The Canada Synbio 2022 Conference aimed to bring together those involved in synthetic biology from around Canada, whether they were from academia, startups, or in the investing space. The three day event was filled with workshops, panels, presentations, pitches and inspiring stories given by extremely talented individuals from the field, helping to spark a conversation about the state of synthetic biology in Canada and inspire people to become more involved in the field.

  • Event Date: May 31st - June 1st, 2022
  • iGEM Representative: Nimaya De Silva, Regional Reporter to North America, iGEM Community

Nimaya, an iGEMer from 2016-2018 Lethbridge HS and 2019-2020 Calgary iGEM Team, now the iGEM Community reporter for North America, represented iGEM Community at the event. She participated in the poster session to introduce the attendees to the program and networked with other conference participants to let more people know about iGEM and how they can become more involved in the community, benefit from it and approached companies about potentially partnering with iGEM/acting as a sponsor.

Nimaya De Silva, Regional Reporter for North America, iGEM Community

“It was really nice getting to see some familiar faces again, being a Canadian iGEMer myself, as well as meeting new people who shared a love for synbio and iGEM. The conference made me more aware of the startups based out of Canada, and I certainly learned a lot about the state of synbio in Canada.“

We got the opportunity to connect with many attendees who had never heard of iGEM before, and tell them more about iGEM and the competition, as well as share our LinkedIN profile with them so they could connect with us in the future. There was a considerable presence of the Industry sector at the event. Nimaya informed them of how they could become more involved in the Community by getting involved in the EPIC program as mentors for example. We also got to meet some iGEM Team members from the 2022 iGEM Competition! UBC iGEM had some representatives there, and it was great hearing about their team's progress on their project!

In general, most attendees at the conference were iGEM alumni or were aware of iGEM. There was less awareness of the iGEM Community, and that there was a way for these alumni to stay involved in iGEM even after the competition was over.

The general message from the conference was that the state of synbio in Canada is still evolving and there is much to be done to continue its development across the country and the various sectors of the synthetic biology space.

To find more information about the iGEM Ambassadors & Promoters for North America and regional synbio activities visit our North America webpage. Learn more about the Ambassador Program here.

To stay up-to-date about news, events and opportunities from the global synbio community, subscribe to our newsletter ↗.