Workshop: Advanced Biomanufacturing, July 17-20, 2014, Talloires, France

Tufts University, Medford MA

Investigators

Abstract

PI: Kaplan, David L. Proposal Number: 1439418 Institution: Tufts University Title: Workshop: Advanced Biomanufacturing, July 17-20, 2014, Talloires, France A two and half day workshop on Advanced Biomanufacturing is planned for July 17-20, 2014 in Talloires, France. The goal of the workshop is to build upon the outcomes generated from the prior NSF-sponsored workshop (held July 25-26, 2013 in Arlington, Virginia). This prior event included participation from academia, industry and government and the outcomes were reported in a published workshop report. A key element of this report was a set of recommendations from the participants, out of which two needs emerged. One need is to amplify on the scientific barriers in the field with more focused discussions to provide clear guidance on future directions to help the field move forward. The second need is to bring a small group together to hold more focused discussions with broader representation from European colleagues, as the initial workshop only included US colleagues. Such discussions will help identify international collaboration opportunities as well as refine roadmaps of specific needs and ideas to address the barriers in the field of Advanced Biomanufacturing. The outcomes will include the identification of challenges to overcome and opportunities to achieve maximal impact on science, scale up, jobs and economic growth and a workshop report will be generated. The workshop will be run by David Kaplan (Tufts University, david.kaplan@tufts.edu) and Jason Kelly, Ginkgobioworks, Inc. (jason@ginkgobioworks.com) The workshop topic is significant and timely based on the rapid growth and potential impact of biomanufacturing in the US and around the world, including synthetic biology, biopolymer engineering, 3D printing, tissue engineering and many related topics. Advances in this field have the potential to return manufacturing jobs to the US and lead a scientific and technological revolution wherein sunlight, organisms, integrated synthesis and processing and novel biological approaches and ingenuity would provide alternatives to current petrochemically-derived feedstocks and processes and will also guide the development of the next generation of biomedical therapeutics, especially those based on the delivery of living cells. The scientific tools to support advanced biomanufacturing have been emerging over the past 10-15 years, empowered by advances in genomics and proteomics, cell biology, process engineering and design and systems integration. The conference program will provide a comprehensive overview of Advanced Biomanufacturing, including molecular approaches and building blocks, cellular approaches, assemblies and polymers, tissue and organ approaches, and systems integration. It will also provide insight into future challenges and opportunities and will catalyze international collaborations in this emerging area of research.