote Speaker - Elly Tanaka, IMP Vienna

Self-organization of neuronal patterning from stem cells

Session 4: Regenerative Engineering

Chaired by: Tara Deans, University of Utah

Invited Speaker: Katie Galloway, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Engineering high-precision, dynamic genetic control systems for cellular reprogramming

Invited Speaker: Steve Pollard, University of Edinburgh

Synthetic super-enhancers enable cell type-selective expression of anticancer payloads for viral gene therapy

Selected Abstract: Uncovering the OCT4 Expression Trajectory of Successful Reprogramming in Human Fibroblasts

Katherine Ilia, MIT

Selected Abstract: Straight-in: A Platform for High-Throughput Targeting of Large DNA Payloads in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Albert Blanch Asensio, Leiden University Medical Center

Keynote Speaker - Mustafa Khammash, ETH Basel

Precision and Robustness by Design: Theory and Implementation of Adaptive Biomolecular Control

Session 5: Control Engineering

Chaired by: Katie Galloway, MIT

Invited Speaker: Domitilla Del Vecchio, MIT

Mammalian Synthetic Biology by Controller Design

Invited Speaker: Diego Di Bernardo, TIGEM Naples

Engineering the Next Generation of Mammalian Whole Cell Biosensors for Advanced Biotechnological Applications

Selected Abstract: The Caswitch: A Synthetic Feed-Forward Circuit to Engineer a New AAV Vector Production Platform Based on Inducible HEK293 Producer Cell Line

Giuliano De Carluccio, Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine

Selected Abstract: Engineering Artificial Phosphorylation Networks in Mammalian Cells

Xiaoyu Yang, Rice University

Session 6: Foundational Technologies

Chaired By: Velia Siciliano, Italian Institute of Technology

Invited Speaker: Sai Reddy, ETH Basel

Engineering synthetic T cell platforms for cancer immunotherapy

Invited Speaker: Barbara Di Ventura, University of Freiburg

Divide et impera. A rational strategy to split proteins for synthetic biology applications

Selected Abstract: Modular and Programmable RNA Sensing Using Adar Editing in Living Cells

Eerik Kaseniit, Stanford University

Selected Abstract: Systematic Discovery of Recombinases for Integrating DNA into the Human Genome

Josh Tycko, Stanford University