SynBERC researcher George Church was awarded the 2011 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science for innovative and creative contributions to genomic science, including the development of DNA sequencing technologies, as well as for his subsequent efforts to promote personal genomics and synthetic biology. The Institute noted his pioneering founding of the Personal Genome Project, which promises to spawn a new era of individualized medicine in which drug treatments and other therapies can be optimized by custom-matching them with a person's unique genetic makeup.

The Yeast Synthetic Biology Workshop took place on Saturday October 16, 2010 at UC San Francisco's Genentech Hall. Generously supported by Life Technologies, this one-day workshop was in response to a growing recognition that yeast is re-emerging as an important workhorse system in synthetic biology research-development-production processes, in particular for chemical production and biofuels applications.

Multiplex Automated Genome Engineering (MAGE), the Church lab’s new cell programming method that promises to give biotechnology – in particular synthetic biology – a powerful boost, made its public debut in the July issue of Nature.

Leader: J. Christopher Anderson

The goal of this thrust is to develop a limited number of chassis that should serve a wide range of activities (testbeds). More specifically, we are working toward the following goals:

Synthetic biology is the design and construction of new biological entities such as enzymes, genetic circuits, and cells or the redesign of existing biological systems. Synthetic biology builds on the advances in molecular, cell, and systems biology and seeks to transform biology in the same way that synthesis transformed chemistry and integrated circuit design transformed computing.