1st INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING TO BE HELD IN JANUARY
J. Craig Venter, leading researcher on the Human Genome Project, to speak
Coronado, Calif. – The Society for Biological Engineering (SBE) will hold its first International Conference on Biomolecular Engineering from January 14-18 and feature Dr. J. Craig Venter, one of the leading scientists of the 21st Century for his pioneering work with the human genome.
The crux of the ICBE conference, to be held at Coronado Island Marriott Resort, is to further advance the understanding and application of biology at the molecular level, a fast growing area of study, according to SBE, which is made up of leaders in industry, education and government.
“This meeting will stimulate efforts to integrate those approaches across the molecular, cellular, and higher scales of biological complexity,” said Matt DeLisa, conference co-chairman and assistant professor at Cornell University.
Jason Haugh, also a conference co-chairman and associate professor at North Carolina State University, added that the “amazing roster of speakers will highlight current novel methods for understanding and furthering these design principles.”
One of the best known of the speakers is Dr. Venter, founder, president and CEO of the J. Craig Venter Institute and the J. Craig Venter Science Foundation. In 1998, Dr. Venter founded Celera Genomics to sequence the human genome. The successful completion of this research culminated with the February 2001 publication of the human genome in the journal, Science. He and his team at Celera also sequenced the fruit fly, mouse and rat genomes. The J. Craig Venter Institute is a not-for-profit, research and support organization dedicated to human, microbial, plant and environmental genomic research, the exploration of social and ethical issues in genomics, and to seeking alternative energy solutions through genomics.
Additional keynote speakers include Dr. David Baker, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Washington, and Dr. Willem “Pim” Stemmer, founder and CEO of Amunix. Dr. Baker uses a combination of experimental and computational approaches to understand the basic principles underlying protein folding and protein-protein interactions. He is the recipient of both the Feynman Prize from the Foresight Institute and the American Association for the Advancement of Science Newcomb Cleveland Prize, which is awarded to the author of an outstanding paper published in the Research Articles or Reports section of Science. Dr. Baker was also recently named a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Stemmer is the co-founder of Maxygen Incorporated, which was established in 1977 and developed the technology that helped with his invention of DNA breeding. Currently, Maxygen and its subsidiaries, Codexis and Verdia, are focused on applying this technique to pharmaceuticals, vaccines, chemicals and agriculture. Recently, Dr. Stemmer also has co-founded Avidia Research Institute and Amunix, Inc., to focus on antibody-like molecules.
“This conference is unique because it connects researchers who cover the breadth of biomolecular engineering and have different approaches and perspectives to the field,” said June Wispelwey, SBE’s executive director.
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