Biotechnology Industry Organization | The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announced a specialized workshop on advancements in synthetic biology that will highlight a new effort called the BIOFAB: International Open Facility Advancing Biotechnology, which aims to produce thousands of free, standardized DNA parts.

Speakers at the Advancements in Synthetic Biology & BIOFAB workshop will include:

• Dr. Drew Endy, Stanford Professor of Bioengineering & Director, BIOFAB
• Dr. Vivek Mutalik, UC Berkeley Professor of Bioengineering & Team Leader, BIOFAB
• Holly Million, Executive Director, The BioBricks® Foundation

The workshop will take place on Sunday, December 12, 2010, 10:00 am to 11:30 am in the Hibiscus Suite at the Hilton Hawaiian Village® Beach Resort and Spa. It is open to all registered attendees at BIO’s Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy. BIO’s Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy runs Dec. 11-14 in Honolulu.

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, stated, “The workshop will involve a discussion of the rapidly growing field of synthetic biology and its potential to make the engineering of biology easier and more affordable, using readily available standardized parts and methodologies. Moreover, the workshop will demonstrate how physically well characterized, standardized DNA parts will shorten the development time and time-to-market for products as well as lower the cost of synthetic biology for both academia and the industrial sector. This characterization may eventually enable researchers to mix and match these “DNA parts” in synthetic organisms to produce new health care products, biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products.”

Now in its fifth year, the Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy will address the latest issues in industrial biotechnology, including algae, advanced biofuels, biopolymers and bioplastics, dedicated energy crops, green chemistry, and synthetic biology. The annual Pacific Rim Summit is the original conference dedicated solely to growth of the industrial biotechnology sector in Asia and the Americas.

BIO is pleased to announce that the 2010 Pacific Rim Summit with take place directly ahead of Pacifichem (December 15-20, 2010). With only one trip to Hawaii, you can experience two world class conferences. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity!