Synthetic Biology FSP
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Hi everybody and welcome to our October Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform (SynBio FSP) newsletter.
STOP PRESS! I am absolutely delighted to announce that the Australian Research Council has approved our application for a Synthetic Biology Centre of Excellence. The $35 M SynBio CoE is headed by Ian Paulsen from Macquarie University and will run for 7 years. CSIRO SynBioFSP is a partner and we are looking forward to supporting the massive boost that this Centre will provide to the Australian synbio research effort! The Centre was announced yesterday - see the full press release here.
Now, back to our normal update… I’ve just returned from America where I attended an Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) workshop and SynBioBeta Conference on separate trips. The EBRC meeting was a review of national synthetic biology strategies. I presented Australia’s synthetic biology strategy, along with representatives of 13 other countries and several industry representatives. We discussed common opportunities and challenges, as well as opportunities for collaboration and coordination.
The SynBioBeta conference is a global synthetic biology partnering conference. It was a great opportunity to see the breadth of industrially-orientated synbio that’s going on, to meet industry partners and grow our network, and to represent Australia’s interests and activities there.
Now I’m back in Australia and am focussed on the upcoming Synthetic Biology Australasia (SBA) 2019 conference, being held next week in Brisbane. SBA2019 will provide a forum for academic and industry researchers to present the latest research findings and describe emerging technologies and directions in synthetic biology. Registrations exceeded our wildest expectations and the venue is now sold out! This shows how rapidly the Australian synbio community is growing.
Immediately following SBA2019 our own SynBioFSP will hold its third annual workshop. We’ll bring together more than 120 research, academic and support staff in the FSP to provide strategic and project-specific updates, and take the opportunity to say hello to our colleagues face to face. We’re holding this in the same venue as SBA2019 for maximum convenience.
I look forward to reporting back to you on both of these events in the next newsletter.
It’s been a busy time for the SynBio FSP over the last few months. We continue to hold workshops with various business units across CSIRO to look at ways we can better align our strategies. I also recently presented to CSIRO’s Annual Performance and Investment Review (APAIR). The presentation looked at the current state of play for the FSP, and how we’re working towards CSIRO’s missions and challenges. The progress of the FSP was met with positive comments from the panel on the day, and we’re now waiting on formal feedback.
Alison Rice and Emily Knauth have been consulting with various project leads to get updates on SynBio-funded projects across the FSP. These updates will help inform our decision-making process for resource allocation moving forward. It is really exciting to hear the progress these projects are making and see SynBioFSP’s vision of building a sustainable bioeconomy – faster, better, cheaper, coming to fruition.
Alison is also currently working with multiple stakeholders to continue planning for the proposed BioIncubator Precinct in Brisbane, which is generating a lot of excitement in the community. We continue to develop our BioFoundry in collaboration with the University of Queensland. Here’s a sneak peek of the facility, and there are tours available for those of you in Brisbane next week.
The FSP has also been making news nationally and globally. Designer mozzies, nanomachines and life on Mars, just to name a few. Check out our news section below for more.
Finally, we have also created a new hub on our website for FSP staff. Here you can find updates on research and funding opps, staff movements and vacancies, upcoming events, and other items we think may be of interest to you. Be sure to bookmark it and check in regularly, or you can sign up to the RSS feed using these simple instructions.
Thanks, and I look forward to seeing many of you in person next week at SBA2019!
Claudia
Assoc. Professor Claudia Vickers
Director
CSIRO Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform
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