To the GP-write community,
As 2018 comes to a close, we write to wish you and your families a safe and happy holiday season!
2019 GP-write meeting Hold the Date
The 2019 GP-write meeting will be held at NYU November 11-14 in conjunction with the Sc2.0 meeting. More details will be announced soon.
A Productive Year
It was a quiet, productive year for GP-write. As a community, we have many accomplishments to be proud of. GPW was the subject of numerous high-profile articles, including WIRED magazine, NEO.LIFE, Chemistry World, and BioTechniques. We held a very successful meeting in May at Harvard Medical School, in which the nine working groups presented their roadmaps and group charters. A community-wide project to make “ultra-safe” virus-proof cells was also announced. See here for a recently posted community wide project coordination discussion on the GP-Write International Consortium Roadmap, hosted by George Church. The meeting was favorably covered by the science and mainstream media, including articles in Science, Nature, Time, STAT, Forbes, and MIT Technology Review. We announced the formation of an industry advisory group, and announced agreements with several industry partners to enable cutting-edge research for GPW affiliates. Congratulations to all on a productive and stimulating year of science!
GP-write is Timely and Relevant
Looking at the themes that are emerging in the scientific literature and mainstream press, GPW appears more timely than ever. Technologies for reading, designing, and writing DNA are advancing at an ever more rapid pace, fueling breakthrough science and industry growth. The recent news of human germline editing of DNA with CRISPR technology has brought the massive technical and ethical issues out of academia discussion and into public consciousness. GPW is positioned to help people better understand these technologies and to facilitate discussions about upcoming scientific and technological advances that are less a matter of if but when.
Looking ahead
Synthetic biology is booming. Academic grant funding is flowing. Biodefense and biosecurity interest and investment is growing. Industry hub Synbiobeta estimates that over $3B will have poured into startups this year — almost double the 2017 amount. Twist Biosciences, Moderna, Synthorx and others have had successful IPOs. Meanwhile, multiple enzyme-based synthesis companies have appeared and are working to bring “next-gen” DNA synthesis online. Entire countries (we’re looking at you, Canada) are organizing to join the GPW effort. GP-write has grown a lot since it launched in 2016. Expect to see organizational changes in 2019 to better support the community and its continued expansion and evolution.
Thanks to each of you for your efforts these last few years – they are significant and they have not been recognized or rewarded enough. We also want to thank our generous sponsors. Enjoy the holiday season, and we look forward to working with you in 2019!
Best,
Everyone at GP-write HQ
