The 1st International SynBYSS Conference

SynBYSS_Project Summary The SynBio Young Speaker Series (SynBYSS) is a virtual weekly seminar started in 2021, that will begin having in-person meetings. Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field with applications in biomedicine, biosafety, biotechnology, and pharma. Yet, there are now fewer synthetic biology conferences than in the past, and none of the conferences focuses on early- career researchers. Moreover, the youngest members are a diverse and international group without obvious representation. At most conferences few of them have opportunities to express their ideas, network, or collaborate. With this in mind, the conference will focus on what the future holds for synthetic biology. A central objective of the conference is to bring the community together for more interactive, inclusive, and collaborative discussions. Talks will focus on young researchers paired with keynote speakers, similar to the online series. There will be discussion panels and networking events to actively promote collaborations between researchers at different career stages, thus facilitating the generation of an effective combination of new ideas and expertise. Funding from NIH will be used to offset registration fees and travel costs for a cohort of diverse early-career NIBIB SynBYSS fellows. This R13 aligns with NIBIBs ongoing NOSI for synthetic biology for biomedical applications.