SynBYSS
The International SynBYSS Conference is focused on bringing together the synthetic biology community with the explicit goal of developing young scientists worldwide. As early-career synthetic biology researchers begin their own research, there are few conferences that provide an opportunity for them to express their ideas, network effectively, or collaborate widely. Moreover, these young practitioners are an increasingly diverse group without obvious representation.
The 2nd International SynBYSS Conference will be held June 8–11, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain at Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Key dates
- Abstract for talk submission: closed
- Abstract for poster submission: closed
- Registration: closed
Speakers & Schedule
For keynote sessions, there is a 5 min buffer time. Each talk is 35 min followed by 5 min Q&A, stopping at either 9:40 or 10:20 am. The session concludes with a group Q&A at 10:30 am (one exception: Thursday morning session). For speaker panels, each talk runs without Q&A; the Q&A occurs at the end of the session for 20 min (one exception: Tuesday afternoon session). All talks make a hard stop at the assigned end time.
Meet the legend session: 8 keynote speakers will meet 9 trainees on their presentation date who sign up for it. Assistant professors may sign up, but priority is given to trainees.
Award committee: Clement Chan (in charge), Jaya Joshi, Kaitlin Dailey, and Lin Su (poster award chairs).
Monday, June 8
| Day 1 | |
|---|---|
| 8:30-9am | Welcome and Opening Remarks Luis Serrano, Centre for Genomic Regulation, Spain (opening talk, 5 min) Marc Guell, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain Tae Seok Moon, J. Craig Venter Institute, USA |
| 9-10:30am | Keynote Session chaired by Karen Polizzi & Lin Su Víctor de Lorenzo, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia, CSIC, Spain Ian Paulsen, Macquarie University, Australia Keynote conversation (group Q&A) |
| 10:30-11am | Break |
| 11-12:30pm | Speaker Panel chaired by Sebastian Wenk & Víctor de Lorenzo Pablo Nikel, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Guillermo Nevot, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain Selected speakers from abstract submissions: Jinjin Diao, Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, China Simone Giaveri, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Spain Rosa Santomartino, Cornell University, USA Michael Cory, Harvard Medical School, USA Q&A: panel discussion |
| 12:30-2pm | Industry session: 10 min talk by Hui Ling Lee, Agency for Science Technology and Research (and SINERGY), Singapore. Chaired by Tetiana Gren, assisted by Tae Seok Moon. Lunch: meet the legend session (first sign up, first claim the spot, up to 9) |
| 2-3:30pm | Funder Panel Session chaired by Marc Guell and Tae Seok Moon Barbara Gerratana, European Innovation Council, Europe Alessandra Ferrari, European Research Council, Europe Tammy Collins, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, USA Clem Fortman, BioMADE, USA Guillermo Nevot, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain |
| 3:30-4pm | Break |
| 4-5:30pm | Speaker Panel chaired by Yaojun Tong & Pablo I. Nikel Irina Borodina, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Jorge Marchand, University of Washington, USA Selected speakers from abstract submissions: Jorge Barriuso, Center for Biological Research (CIB-CSIC), Spain Jun Park, University of California, Los Angeles, USA Antonio Del Rio Flores, University of Colorado Boulder, USA Louisa Lehmann, University of Groningen, Netherlands Q&A: panel discussion |
| 5:30-7pm | Rapid fire & Poster Session chaired by Jaya Joshi & Clement Chan (poster award chairs; Clement is the chair in charge) Hosted reception |
Tuesday, June 9
| Day 2 | |
|---|---|
| 7:15am | Optional Fitness Activity: 5k Morning Run A scenic route starting from the PRBB, heading to the W Hotel and back. There will be free access to showers, lockers, and bonus spa access for this activity. See details below. |
| 9-10:30am | Keynote Session chaired by Sara Molinari & Kaitlin Dailey Wilfried Weber, INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials, Germany Chase Beisel, Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering, Switzerland Keynote conversation (group Q&A) |
| 10:30-11am | Break |
| 11-12:30pm | Speaker Panel chaired by Jorge Marchand & Mustafa Khammash Cheemeng Tan, UC Davis, USA Emil Jensen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark Selected speakers from abstract submissions: Alfonso Jaramillo, Institute for Integrative Systems Biology, Spain Xiaojun Tian, Arizona State University, USA Louise Funke, National University of Singapore, Singapore Rosa-Maria Maattala, KU Leuven, Belgium Q&A: panel discussion |
| 12:30-2pm | Group photo Lunch: meet the legend session (first sign up, first claim the spot, up to 9) |
