image: The SynBio Challenges focus on the field of synthetic biology and aim to provide a platform for young students to engage in exchange and competition. The contest attracted 147 teams from over 60 universities, both domestic and international, with more than 450 students participating on-site. Since its inception, the number of participating teams has nearly doubled each year, reflecting the contest's rapidly growing influence.
Credit: SIAT
From August 7 to 10, the Third SynBio Challenges were held at the Guangming Tianan Cloud Park International Conference Center in Shenzhen, China.
The event was co-organized by Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Chinese Society of Biotechnology, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology (SUAT), Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology (iSynBio), Shenzhen Synthetic Biology Association, and the Shenzhen Industrial Innovation Center for Engineering Biology.
The SynBio Challenges aim to provide a platform for students to engage in exchange and competition within the synthetic biology field. This year, the contest attracted 147 teams from over 60 universities, both domestic and international, with more than 450 students participating on-site. Since its inception, the number of participating teams has nearly doubled each year, reflecting the contest’s rapidly growing influence.
At the opening ceremony, ZHANG Xian'en, Chairman of the SynBio Challenges and Dean of the Faculty of Synthetic Biology at SUAT, highlighted that synthetic biology, biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and the bioeconomy are key drivers of innovation today. He expressed hopes for the SynBio Challenges to become the world's second-largest synthetic biology event after iGEM.
The 2024 SynBio Challenges introduced significant upgrades compared to last year. The regular track now includes three new thematic sub-tracks, covering cutting-edge areas in synthetic biology: the green track (Agriculture and Environment), the red track (Biomedicine), and the white track (Biochemical Engineering). These tracks encourage teams to harness their innovation capabilities to address specific social development needs. The Protein Designer and Bacterial Gladiator tracks continued with an Olympic-style competition mechanism, challenging participants’ understanding, strategic problem-solving, and experimental skills.
This year's event also featured a special biological art exhibition and lectures by artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, exploring the intersection of science and art and adding a unique dimension to the competition.
After four days of competition among 60 teams, NEFU_China from Northeast Forestry University won the Grand Prize of SynBio Challenges 2024 for their project on de novo 4-hydroxymandelate biosynthesis using metabolic engineering and directed evolution. The team addressed key challenges such as insufficient precursor supply and limited enzyme activity in the biosynthesis pathway.
HELLO-ZJU from Zhejiang University, Shanghaitech-China from ShanghaiTech University, and NEFU_China from Northeast Forestry University won top awards in the Biomedical, Agriculture and Environment, and Biochemical Engineering categories, respectively. In the specialty tracks, the Savage Growth team from Jilin Agricultural University won the Best Bacterial Gladiator Award, while the Nankai Team from Nankai University and Helix Heroes from Shanghai Jiao Tong University won the Best Protein Design Award.
In an interview, Jian Mei from Waseda University in Japan expressed his admiration for Shenzhen’s advanced synthetic biology infrastructure, noting its high level of automation and cutting-edge technology. As a member of the first foreign team to participate in the SynBio Challenges, he hopes to expand the contest’s influence to more international teams.
At the closing ceremony, LIU Chenli, Vice President of SIAT and Founding Director of the National Industrial Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing (NIICB) and Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology (iSynBio), highlighted the importance of SynBio Challenges in fostering innovation and creativity. He encouraged participants to delve into the scientific principles of synthetic biology and explore innovative applications across various fields.
This year's SynBio Challenges embodied the core concept of synthetic biology, "build to learn, build to use," highlighting the driving force of interdisciplinary integration and innovation. Participating teams showcased diverse research directions and distinctive innovative ideas.