Discover the visions and missions of SBA's new executive team. Their backgrounds, dedication to synthetic biology's advancement, and strategic frameworks aim to enhance growth, innovation, and collaboration throughout Australia and NZ
During the SBA conference in Perth last year, a number of fresh faces joined the executive committee. We caught up with these newly elected members to discuss their role at SBA, their background, and their vision for the SBA in the coming term.
What is your role in SBA?
For SBA I am fortunate to be the current President!
Why did you volunteer for this role?
There are a few responses to that…the glib one is: Noone else wanted it. But I think if I’m being more honest, if I see a job to be done my instinct is to just get started. On some level I realized that I occupied a privileged position through being in the investing world and outside of academia more generally. I get to see the ecosystem from 30,000ft and how we can start to work with governments and also see international market trends + where the industrialisation of SynBio is going. I think we have a real opportunity here to be a global leader in SynBio and biomanufacturing and I’m hoping to be part of making that happen!
What is your current position?
In my former life I was a researcher focussed on creating optical biosensors for anything and everything I could but these days I am on the “other side” working in venture capital investing. I was fortunate to have started and run Australia’s first Synthetic Biology focused startup program, SynBio10x, with UNSW Founders and Main Sequence Ventures. Currently, I’m based in Sydney as part of the Main Sequence Ventures investment team, where I am learning an incredible amount about building deeptech companies with a particular focus on synthetic biology, biomanufacturing and decarbonisation.
What are your goals and vision for SBA during your term?
I have way too many goals! For SBA, my hope is that we see the community grow not just in numbers but in our ability to connect with other organizations locally and globally, building stronger relationships with industry too. My major project right now is establishing a regular series of webinars and workshops for our members around professional skill development that academia may not be able to offer - so watch this space!
The biggest goal that is driving me for SBA and also in my day-to-day work is building Australia to be the global leader in biomanufacturing. We have all the parts and capabilities we need right now to deliver on not just precision fermentation but the broader areas of molecular farming, insect manufacturing, algae…you name it, Australia has it. My goal is to help our ecosystem align their strengths and form the “slipstream” for commercialisation of SynBio. In the future we should be able to easily chart the journey from the lab bench, to scaling and into the “market” with an entire community of support in place already to make it happen.
My hope is that through SBA we can better unite our ecosystem. Despite being a smaller community, we are still somewhat fractured across different organizations. I think there is a real opportunity for SBA to be the umbrella for Aus and NZ communities to come together and align on our bigger goals for SynBio and biomanufacturing.
What is your role in SBA?
My role within the SBA team is the New Zealand representative.
Why did you volunteer for this role?
I provide a Kiwi perspective to meetings and am helping expand the synthetic biology network within NZ.
What is your current position?
I am a senior research fellow based at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Many medicines are derived from or based on bacterial natural products and my research focuses on engineering bacteria to modify the DNA to make new antibiotics and cancer therapeutics.
What are your goals and vision for SBA during your term?
My goals are to help run more events and to organise the next SBA conference to be here.
What is your role in SBA?
I am currently the EMCR within the SBA exec committee.
Why did you volunteer for this role?
I volunteered for this role because I genuinely enjoy organising processes and connecting people, so I feel like these two things I enjoy doing can really help SBA exec committee.
What is your current position?
My current role is Program Manager of the Bio 10x Program at UNSW. The Bio 10x Program is a 10-week accelerator that helps biotech founders turn their scientific solutions into commercially viable market ready products. My previous qualifications are a Master of Philosophy (QUT), Bachelor of Biological Sciences and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours).
What are your goals and vision for SBA during your term?
My key goal is to build a repository of assets that is easily accessible by node leaders and members of the community that serve as educational resources and supporting resources. The long term vision is that our community can grow and SBA earn more revenue through our growing community and those funds can go back into developing resources that members can use. I also want SBA to be a platform in which industry and government engage with for projects and opinions.
It is my vision that all the nodes feel connected and supported with the resources they need to run amazing events. It’s also my vision that SBA continues to be a launch pad or stepping stone for many in our community – whether that be making connections, getting involved in projects or learning about what others are doing in our community.
What is your role in SBA?
I am the current student representative in SBA.
Why did you volunteer for this role?
Throughout my time at university and at work, I have enjoyed participating in committees that promote learning and collaboration. I saw an opportunity in the SBA committee to foster a sense of community between students as we all learn the skills and knowledge, we need to contribute to exciting synbio research projects.
What is your current position?
I am a PhD candidate at the University of Western Australia. I previously completed my BSc(Hons) in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UWA and worked as a data consultant for one and half years before returning to complete my PhD. The 2023 SBA Conference was the first conference I attended, and I am very excited to now be part of the team.
What are your goals and vision for SBA during your term?
I would like to see more connections between current synbio researchers with undergraduate students who are interested in learning more about the field as well as between students across universities. I aim to encourage more casual networking events for students to build relationships in an open, welcoming environment.
Building Australasia’s contribution to global synbio research progress is very important to me and I would like to see greater development in an area Australasia is already strong in – food and agriculture. I believe we have a great foundation we can build on with innovative and creative synbio ideas.
As we move forward into this exciting new chapter for the SBA, it's clear that the fresh perspectives and diverse backgrounds of our newly elected executive committee members will play a crucial role in shaping the future of our organization. Their dedication and enthusiasm for the SBA's mission are truly inspiring, and we can't wait to see the positive impact they will make in the coming term.
Watch out for this space next to learn more about the communication team members, Madi Smith, Jess Liana, Juan Martinez, and Rashika Sood. Stay tuned for insights into their roles, backgrounds, and visions for the SBA's communication efforts.
The topic for synbio panel discussion was "From Lab Bench to Industry," with speakers from a variety of companies working in the synthetic biology field in Australia.
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Dr Craig Cormick is, amongst many things, a science communicator. He has a broad background in both the theory and the practice of working with social attitudes to new technologies, and methods of community engagement.
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Synthetic Biology Australasia is run by a team of volunteers from across Australia and New Zealand.
We acknowledge the First Nations owners of the lands where our members work and live. We pay our respect to their Elders, lores, customs, and creation spirits. We recognise their great knowledge and care of the lands and waterways. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