| 2-3:30pm | Editor Panel Session chaired by Tae Seok Moon Alexandra Munro-Clark, Trends in Biotechnology, Cell Press, UK (editor) Ross Cloney, Nature Communications, UK (chief editor) Mattheos Koffas, RPI, Metabolic Engineering Communications, USA (editor-in-chief) Tae Seok Moon, JCVI, New Biotechnology, USA (editor-in-chief) Pablo Nikel, Technical University of Denmark, Current Opinion in Biotechnology, Denmark (editor-in-chief) |
| 3:30-4pm | Break |
| 4-5:30pm | Keynote Session followed by Speaker Panel chaired by Mark Isalan & Xavi Garcia Keynote (35 min): Radhakrishnan Mahadevan, University of Toronto, Canada Karen Polizzi, Imperial College London, UK Lin Su, Queen Mary University of London, UK Q&A: panel discussion |
| 5:30-7pm | Rapid fire & Poster Session chaired by Kaitlin Dailey & Lin Su (poster award chairs) Hosted reception |
Wednesday, June 10
| Day 3 | |
|---|---|
| 7:15am | Optional Fitness Activity: Pilates Session A core-strengthening session held at the Claror Marítim (Sala Mar) or the PRBB courtyard (TBD). There will be free access to showers, lockers, and bonus spa access for this activity. See details below. |
| 9-10:30am | Keynote Session chaired by Antonio Del Rio Flores & Jaya Joshi Sarah O'Connor, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany Mustafa Khammash, ETH, Switzerland Keynote conversation (group Q&A) |
| 10:30-11am | Break |
| 11-12:30pm | Speaker Panel chaired by Emil D. Jensen & Dirk Tischler Juliane Nguyen, UNC Chapel Hill, USA Maryam Raeeszadeh Sarmazdeh, University of Nevada, Reno, USA Selected speakers from abstract submissions: Dongsoo Yang, Korea University, Korea Jaya Joshi, University of British Columbia, Canada Spencer Diamond, Innovative Genomics Institute, UC Berkeley, USA David Carreno Yugueros, Imperial College London, UK Q&A: panel discussion |
| 12:30-2pm | Industry session: 10 min talk by Marten Moore, Plant SynBio Australia – ANU, Australia. Chaired by Codruta Ignea, assisted by Tae Seok Moon. Lunch: meet the legend session (first sign up, first claim the spot, up to 9) |
| 2-3:30pm | Roadmap Panel Session chaired by Juliane Nguyen, UNC Chapel Hill, USA Danielle Tullman-Ercek, Northwestern University, USA Marjan De Mey, Ghent University, Belgium Blake Simmons, LBNL, USA Mustafa Khammash, ETH, Switzerland Dongsoo Yang, Korea University, Korea |
| 3:30-4pm | Break |
| 4-5:30pm | Speaker Panel chaired by Jorge Barriuso & Irina Borodina Dirk Tischler, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany George Chao, Harvard University, USA Selected speakers from abstract submissions: Jeong Wook Lee, Postech, Korea Aindrila Mukhopadhyay, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA Christopher Weingarten, University of Groningen, Netherlands Michael Truong-Giang Nguyen, Novo Nordisk Foundation Biotechnology Research Institute for the Green Transition, Denmark Q&A: panel discussion |
| 5:30-7pm | Award ceremony, followed by dinner (location: TBA). Chaired by Clement Chan, Jaya Joshi, Kaitlin Dailey & Lin Su (poster award chairs), as well as Marc Guell, Guillermo Nevot & Tae Seok Moon. |
Thursday, June 11
| Day 4 | |
|---|---|
| 9-10:30am | Keynote Session, followed by Speaker Panel chaired by Cheemeng Tan & Marjan De Mey Mark Isalan, Imperial College London, UK Joon Young Park, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, Korea Julius Fredens, National University of Singapore, Singapore Daniel Plaza, University of Oxford, UK Ahmad Husein Alkaff, Korea University, Korea Briardo Llorente, Macquarie University, Australia Conversation (group Q&A) |
| 10:30-11am | Break |
| 11-12:30pm | Speaker Panel chaired by Nils Averesch & Anmol Randhawa Francesca Ceroni, Imperial College London, UK Javier Santos, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain Selected speakers from abstract submissions: Yong Lai, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Yaojun Tong, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China Hyungyu Lim, Inha University, Korea Alaksh Choudhury, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, France Q&A: panel discussion |
| 12:30-2pm | Lunch: meet the legend session (first sign up, first claim the spot, up to 9) |
| 2-3:30pm | Panel Session: Shaping the future of engineering biology Chaired by Sonia Mecacci, Wageningen University, Netherlands with Nina Aune-Youssoufou (EUSynbioS), Nikita Edel (GASB) & Fran Antequera (ATG) Group discussions by the entire attendees, and then reporting to all |
| 3:30-4pm | Break |
| 4-5:30pm | Speaker Panel chaired by Manish Kushwaha & Guillermo Rodrigo Baojun Wang, Zhejiang University, China Kaitlin Dailey, University of Rhode Island, USA Selected speakers from abstract submissions: Sebastian Wenk, University of Groningen, Netherlands Justin Panich, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA Birgitta Ebert, University of Queensland, Australia Sara Baldanta, Institute for Integrative Systems Biology, Spain Q&A: panel discussion |
| 5:30-5:45pm | Closing remarks by Marc Guell and Tae Seok Moon |
Travel
⚠️ Scam alert
Be aware that scammers are attempting to pose as travel agents to assist with booking to the SynBYSS Conference. We do not have a booking service. If you get an email like this, verify with your university or organization that it is from an official channel before engaging.
