Dr. Marc Aucoin

Professor, University of Waterloo

Email address: maucoin@uwaterloo.ca

Bio: We aim to characterize viral promoters to control the production of proteins in insect cells with the goal of creating a manufacturing assembly line for complex biologics.

Website: https://uwaterloo.ca/applied-virus-complex-biologics-bioprocessing-research-lab/

Twitter: @profaucoin; @AppliedVirus

Dr. Daniel Charlebois

Professor, University of Alberta

Email address: dcharleb@ualberta.ca

Bio: My research program combines physics and synthetic biology to make fundamental advances in our understanding of living systems and to apply this knowledge to the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. We develop quantitative mathematical/computational/machine learning models and perform experiments on genetically engineered yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and pathogenic yeasts (Candida spp.). I am also a faculty advisor for the 2022 UAlberta iGEM team - this years project is to genetically engineering bacteria to detect and destroy human pathogenic fungi!

Website: https://sites.ualberta.ca/~dcharleb/

Twitter: @cLab_UAlberta

Dr. Brian Ingalls

Professor, Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Waterloo

Email Address: bingalls@uwaterloo.ca

Bio: Our group uses mathematical and computational tools to construct and analyse kinetic models of biomolecular systems. Our current projects are primarily focused on model-based design of synthetic bacterial gene regulatory systems.

Website: www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~bingalls/

Twitter: @bpingalls

Dr. Mads Kaern

Professor, University of Ottawa

Bio: I believe that Synthetic Biology will continue to play a significant role in medical innovation, including engineered virus and engineered immune cells that can cure cancer. I have been part of the Synthetic Biology community since the early 00' and started working in the field with Dr. James Collins on sources of "noisy" signals in gene expression and the engineering of programable cell behaviour by creating "plug-ins" for interfacing synthetic gene networks and natural signalling pathways. To facilitate medical advances, I am member of the Cancer Therapeutics Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the Regional Genetics Program at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.

My NSERC-funded Synthetic Biology program uses an integrated genetic network engineering approach to study gene regulatory processes and develop artificial gene control systems. This program is driven by my long-term passion to understand how genomes encode "programs" that control and coordinate cellular behaviour and organismal development and fail during disease. This involves both foundational and applied research, including DNA assembly methods, artificial transcription factors, biological network design, systems modelling and simulation.

I initiated the uOttawa iGEM undergraduate training program soon after I arrived in Ottawa and have been the organizer and the supervisor of the uOttawa iGEM team. Many iGEM team members have continued as graduate students in my program subsequently moved to world-leading institutions including MIT, Cambridge, Harvard and NYU.

Website: UOttawa website

Dr. Bogumil Karas

Assistant Professor, Biochemistry, University of Western Ontario / CEO Designer Microbes

Email Address: bkaras@uwo.ca

Bio: Research in the Karas lab is focused on developing innovative genetic tools to enable the engineering of microbes to produce medicines, DNA storage technologies, food and next-generation fuels. We are using a multi-host system to perform in vivo gene deletions, additions and replacements. This approach was designed to take advantage of existing genetic tools developed for model organisms, including Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Currently, we are developing novel tools for eukaryotic algae: Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Thalassiosira pseudonana and soil bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti.

Website: https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/biochem/people/bios/Karas.html

Twitter: @BogumilKaras

Dr. Shawn Lewenza

Associate Professor, Environmental Health, Athabasca University

Email Address: slewenza@athabascau.ca

Bio: We use genomics approaches to build bacterial biosensors for environmental pollutant monitoring.

Website: www.synbiosmart.com

Twitter: @DrShawnL

BioZone

BioZone,  Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, University of Toronto

Bio: BioZone is a Centre for Applied Bioscience and Bioengineering Research at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.

BioZone aims to use Bioengineering to create a sustainable world by making industrial processes more sustainable, remediating humanity's environmental impact, and improving health outcome.

For example, to help make industrial processes more environmentally friendly and reduce carbon emissions, we help companies replace petroleum feedstocks with renewable sources, including waste material from agriculture and forestry sectors, by engineering microbes and enzymes that can convert sugars or complex organics (lignin) into value-added chemicals and materials.

BioZone's synbio relevant skills include metagenomics, enzymology, functional genomics, enzyme engineering, metabolic and whole cell modeling, systems biology, computational biology, bioprocess design, techno-economic assessment, and lifecycle analysis.

Website: www.biozone.utoronto.ca

Twitter: @BioZoneUT

Dr. Radhakrishnan Mahadevan

Professor, Associate Chair & Graduate Studies Coordinator, University of Toronto

Email Address: krishna.mahadevan@utoronto.ca

Bio: Our group primarily works on engineering metabolism in bacteria and yeast to produce chemicals and therapeutic molecules. Through the use of computational strategies on genome scale metabolic models of these organisms, we identify genetic intervention strategies to enhance target molecule production. Synthetic biological tools help us assemble and engineer pathways in microorganisms. We use synthetic gene regulatory circuits to dynamically control metabolism in host organisms. The ability to dynamically control metabolism based on environmental inputs finds application in a variety of different areas including therapeutics and industrial biotechnology.

