SynBio Canada
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SynBio Canada

“A space by the community for the community. Working together to strengthen synthetic biology research in Canada.”
— SynBioCanada Steering Committee

Upcoming events

We aim to host a profile for every professor, research institute, and company interested in synthetic biology in Canada.

Come join the community!

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SynBio Canada is working to strengthen the synthetic biology community in Canada, by explaining the latest research, and hosting profiles for researchers and companies. From there, we hope it will grow to foster new collaborations and exciting applications.

Synthetic biology (also referred to as synbio) is a relatively new branch of science, with a common aim of engineering biological systems. The goal is that of harnessing the intrinsic power of nature for many applications, ranging from the production of biofuels to the development of new medicines, and more.

Synthetic biology represents an incredible opportunity for Canada.

Around the world, hundreds of synthetic biology start-ups have been created, with private investment surpassing $1B for the first time in 2016. There have been some recent initiatives in Canada, such as investments by Genome Canada or the proposal for the creation of a synthetic biology Canadian institute. This project aims to help the Canadian synthetic biology community organize, through the creation of a dedicated website at first, and the implementation of discussion groups and workshops.

Featured
My Experience at SynBioBeta 2018: The Global Synthetic Biology Summit
Amy Chen
My Experience at SynBioBeta 2018: The Global Synthetic Biology Summit
Amy Chen

SynBioBeta is a synthetic biology conference that brings together business entrepreneurs and scientists from around the world. In 2018 it was held from Oct 1st -Oct 3rd at the Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco. I had the pleasure of attending this conference and it was a phenomenal experience!

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Amy Chen
What’s in a Name? Defining and Relating Synthetic Biology to Biomedical Engineering
Brendan Grue
What’s in a Name? Defining and Relating Synthetic Biology to Biomedical Engineering
Brendan Grue

Biomedical engineering (BME) and synthetic biology are in some ways very similar, but also distinct fields. This relationship makes defining and separating the two quite difficult. In addition, as interdisciplinary fields, multiple definitions may apply to each.

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Brendan Grue
International Symposium on Synthetic Biology in Toulouse, France (Part 2)
Samir Hamadache
International Symposium on Synthetic Biology in Toulouse, France (Part 2)
Samir Hamadache

The second day of the EUSynBioS Symposium this past October was jam-packed with presentations from senior scientists and students from all over, including Canada. Here, I summarize some of the sessions I attended.

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Samir Hamadache
Canadian Teams Excel at the iGEM Giant Jamboree!
Kenza Samlali
Canadian Teams Excel at the iGEM Giant Jamboree!
Kenza Samlali

This year, 13 Canadian university teams and three high school teams were accepted for the iGEM Giant Jamboree at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. All summer long, they have sweated in their lab coats, cloning from morning till morning, in addition to working on building hardware, developing software, engaging with the public and carefully publishing all their work on their website.

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Kenza Samlali
International Symposium on Synthetic Biology in Toulouse, France (Part 1)
Samir Hamadache
International Symposium on Synthetic Biology in Toulouse, France (Part 1)
Samir Hamadache

EUSynBioS invited SynBio Canada, as well as other national & continental synthetic biology associations, to attend the event and introduce our organizations to each other. I had the privilege of attending on behalf of SynBio Canada, thanks in part to an experiential opportunity grant from Western University. This is the first of a series of posts about my experience.

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Samir Hamadache