Event presentation
SynthBio@UNIPD is the first event of its kind that aims to gather the interest of various research groups and Departments of our University in the field of Synthetic Biology, trying to create synergies and collaborations in this emerging research sector, leveraging on its intrinsic interdisciplinary nature.
- A: And so, what is your research field?
- B: Well, we study antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation pathways and other virulence factors of bacteria, not only in humans. And you?
- A: Oh, we like drops and microfluidics. We’re trying to isolate single cell-derived vesicles to find out what is inside of them.
- C: Really? Amazing! My lab is working on cancer diagnostics and immunotherapy, we are really into liposomes and cell engineering. However, working on living mammals is often difficult.
- D: What if I say we can create a single organ-like structure?
- E: Ok ok, everything is really cool but, are you completely aware of what you are doing? What is the aim of your research? What are the limits? What is ethical to do? What is the definition of model and when a model became conscious?
That was an example of the synbio-related research reality here at UniPD. An incredibly stimulating environment, full of amazingly prepared professors and students, all, however, mainly aware of their world only. Thankfully, a few months ago somebody had a lightbulb moment. These professors realized the importance of collaboration for the future of research. The world where everyone knows just their personal field and studies phenomena on their own has passed. Scientific knowledge is now unimaginably vast and thus unsustainable for one brain alone. The point is even different: nowadays, scientific problems are so complicated that we need different ways of thinking. In my modest opinion, what really makes the difference is approaching a problem with divergent minds, not only in terms of background knowledge but also in terms of scientific eyes. Those eyes are the ones through whom we observe and generate questions. Imagine a science round table where questions are formulated and exchanged with different answers, creating a network of thinking systems to disassemble every issue in its very small bricks, study these elementary pieces and rearrange them to build the perfect solution.
Such words became a reality a few days ago, during an all-day conference between people from different departments, where everyone had the opportunity to share their interests and their skills. As Mutans Team, we want to deeply thank the people who held this gripping event for having us invited, Prof. Luca Schenato (DEI), Prof. Ignazio Castagliuolo (DMM), Prof. Livio Trainotti (DiBio & iGEM team PI), as well as all the other figures involved in the organization.
As students passionate about synthetic biology, we will undeniably shape our careers upon this concept.