Website: www.lmse.utoronto.ca

Twitter: @LMSE_UofT

Dr. David McMillen

Associate Professor, University of Toronto Mississauga

Email Address: david.mcmillen@utoronto.ca

Bio: We work on (mainly) microbial synthetic biology, investigating ways to create novel solutions to real-world problems with engineered microbes. We pursue several parallel tracks: (1) Combined theoretical and experimental approaches to biological feedback and synthetic implementations of networks that maintain fixed outputs in the face of external disturbances; (2) Expanding the synthetic biology "toolkit" to include novel modes of regulation (including a recruitable T7-based activation system that provides a system to generate programmable, orthogonal sets of transcriptional activators in bacteria); and (3) the motivation for the other two tracks: application to real-world problems including human health in the developed world (working with a multi-PI team on sensing and responding to inflammatory bowel diseases using engineered microbes) and in the developing world (implementing microbe-based antibody detection in blood samples, for low-cost blood screening or diagnosis).

Website: http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/mcmillen-lab/

Twitter: @DaveMcMillen

Dr. Jimin Guo

Research Officer, National Research Council Canada

Bio: We develop new methods in the domains of Genomics and Synthetic Biology, using microfluidics and computational biology.

Website: https://nrc.canada.ca/en/research-development/research-collaboration/research-centres/medical-devices-research-centre

Dr. David Stuart

Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, University of Alberta

Email Address: dtstuart@ualberta.ca

Bio: We investigate the potential application of synthetic biology for performing metabolic engineering of yeast, bacteria and cyanobacteria. Current applications include engineering oleaginous yeast and bacteria metabolic pathways for production of high value oleochemicals from cellulosic waste, engineering fermentation inhibitor tolerance into microbial cell factories, construction of microbial cell biosensors for the detection of human and agricultural pathogens, and engineering microbial cell for bioremediation applications.

Website: https://www.ualberta.ca/biochemistry/people/faculty/david-stuart

Dr. Vikramaditya Yadav

Associate Professor of Chemical, Biological & Biomedical Engineering & Program Director of Sustainable Process Engineering, University of British Columbia

Email Address: vikramaditya.yadav@ubc.ca

Bio: Vikramaditya G. Yadav is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering and the School of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Master of Engineering Leadership in Sustainable Process Engineering at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Prof. Yadav leads one of Canada’s foremost research groups on synthetic biology and industrial biotechnology. The principal theme of Prof. Yadav’s research is the utilization of metabolic & enzyme engineering to investigate and customize novel biosynthetic enzymes that can convert biomass-derived feedstocks into value-added chemicals. His group also extends the principles of metabolic engineering to the design and development of unique bioremediation strategies to rehabilitate the water quality in and around industrial zones and develop new mining biotechnologies. In addition to green engineering, his research group also pursues medical biotechnology research, wherein they primarily focus on assay development, biosynthetic engineering, and pharmaceutical product development. Prof. Yadav’s research program is distinguished by its impact and strong emphasis on technology translation. Prof. Yadav has successfully raised over $5 million in research funding and his group collaborates with numerous industry partners from a range of sectors. He is also the Chair of the Biotechnology Division of the Chemical Institute of Canada and an Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering. He was previously an Associate Scientific Advisor for Science Translational Medicine. He also founded Metabolik Technologies Inc. and was its Chief Technology Officer until it was recently acquired by Allonnia, a Bill Gates-backed environmental biotechnology company. Metabolik is widely regarded as a Canadian success story and was developing a first-of-its-kind bioremediation platform for decontaminating oil sands process-affected water. He is also the Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of ArqMetal Inc., which is developing biotechnological solutions for the mining industry. He also serves on the boards of InMed Pharmaceuticals and Reazent.

Website: www.biofoundry.ca

Twitter: @biofoundry

Dr. Peter Zandstra

Professor & Director, Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia / Professor, University of Toronto

Email Address: peter.zandstra@ubc.ca

Bio: Research in the Zandstra Laboratory is focused on the generation of functional tissue from somatic and pluripotent stem cells. Our quantitative, technology-driven approach strives to gain new insights into fundamental mechanisms that control stem cell fate and to develop robust technologies for the propagation of stem cells and their derivatives. We apply synthetic biology to understand and control cell fate decisions by manipulating the stem cells themselves (genome editing, gene circuit engineering) and their prospective niche (synthetic biomaterials, macro- and micro reactor technologies).

Website: http://stemcell.ibme.utoronto.ca/

Twitter: @PZandstra

SynBioApps NSERC-CREATE program

SynBioApps NSERC-CREATE program, Concordia University

Email Address: synbioapps@concordia.ca

Bio: SynBioApps offers graduate training in the various technologies of synthetic biology, including work in Concordia University’s Genome Foundry. Students are exposed to applied R&D in the context of industrial synbio applications and entrepreneurship. Further training includes ethical considerations; an understanding of regulatory environments and IP; network opportunities; and collaboration with business student to create product pitches.

Website: https://www.concordia.ca/sgs/programs/interdisciplinary/synthetic-biology-applications.html

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SynBioAppsCU