Accelerating the engineering of biological systems through foundational technologies and interpretable AI - Prof. Geoff Baldwin

We are pleased to confirm that Prof. Geoff Baldwin will be presenting on Wednesday, November 26th.

Zoom meeting: https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/81860714205

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Title: Accelerating the engineering of biological systems through foundational technologies and interpretable AI

Abstract:

The engineering of biological systems has the capability to address some of our most pressing global challenges in a sustainable manner. Biology has emerged as a data rich discipline, through Genomics and Systems Biology, which has transformed our understanding of biology, while Synthetic Biology has provided a toolbox for the engineering of new biological systems. Approaches that facilitate our capability in navigating the complexity involved in engineering biological systems will further enhance our ability to accelerate bioscience discovery and application. This talk will introduce the vision of a Self-Driving Lab (SDL): an integrated platform that combines advanced automation, synthetic biology, and human-interpretable AI to transform how we design, build, and test biological systems. By closing the loop between hypothesis generation, automated experimentation, and data-driven learning, SDLs can dramatically accelerate metabolic engineering, reducing timelines from years to weeks. I will outline the foundational tools—such as automated DNA assembly and digital-twin models—that enable this step-change, and show how they are being applied to engineer microbes for the sustainable production of valuable compounds essential to a resilient bioeconomy.

Bio:

Geoff Baldwin is Professor of Synthetic & Molecular Biology at Imperial College London, he is Co-Director of the Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology and Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in BioDesign Engineering. Research work in the Baldwin lab focuses on the development of synthetic biology approaches to facilitate the engineering of new biological systems for real-world applications. To this end he has developed foundational tools that transform our ability to rapidly prototype new biological designs, like DNA-BOT, automated DNA assembly based on the BASIC method. These fundamental developments are being applied across a broad range of projects that address gene circuit design; RNA feedback control and in vivo directed evolution for the generation of new protein specificity and functionality. These innovations underpin his vision for the “Self-Driving Lab,” where automation and human-interpretable AI transform the speed and scale of metabolic engineering. His work applies these approaches to engineer microbial systems for the sustainable production of valuable compounds, advancing both scientific discovery and real-world impact.