Summer School on
Synthetic Biology/Biological Production of Green Hydrogen

19-20 June 2024 | Hybrid event

Welcome to the International Summer School on Synthetic Biology/Biological Production of Green Hydrogen!

We are thrilled to invite you to this exciting event, organized by the EU project PhotoSynH2. This unique opportunity is open to all EIC’s Green Hydrogen Portfolio early stage researchers/students who are eager to delve into the fascinating world of synthetic biology and/or green hydrogen production.
The Summer School will take place at i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde in Porto, Portugal, on June 19-20, 2024.

We are privileged to have an exceptional lineup of keynote speakers:
Prof. Dr. Maria Barbosa from AlgaePARC and Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Paul Hudson from SciLifeLab, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
Dr. Samir Aoudjane from the Biodesign Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, UK

In addition, we are excited to announce that researchers from the PhotoSynH2 consortium will also be presenting their work, sharing their valuable insights and latest research, and providing a valuable learning experience for all attendees.

Join us for this event that promises to be a blend of innovative ideas, cutting-edge research, and inspiring discussions. We look forward to welcoming you to Porto!

See you in June 2024!

Organizing Committee
Filipe Pinto
Paula Tamagnini
Catarina Pacheco
Paulo Oliveira

Online participation is only available for participation on the first day of the meeting. The link will be sent to confirmed registrations closer to the meeting.

The meeting will be held at i3S and online.

i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde
Rua Alfredo Allen, 208; 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Tel: +351 226 074 900 | E-mail: events@i3s.up.pt
GPS coordinates: 41º 10’ 30.008’’ N, 8º 36’ 12.488’’ W.

Preliminary Program

Day 1 | 19.06.2024

09.30-10.00        Registration

10.00-10.20        Welcome

10.20-11.00        Keynote | Hypes, Hopes and the way forward for Microalgae Biotechnology
                           Maria Barbosa, AlgaePARC and Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands

11.00-11.30        Coffee Break

11.30-12.00        Engineering living systems through accelerated evolution
                           Alfonso Jaramillo, CSIC, Spain

12.00-12.40        Keynote | Robotics assisted directed evolution for protein engineering
                           Samir Aoudjane, Biodesign Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute, UK

12.40-14.00        Lunch

14.00-14.40        Keynote | Systems biology for enhancing productivity of cyanobacteria
                           Paul Hudson, SciLifeLab, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

14.40-15.10        Engineering photoautotrophic chassis based on the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
                           Paula Tamagnini, i3S/IBMC & FCUP, Portugal

15.10-15.40        Online Talk | Hydrogenases, Nature’s H₂ producing catalyst – Challenges and Opportunities
                           Gustav Berggren, Uppsala University, Sweden

15.40-16.10        Online Talk | Green cell factories for H₂ production
                           Peter Lindblad, Uppsala University, Sweden

16.10-16.40        Coffee Break

16.40-17.10        Biotechnology of photobiological hydrogen production with microalgae
                           Giuseppe Torzillo, CNR-IBE, Italy

17.10-17.40        Online Talk | Framing microalgae, an introduction to the relevant regulation from process to product
                           Stefano Canziani, Algreen B.V., The Netherlands

17.40-18.00        Close

Day 2 | 20.06.2024

09.00-11.00        Intro group 1 / Workshop group 2

11.00-11.20        Coffee break

11.20-13.20        Intro group 2 / Workshop group 1

13.20-14.20        Lunch

14.20-14.45        Closing remarks

Keynote speakers:

Maria Barbosa (AlgaePARC, Wageningen University; The Netherlands)

Maria Barbosa is Professor in Bioprocess Engineering and is Director of AlgaePARC at Wageningen University and Research Centre, in the Netherlands. She has been president of the Dutch Biotechnology Association (NBV). She holds a Ph.D. in Bioprocess Engineering obtained at Wageningen University. She has worked at ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Switzerland, IBET, and at EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organisation), Germany. She presently leads the group on microalgal biotechnology and coordinates several large research programs covering the entire microalgae production chain and applications in the food and feed sectors. Her scientific interests are in microalgae strain improvement, process development and scale-up.

Paul Hudson (SciLifeLab, KTH Royal Institute of Technology; Sweden)

Paul Hudson is Associate Professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden and Science for Life Laboratory, a national research infrastructure. He formed his research group in 2012 within metabolic engineering of photosynthetic cyanobacteria. The research has expanded to also apply systems and synthetic biology approaches to lithoautotrophic bacteria and chloroplasts. His group uses proteomics and high throughput genetic screens to study CO2 fixation metabolism, and to guide engineering strategies for enhancing uptake and conversion. His group also develops synthetic biology tools in these strains. He is a SciLifeLab Fellow (2014). He is editor of the book Cyanobacteria Biotechnology (Wiley, 2021).

Samir Aoudjane (Biodesign Laboratory, Francis Crick Institute; UK)

Samir Aoudjane is a scientist and instrumentation engineer. He holds degrees in Genetics and Experimental Medicine as well as a PhD in Biophysics. His background is largely in instrumentation development. He currently works at the Francis Crick Institute in London Developing Robotics platforms for directed evolution in protein engineering.

