Shenzhen Hosts a Symposium on Microbial Biotechnology, Highlighting Global Collaboration

What if those biggest challenges in the world could be solved by the smallest living organisms? We are not just studying life, we are programming it.

This shared vision gathered microbiologists from Asia, Europe, America and Africa in Shenzhen on November 18 for a symposium co-hosted by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This event marked ASM's first symposium in Shenzhen and its inaugural partnership with SIAT, aiming to accelerate scientific exchange and collaboration in microbial biotechnology.

Dr. LIU Chenli, the director of SIAT and the ASM China Ambassador, stated that such a platform is crucial for translating microbial technologies from laboratory to industry. He positioned the landmark partnership with ASM as a catalyst for this goal and a reflection of Shenzhen's innovative ecosystem, one that will help shape a new paradigm for the global bioeconomy.

"ASM has brought together world-class experts from chemistry, microbiology, computational science and physics - people who, individually, push the boundaries of their fields," said Dr. Stefano Bertuzzi, Chief Executive Officer of ASM. "What makes this moment remarkable is their shared commitment to build a collaborative global platform that unites their strengths and unleashes new possibilities in microbial biotechnology."

Bringing together over 300 interdisciplinary scholars, the symposium focused on four  topics in microbiology: AI in Microbiology, Synthetic Biology, Applied Microbial Ecosystems, and Metabolic Engineering and the Bioeconomy. Specifically, how could we engineer microbes as living factories: producing life-saving medicines, creating sustainable materials and developing solutions to some of humanity's greatest challenges. The mission of this community is to forge concrete pathways for microbial technologies to upgrade biomanufacturing and power a sustainable economy, directly addressing pressing global challenges.

"How we can get the right microbes for the right applications, I think that's most challenging one," said Jeong Wook Lee, Associate Professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology.

The participants committed to fostering a collaborative platform with a common perspective: Bringing up the brain powers worldwide together to promote the development of cutting-edge microbial biotechnologies.

"This meeting is based in Shenzhen, China. But if you look at all the speakers, they are from all over the world and they have come to this place to talk about science. So it's international, it's interdisciplinary. The focus is going to be absolutely amazing," said Dr. Anirban Mahapatra, the Chief Science and Global Strategy Officer of ASM.

"I think meetings like this are super important. Because it allows researchers working on opposite ends of the globe on similar topics to come together and meet each other and develop those collaborations," said Professor Ashley Shade, the Editor-in-Chief of the ASM journal mSystems.

Participants of the symposium. (Image by SIAT)

Discussion of the international symposium. (Image by SIAT)