This year at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a group of professors from Arizona State University, UC Berkeley, Cornell University, Georgia Tech, Stanford University, and the University of Vermont are teaming up to offer the third summer course in Synthetic Biology.

Both students and invited speakers from industry have participated in this course since it was first established in 2013. Kevin Hoff from Genomatica participated in 2014 as an invited speaker. "The CSHL synthetic biology course provided the intense, immersive training needed to quickly learn the strengths and weaknesses of the methods covered" he writes. He observed that the course "allowed students to rapidly assess the applicability for their needs. The topics covered during the 2014 course lead Genomatica to explore a new method to incorporate into our design-build-test-learn cycle."

The 2015 course will focus on how the complexity of biological systems, combined with traditional engineering approaches, results in the emergence of new design principles for synthetic biology. The Course centers around an immersive laboratory experience. Here, students will work side-by-side with instructors in teams to learn the practical and theoretical underpinnings of cutting edge research in the area of Synthetic Biology. Broadly, we will explore how cellular regulation- transcriptional, translational, post-translational and epigenetic- can be used to engineer cells to accomplish well-defined goals. Specific laboratory modules will cover the following areas: cell-free transcription and translation systems, high-throughput cloning techniques, computational biology using ordinary differential equations models, biosensor development for metabolic engineering, and CRISPR for genome editing in mammalian cells to regulate synthetic genes and physical cell properties. Students will first learn essential synthetic biology techniques in a four-day ‘boot-camp’, and then rotate through research projects in select areas.

Student applications are due April 15, 2015. For details on our course and and how to submit your application, click here.To follow our activities, view lists of past speakers/ instructors, and read more information, click here.