The Convergence of Engineering Biology and AI – with Professor Freemont
The New Biological Technology Revolution - the Convergence of Engineering Biology and AI.
Professor Paul Freemont - Head of the Section of Structural and Synthetic Biology, Dept. of Infectious Disease; co-founder of the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation and co-founder and co-director of the National UK Innovation and Knowledge Centre for Synthetic Biology, Imperial College London.
We are in the midst of a biotechnology revolution which is transforming the way we make and use products. From sustainable fuels to biobased materials to cutting-edge drugs, to new forms of sustainable food, we are seeing the rise of a new generation of bio-based products and processes, designed to work in harmony with nature and address the challenges of sustaining a changing planet.
Engineering Biology – also known as Synthetic Biology – is the technology driving these innovations, enabling us to design and build biological systems at the genetic level with unprecedented precision and purpose. The convergence with AI is accelerating these developments where researchers and countries race to a biomanufacturing future and a global Bioeconomy worth between $4 and 30 trillion by 2030.
In this talk, Professor Paul Freemont introduced the key concepts of Engineering Biology and show examples of the technology in several application sectors. He highlighted the need for open transparent societal dialogue, to ensure that biotechnology developments are aligned with societal needs and acceptance.
As well as his current roles at Imperial, Professor Freemont is also director of the London BioFoundry (since 2016) and founded and previously led the Section of Structural and Synthetic Biology in the Department of Infectious Diseases at Imperial College. He was previously the Head of the Division of Molecular Biosciences and Centre for Structural Biology having joined Imperial from Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (now known as the Crick Research Institute) where he was Principal Investigator and Head of Group.
His recent research is focused on developing automation and biofoundries and cell-free systems for specific synthetic biology applications He is author of over 300 scientific publications (H-index 97) and is an elected member of European Molecular Biology Organisation and Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, Royal Society of Chemistry and Royal Society of Medicine and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Art.
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