Programme

The Chemistry in the New World of Bioengineering and Synthetic Biology programme follows.

A programme with timings is available to download from this page.

Special Invited Lecture

Making molecules rotate
Professor Sir John Walker
MRC Dunn Human Nutrition Unit, Cambridge, UK

Session 1: Creating New Biological Systems and Functions

Session Chair: John McCarthy, University of Manchester

Welcome and Introductions
John McCarthy
Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, University of Manchester, UK

Keynote: Synthetic biology: from programming bacteria to programming stem cells
Ron Weiss
Princeton University, USA

Keynote: Ribosome engineering and new genetic codes 
Jason Chin
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK

Co-evolution of small molecule responsive riboswitches using chemical and genetic selection
Jason Micklefield*, Torsten A Geerlings, Neil Dixon, John Duncan and
John EG McCarthy 
Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, University of Manchester, UK

Bio-synthetic transcription activators to control genetic flow
Jörg Schumacher* and Martin Buck
Imperial College, London, UK

Keynote: Synthesis and replication of nucleic acids with expanded chemistry
Nicola Ramsay, Ann-Sophie Jemth, Neal Crampton, Paul Dear and
Philipp Holliger
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge

Developing a synthetic biology device that detects biofilm formation on urinary catheters
Vincent Rouilly, Kirsten Jensen, Duo Lu, Richard I Kitney and
Paul S Freemont*
Imperial College, London, UK

Keynote: Engineering genetic circuits for detection of chemicals in the environment
Victor de Lorenzo
Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia, CSIC, Madrid, Spain

Session 2: Novel Biomolecular Devices

Session Chair: Andrew Turberfield, University of Oxford

Keynote: RNA as a 3D language for building functional nano-devices
Luc Jaeger
University of California Santa Barbara, USA

Keynote: Biomolecular motors for directed assembly and hybrid devices
Henry Hess
University of Florida, USA

Encapsulation of enzymes in virus capsids by non-covalent interactions
IJ Minten*, RJM Nolte and JJLM Cornelissen
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Construction of artificial protein molecular switches
Wayne R Edwards, James Arpino, Kathy Busse and Dafydd Jones*
Cardiff University, UK

DNA nanodevices based on a proton-fuelled DNA nanomachine
Wenxing Wang, Dongsheng Liu and Dejian Zhou*
University of Leeds, UK

Keynote: DNA self-assembly and molecular machinery
Andrew Turberfield
University of Oxford, UK

Ethics Workshop

Introduction/Overview (15 mins) followed by informal discussion session
Tom Douglas
Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford

Setting the agenda for synthetic biology in Europe
Sibylle Gaisser*, Hubert Bernauer, Astrid Lunkes, Kristian Müller, Thomas Reiß and Bernhard Bührlen
Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Germany

Session 3: Assembling Custom Bionanomaterials

Session Chair: Tony Cass, Imperial College, London

Keynote: Making nano-scale objects and nano-structured materials from peptide building blocks
Dek Woolfson
University of Bristol, UK

Keynote: Bioanalysis using SERRS and functionalised nanoparticles
Duncan Graham
University of Strathcylde, UK

Enzyme-assisted self-assembly of peptide nanostructures
R J Williams, V Jayawarna, C Tang, A M Smith, A Saiani, R Collins and R V Ulijn*
Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, University of Manchester, UK

Enabling RNAi therapeutics the non-viral nanotechnology way
Abderrahim Aissaoui, Christopher R Drake, Nazila Kamaly, Ming Wang, Soumia Kolli, Maya Thanou, Joachim HG Steinke and Andrew D Miller*
Imperial College Genetic Therapies Centre, London, UK

Peptide amphiphile polymers of defined dimensions
Maaike van den Heuvel*, Dennis WPM Löwik and Jan CM van Hest
Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands

A viral bionanoparticle as a synthon and template for new materials
Nicole F Steinmetz, George P Lomonossoff and David J Evans*
John Innes Centre, UK

Keynote: Molecular isolation on the nanoscale
Joshua Edel
Imperial College, London

ESF Collaborative Research Programme and other research opportunities at the interface between chemistry-bioengineering and synthetic biology 
Antonella Di Trapani 
European Science Foundation (ESF)

Session 4: Augmenting Tissue Function through Chemistry

Session Chair: Hagan Bayley, University of Oxford 

Keynote: Molecular origins of biological lubrication: hydrated charges and biomimetic polymer brushes
Jacob Klein
Weizmann Institute, Israel

Keynote: Bioactive nanostructures for regeneration and cancer 
Samuel Stupp
Northwestern University, USA

Biofunctional polymers by surface modification
MG Moloney*
University of Oxford, UK

Synthesis and biological properties of amphiphilic networks for tissue engineering
S Rimmer*, S MacNeil and N Fullwood
University of Sheffield, UK

Injectable hyperbranched materials with thermal-responsive and photocrosslinkable properties for tissue engineering applications
Hongyun Tai*, Wenxin Wang, Natasha Birkin, Daniel Howard, Helen Angell, Felicity heath, Andreas Endruweit, Felicity Ross, Cameron Alexander, Kevin M Shakessheff and Steven M Howdle
University of Nottingham, UK

Keynote: The two sides of cell adhesion: modeling the cellular microenvironment with tailored substrates
Milan Mrksich
University of Chicago, USA

Closing remarks
John McCarthy
Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre, University of Manchester, UK