Please note, we have now exceeded our room block for this conference, and all further accommodation is subject to hotel availability. For this reason, new registrations from 14 March 2024 will be confirmed within 48 business hours. Please await confirmation of your registration before booking airfare and/or ground transportation.

Genome sequencing has revealed an enormous untapped biosynthetic capacity for natural products, only a small fraction of which have been characterized. Synthetic biology tools are being applied to translate this encoded diversity of biosynthetic pathways into their respective compounds; many of which are novel. The Synthetic Biology of Natural Products conference will integrate these disciplines with the goal of generating new platforms, tools, and technologies to capture, manipulate and engineer natural product genes and pathways. Converting this vast untapped genomic diversity into novel chemical leads for biomedical and agricultural applications will require breakthroughs in design, scale and biologics that currently limit the field.

Key Sessions:

• (Meta)Genomics-Enabled Natural Product Discovery 
• Synthetic Biology to Access and Optimize Natural Products
• Novel Chemistry and Enzymology of Natural Products and their Analogues
• Scaling up Natural Products Development
• Bringing Natural Products to the Market

Confirmed Invited Speakers

Ikuro Abe (University of Tokyo)
UNUSUAL ENZYME REACTIONS IN NATURAL PRODUCT BIOSYNTHESIS
Josh Armstrong (Corteva Agriscience)
APPLICATIONS OF MICROBIAL SYSTEMS AND SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY TO SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
Paco Barona Gomez (Leiden University)
NOVEL INSIGHTS AND URGENT QUESTIONS TO UNDERSTAND THE EVOLUTION OF NATURAL PRODUCTS BIOSYNTHESIS
Sarah Barry (Kings College London)
NON RIBOSOMAL PEPTIDE BIOSYNTHESIS: NEW CHEMISTRY TO ENABLE SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Byung-Kwan Cho (Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology)
HARNESSING STREPTOMYCES GENOMES FOR NATURAL PRODUCTS DISCOVERY
Heng Chooi (University of Western Australia)
PANNING FOR GOLD IN MOULD DOWN UNDER: NOVEL NATURAL PRODUCT BIOSYNTHESIS FROM FUNGI IN AUSTRALIA
Alessandra Eustaquio (University of Illinois, Chicago)
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ALTERNATIVE SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY CHASSIS FOR NATURAL PRODUCT DISCOVERY
Jay Keasling (University of California, Berkeley)
ENGINEERED POLYKETIDE SYNTHASES: A MOLECULAR FOUNDRY FOR CHEMICALS AND MATERIALS
Norberto Lopes (University of São Paulo)
THE ROLE OF CHEMICAL SIGNALING IN FROGS: ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS AND SYMBIONTS WITH MICROORGANISMS
Cecilia Martinez-Gomez (University of California, Berkeley)
DEVELOPMENT OF A BACTERIAL CHASSIS TO EFFICIENTLY RECOVER RARE EARTH ELEMENTS FROM LOW GRADE FEEDSTOCKS
Dashnie Naidoo-Maharaj (Agricultural Research Council / University of Pretoria)
COMBINING SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY TOOLS AND NATURAL PRODUCTS CHEMISTRY TO BRING PRODUCTS TO THE MARKET
Michelle O'Malley (University of California, Santa Barbara)
ANAEROBIC FUNGI ARE AN UNTAPPED RESERVOIR OF BIOSYNTHETIC POTENTIAL FOR SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Elizabeth Parkinson (Purdue University)
UTILIZING BIOCATALYSIS AND SYNTHETIC CHEMISTRY TO ACCESS NEW NATURAL PRODUCTS
Serina Robinson (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Zürich)
MINING MICROBIOMES TO DECODE ENZYME-SUBSTRATE SPECIFICITY
Ben Shen (University of Florida)
THE ACTINOBACTERIAL STRAIN COLLECTION AND GENOME DATABASE AT NPDC AS A COMMUNITY RESOURCE FOR NATURAL PRODUCTS AND DRUG DISCOVERY
Mike Smanski (University of Minnesota)
INVERTING THE ROLE OF GENETIC ENGINEERING IN NP DISCOVERY PIPELINES
Yi Tang (University of California, Los Angeles)
GENOME MINING STRATEGIES FOR IDENTIFYING NEW NATURAL PRODUCTS FROM FUNGI
Barrie Wilkinson (John Innes Centre)
HERDING CATS: WORKING WITH LABILE NATURAL PRODUCTS AND DIFFICULT TO PRODUCE STREPTOMYCES PROTEINS

