SynBio Canada
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

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
The First Genome Project Write (GP-Write) Canada Meeting
Andrew Diamond
The First Genome Project Write (GP-Write) Canada Meeting
Andrew Diamond

GP-Write is an international consortium of researchers with the ultimate goal of creating a synthetic human genome. The objective of the GP-write Canada meeting was to evaluate who else in Canada is interested to build a GP-write Canadian consortium, which Canadian resources and scientific expertise can be adopted and what are potential projects and strategies to attract funding.

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Andrew Diamond
WSB 3.0 Panel: The Present and Future State of Synthetic Biology in Canada
Benjamin Scott
WSB 3.0 Panel: The Present and Future State of Synthetic Biology in Canada
Benjamin Scott

As a follow-up to the first Canada Synthetic Biology conference in March 2018, Ontario Genomics hosted a panel discussion at the Western Synthetic Biology Symposium 3.0 to discuss where the field is headed in Canada.

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Benjamin Scott
Western Synthetic Biology Symposium 3.0
Benjamin Scott
Western Synthetic Biology Symposium 3.0
Benjamin Scott

The third annual Western Synthetic Biology Symposium was the largest yet, with over 150 attendees, 30 posters, and oral presentations throughout the day. Although focused on synbio research happening in southwestern Ontario, there were speakers from both industry and academia from across Ontario and Quebec.

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Benjamin Scott
Quick Chat: Waterloo Professor Dr. Trevor Charles
Nathan Braniff
Quick Chat: Waterloo Professor Dr. Trevor Charles
Nathan Braniff

This month we discuss synbio, regulation, and science advocacy with Professor Trevor Charles. Dr. Charles has been a professor in the department of biology at the University of Waterloo for 20 years and has been a strong advocate for synthetic biology research, both at Waterloo and in Canada. He is also the co-founder and CSO of Metagenom Bio Inc., which develops and commercializes microbiome solutions in environment and agriculture.

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Nathan Braniff
Addressing Biosecurity Threats in Synthetic Biology
Taylor Sheahan
Addressing Biosecurity Threats in Synthetic Biology
Taylor Sheahan

Although the potential for cell-free platforms is high, it is necessary to address the potential misuse of cell-free systems and develop a strategy to mitigate the threat of suspicious users. This is where Chris Isaac, a member of the U of L iGEM team, comes in. Isaac identified that the flexibility of cell-free systems makes them highly amenable to genetic recoding, where canonical relationships between codons and anticodons are not necessarily consistent.

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Taylor Sheahan