4th International Conference on Biomolecular Engineering tackles new challenges with synthetic biology.

E biologists, and chemists from around the globe gathered for the fourth International Conference on Biomolecular Engineering (ICBE2013) in Fort Lauderdale, FL, January 13−16, 2013. Hosted by the Society of Biological Engineers, the biennial meeting serves as a platform to “cultivate knowledge and catalyze innovation” in the biological sciences. With a theme of “Molecular approaches to global challenges”, ICBE2013 was a fast-paced Gordon-style conference organized by conference chairs Kristala Jones Prather (MIT) and Ali Khademhosseini (Harvard). Each day was punctuated by a keynote presentation from a pioneering visionary: George Church (Harvard), Nicholas Peppas (UT Austin), Virginia Cornish (Columbia), and James Collins (BU), who described the strides their groups have made in defining the field of biological engineering and offered their perspectives on its ability to solve problems in energy and human health. Building on these exceptional talks were invited presentations from more established researchers and reports from young investigators. Junior scientists, including graduate students and postdocs, were also offered a unique opportunity to speak to all attendees in a rapid fire session that preceded each poster session. In all, the 4 day program consisted of more than 30 research presentations across 7 sessions and roughly 100 posters covering diverse areas of research to solve key global challenges.

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