Confirmed Invited Short Talks

Nicole Avalon (University of California, San Diego)
HARNESSING BIOSYNTHESIS IN DRUG DISCOVERY STRATEGIES
Jonathan Chekan (University of North Carolina, Greensboro)
COPPER-DEPENDENT PEPTIDE CYCLASES IN PLANT PEPTIDE BIOSYNTHESIS
Shaun McKinnie (University of California, Santa Cruz)
GENOME MINING FOR NOVEL MICROBIAL VANADIUM ENZYMES AND THEIR BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAYS

Student Offer

Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity for students! Fully paying 'single' or 'shared' registrants can bring a student for only $999. Unfortunately, Postdocs are not eligible. Both registration packages include; accommodation for the 10, 11, 12 May 2024 (on a shared basis for students) and a food and beverage package for the conference period. Once registered, please contact Chloe Trundle to obtain a special registration code for your student. 

Target Audience

Synthetic biology researchers and companies looking to learn the latest engineering and synthetic biology technologies for natural product discovery and development. Topics discussed during the conference will span the experimental spectrum from molecular biology, microbiology, chemistry, metabolic engineering, drug discovery, biocontrol and pharmacology; from discovery to commercial development.

Educational Need

A new generation of tools and technologies is needed to convert the vast biodiversity found in natural product pathways into bioactive compounds and treatments. The Synthetic Biology of Natural Products conference will bring together a broad spectrum of researchers from academia and industry interested in learning about the latest developments in this new field.

Please note, we have now exceeded our room block for this conference, and all further accommodation is subject to hotel availability. For this reason, new registrations from 14 March 2024 will be confirmed within 48 business hours. Please await confirmation of your registration before booking airfare and/or ground transportation.

Please see below opportunities for financial support for students, postdocs and early career researchers. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Conference Manager, Chloe Trundle.

Student Offer

Take advantage of this fantastic opportunity for students! Fully paying 'single' or 'shared' registrants can bring a student for only $999. Unfortunately, Postdocs are not eligible. Both registration packages include; accommodation for the 10, 11, 12 May 2024 (on a shared basis for students) and a food and beverage package for the conference period. Once registered, please contact Chloe to obtain a special registration code for your student. 

ECR Awards

We have been able to create several ECR awards. Two different award values are available, $500 or $1,000 and these have been set aside for early career researchers. If you are a student, postdoc or junior faculty (within 3 years of your position), you are eligible. To apply please email the conference manager, Chloe Trundle. 

Your application should include your name, organisation, career level, an abstract for talk or poster consideration and a short summary answering the below questions (no more than 50-100 words per question).

• What cutting edge aspects of your work will you share at the meeting?
• What knowledge gaps are you addressing in the field?
• Why do you require financial support to attend?
• How will attending #SBNP24 benefit your science and career?
• Are there any other reasons as to why your application should strongly be considered?

Applications will be considered as they are submitted so although there is no application deadline, we recommend applying early to avoid disappointment as we only have a limited number of ECR awards available. If you are interested in presenting a poster, please ensure your abstract and ECR award application are submitted no later than midnight (BST) on Monday 01 April 2024.

LATAM Registration Grants

The Scientific Chairs of this meeting are keen to support researchers in the region and through the generosity of our sponsors, we have been able to release 5x registration places at 50% discount, exclusively for LATAM researchers. 

To apply, please email Chloe Trundle with the following details:

• Your name, organisation, and career level.
• An abstract for poster consideration (there is opportunity for this to be promoted to a short talk).
• A short statement as to why you would benefit from attending. We recommend including what cutting edge aspects of your work you will present, if you are addressing any knowledge gaps in the field, and any additional reasons as to why you’ll benefit from attending.   

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, so we recommend applying sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment. The final deadline for applications will be midnight (BST) on Monday 01 April 2024.