PhotoSynH2 speakers:

Alfonso Jaramillo (CSIC; Spain

Alfonso Jaramillo earned his Ph.D. in Theoretical Particle Physics from the University of Valencia, Spain, in 1999. Followed by postdoctoral positions at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, (1999 to 2002), and at Université Louis Pasteur, France, and Harvard University, USA (2002-03). From 2003-09, he was a tenured Lecturer at École Polytechnique, France, followed by a tenured Chargé de Recherche at CNRS, France (2009-15). From 2013-21, he was Full Professor of Synthetic Biology at the University of Warwick, UK. In 2021, he assumed the role of Investigador Científico at CSIC, Spain. His research focuses on developing new phage-assisted accelerated evolution techniques for engineering proteins, targeting the re-engineering of gene regulation, and phages for innovative antimicrobial development. Additionally, he explores the creation of neuromorphic gene circuits in bacteria, aiming to develop new forms of living artificial intelligence.

Paula Tamagnini (i3S/IBMC; Portugal)

Paula Tamagnini is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Sciences of University of Porto (FCUP), Member of the Board of Directors of i3S - Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, as well as leader of the Bioengineering and Synthetic Microbiology Group at the i3S (http://www.i3s.up.pt/). P. Tamagnini is also the chair of the International Scientific Committee for the European Workshop on the Molecular Biology of Cyanobacteria and member of the International Committee for the International Symposium on Phototrophic Prokaryotes. Her main research interests are: the development of bacterial chassis for downstream applications such as (photo)biocatalysis and the production of added-value compounds, exploitation of their biotechnological/biomedical potential, and the molecular mechanisms regulating the production and secretion of target molecules.

Gustav Berggren (Uppsala University; Sweden)

Gustav Berggren research interests span molecular design, spectroscopy and redox catalysis, with a focus on bioinorganic chemistry and chemical energy conversion. He received his PhD from Uppsala University in 2009, where he studied in the group of Prof. Stenbjörn Styring. This was followed by postdoctoral studies with Prof. Marc Fontecave and Dr. Vincent Artero at CEA Grenoble; and Prof. Britt-Marie Sjöberg at Stockholm University. In 2015 he returned to Uppsala University, where he now holds a full professor position in Molecular Biomimetics at the Department of Chemistry – Ångström. The group is also part of the Swedish Consortium for Artificial Photosynthesis (CAP). He has received the European medal for Bioinorganic Chemistry and the Swedish Hugo Theorell award. Current main research lines include hydrogenases and developing photo-biocatalytic production systems.

Peter Lindblad (Uppsala University; Sweden)

Peter Lindblad holds a PhD in Physiological botany from Uppsala University (UU, 1987), did PostDoctoral research in Australia and USA before returning to UU where he was promoted to professor in Biology 2000. In 2009 he moved to Chemistry where he leads Microbial chemistry, a concentrated effort to explore the biotechnological potential of cyanobacteria from fundamentals to applications. Present R&D focus is on cyanobacteria for sustainable production of chemicals, including fuels, from CO2 and solar energy in direct processes. This includes e.g. photosynthetic butanol production, increased CO2-fixation, efficient H2 production, and the development of synthetic consortia. Professor Lindblad has published over 230 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is/was a partner or coordinator in several EU Framework supported projects such as PhotoSynH2, Promicon, Photofuel, CyanoFactory, BioModularH2, Solar-H2 and Solar-H.

Giuseppe Torzillo (CNR-IBE; Italy)

Giuseppe Torzillo (CNR) is Associate Researcher at the Institute of Bioeconomy of Florence (Italy), and Prof. Emeritus at the University of Costa Rica. He has spent 42 years of research with the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), acting director of CNR-Institute of Ecosystem Study during 2016-2019. His research focused on growth physiology and biotechnology of mass culture of photosynthetic microorganisms, finalized to the production of protein, high value products (phycocyanin), production of bioenergy, and recovery of nutrients from agricultural effluents (digestate). In the recent years he has dedicated a relevant part of his research activity to the photobiological hydrogen production using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella, and recently Synechocystis. He has been involved as a group leader in two European Projects on photobiological H2 production: CyanoFactory, 2013 2015, PhotoSynH2 started in 2022 (5 years), and two national projects: Project Hydrobio supported by the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR); EBH2: Electro-Bio-hydrogen, supported by Tuscany Region (Italy).

Registration fees:

Days 1 and 2 (in-person): 30 € (limited to 30 registrations)
Day 1 (in-person): 20€
Day 1 (online): 15€

In-person participation includes lunch and coffee breaks.

Online participation is only available for participation on the first day of the meeting. The link will be sent to confirmed registrations closer to the meeting.

Registration deadline: 12 May 2024 | Payment deadline: 20 May 2024

Registration form >> 

More information:
Events Management Unit | Rua Alfredo Allen 208 | 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Email: events@i3s.up.pt | Tel: +351 226 074 900