Recommended hotels near the PRBB
Attendees: book your hotel ASAP. Pope Leo's visit to Barcelona and Architect Gaudi's 100-year celebration will take place during the same week as the conference.
Tier 1
SLS Barcelona
Moll de Gregal, 08930 Sant Adrià de Besòs
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Tier 2
⭐ SB Icaria Barcelona (recommended)
Avinguda d'Icària, 195, 08005 Barcelona
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⭐ Hotel Paxton Barcelona (recommended)
Carrer de Llull, 160, 08005 Barcelona
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Catalonia Port
Passeig de Colom, 20, 08002 Barcelona
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Motel One Barcelona-Ciutadella
Passeig de Pujades, 11-13, 08018 Barcelona
Special rate: Email res.barcelona-ciutadella@motel-one.com to book, noting reservation code 1581407.
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Hotel Ciutadella Barcelona
Avinguda del Marquès de l'Argentera, 4, 08003 Barcelona
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Tier 3
Residencia Universitaria Campus del Mar
Passeig de Salvat Papasseit, 4, 08003 Barcelona
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Optional Fitness Activities
It’s time to pack your sneakers along with your lanyard! We want you to stay energized throughout the event, so we’ve organized some morning wellness activities to get your blood pumping before the sessions begin.
To make things easy, all participants will have free access to showers and lockers at the Claror Marítim gym (just below the PRBB) on the mornings of the conference.
Note: Please remember to bring your own workout gear. Showers and lockers will be available immediately following the activities so you can freshen up and head straight into the first keynote of the day!
Bonus:As an extra incentive to move with us, every attendee who joins a sports session will receive a Golden Ticket, granting you free access to the Spa to unwind after a long day of networking.
We will have a 5k run on Tuesday morning and a Pilates session Wednesday morning. See the schedule above.
Policy and Code of Conduct
In registering for the International SynBYSS Conference, participants agree to the conference participant expectations, code of conduct, and terms.
Organizers
Chairs
Tae Seok Moon, JCVI, USA
Marc Güell, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain
Guillermo Nevot, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain
Sara Molinari, University of Maryland, USA
Dirk Tischler, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
Kaitlin Dailey, University of Rhode Island, USA
Jorge Marchand, University of Washington, USA
Clement T. Y. Chan, University of North Texas, USA
Committee
Maryam Raeeszadeh Sarmazdeh, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
Emil Jensen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Lin Su, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Ilenne Del Valle Kessra, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA
Leopold Noel Green, Purdue University, USA
Archana Anand, San Francisco State University, USA
Daniel Plaza, University of Cambridge, UK
Bilal Ahmed, Purdue University, USA
Vikas Trivedi, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, USA
Alexander Fedorec, University College London, UK
Jaya Joshi, University British Columbia, Canada
Cheemeng Tan, UC Davis, USA
Conference support
Laura Fort, University Pompeu Fabra, Spain
Lucy Stewart, JCVI, USA
Matthew LaPointe, JCVI, USA
Previous conference information
The 1st International SynBYSS Conference was held at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, December 9-12, 2024.
Sponsor & Co-organizer
Co-organizer
