Cody Anderson
I serve as the main point of contact in the Public Health Agency of Canada's Centre for Biosecurity for policy and engagement with stakeholders in the synthetic biology and biotechnology communities.
Manager, Emerging Technologies, Public Health Agency of Canada
Email Address: cody.anderson@canada.ca
Bio: I serve as the main point of contact in the Public Health Agency of Canada's Centre for Biosecurity for policy and engagement with stakeholders in the synthetic biology and biotechnology communities. This includes work with Universities, the DIYbio community, and the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM).
Twitter: @ccodyanderson
Dr. Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez
Our research focuses on the design of novel synthetic peptide molecules using principles inspired by synthetic biology, computational biology, and microbiology. Our current application areas include infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, the microbiome, biomaterials and nanotechnology.
Assistant Professor, University of Pennsylvania
Email Address: cfuente@pennmedicine.upenn.edu
Bio: Our research focuses on the design of novel synthetic peptide molecules using principles inspired by synthetic biology, computational biology, and microbiology. Our current application areas include infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, the microbiome, biomaterials and nanotechnology.
In particular, we focus on redesigning tiny proteins called peptides, which are the workhorses of life, and a source of biologically active molecules with under-explored therapeutic potential. The 20 natural amino acids that make up these molecules offer an almost unlimited number of combinations unparalleled by other polymers such as DNA (20n; n being the number of amino acids present in any given peptide chain). Many other non-canonical residues can also be incorporated into peptide chains via peptide design approaches. In addition, peptides are promising drugs because their primary amino acid sequences can be easily tuned to achieve specific biological functions inside living cells.
Despite their promise, peptide-based therapeutics have largely remained unexplored due to the limited diversity of naturally occurring peptide scaffolds, their cost, and a lack of methods to design them rationally. Using principles from peptide engineering, synthetic biology and computational biology, we investigate how simple nanopeptides may be exploited and rationally designed for a range of medical applications. In addition, we aim to build completely new protein/peptide structures not known to the biological world, and biomaterials for applications in synthetic biology, biotechnology and medicine.
Greg Vilk
The University of Lethbridge houses key cross-disciplinary expertise in plant biotechnology, genomics engineering / synthetic biology, stem cell technology, bioinformatics, neurology, precision medicine, new media and economics.
Commercialization Manager, University of Lethbridge
Email Address: uilo@uleth.ca
Bio: The University of Lethbridge houses key cross-disciplinary expertise in plant biotechnology, genomics engineering / synthetic biology, stem cell technology, bioinformatics, neurology, precision medicine, new media and economics. SynBio applications at our Institution cover biosensing, protein engineering, space exploration, antimicrobial engineering, plant engineering and biopesticide applications. As well, our teams have won multiple iGEM awards demonstrating their capabilities to provide innovative solutions for unmet needs in society.
As such our Mantra is Cogent.Effecient.Innovation. and we would be happy to discuss a collaboration to accelerate solutions for unmet needs in Ag, Medicine, Energy, Space and the Environment.
Website: www.uleth.ca/research/industry
Twitter: @ULethUILO