During AIChE鈥檚 2024 Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, four co-located conferences gave attendees a more in-depth view into the innovative work of chemical and biological engineers across four different industries. These conferences were the 8th Bioengineering and Translational Medicine (BTM) Conference, the 6th Food Innovation and Engineering (FOODIE) Conference, the 9th Conference on Constraint-Based Reconstruction and Analysis (COBRA), and the 5th Cell Therapies and Immunotherapy Conference. With the goal of creating dedicated forums at which researchers and industry professionals can share their cutting-edge research and technologies, these co-located conferences highlighted some of the most exciting work being done in these four fields.
The COBRA Conference, held on Oct. 24鈥�26, featured innovative work in constraint-based reconstruction and analysis methods used to model metabolic networks. This year鈥檚 theme was 鈥渋ntegrating data analytics in computational biology.鈥� Session topics included human health, chronic disease, microbial communities, and microbial pathogens. Featured speakers from institutions around the globe led these discussions, including the Institute of Systems Biology鈥檚 Sean Gibbons鈥� talk 鈥淐ommunity-Scale Metabolic Modeling of the Human Gut Microbiome and the Path Towards Translational Relevance.鈥� In this talk, Gibbons addressed how he has approached the inherent challenges of modeling diverse microbial communities. Another such talk was the Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign鈥檚 Huimin Zhao鈥檚 lecture 鈥淓xploring a Data-Driven Research Paradigm for Synthetic Biology,鈥� in which he discussed how advances in artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) have contributed to new synthetic biology models.
Photo: At the 8th Bioengineering and Translational Medicine (BTM) Conference, invited speaker Dan Huh (Univ. of Pennsylvania) gives his talk 鈥淢icro-engineered Biomimicry of Human Physiological Systems.鈥�
The BTM Conference, operated in conjunction with AIChE鈥檚 journal of the same name and organized by AIChE鈥檚 Society for Biological Engineering (SBE), focused on advancements in cross-disciplinary biological technologies. The BTM Conference was held on Oct. 27鈥�28. Session topics included drug delivery, biomanufacturing, cell therapy and protein engineering, models of human biology and disease, AI and data science, and women鈥檚 health. In a field as far-ranging as bioengineering and translational medicine, many topics presented were united by a reconsideration of existing treatments and evaluating ways of improving treatment efficacy. These presentations include 鈥淔rom Prodrugs to Self-Assembling Prodrugs,鈥� given by Hongang Cui of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, in which he discussed his inclusion of self-assembling prodrugs into cancer treatments to simplify treatment formulations and improve efficacy. Another such presentation was 鈥淒etection and Treatment of Undesired Immune Responses,鈥� given by keynote speaker Lonnie Shea of the Univ. of Michigan, in which he discussed advancements in monitoring immune responses in patients with chronic diseases.
At this year鈥檚 Cell Therapies and Immunotherapy Conference, professionals from clinical, industrial, and academic backgrounds gathered on Oct. 28鈥�30 to discuss challenges and discoveries in therapy research, development, and production. With session topics ranging from advances in cell therapy platforms to manufacturing and process analytics, this conference took a broad look at the many innovations shaping the future of healthcare. Matt Croughan of PBS Biotech provided unique insight into the historic challenges behind creating productive bioreactors with his talk entitled 鈥�40 Years of Cell Adaptation to Cell Culture Bioreactors: The Key to Success for CHO and Cell Therapies?鈥�. The presentation by keynote speaker Jeanne Loring of Scripps Research, 鈥淣eurons from Stem Cells to Treat Neurodegenerative Disease,鈥� highlighted stem cells鈥� ability to differentiate into the different cell types lost due to degenerative diseases.
Photos: Researchers at the (left) 6th Food Innovation and Engineering (FOODIE) Conference, (center) the 9th Conference on Constraint-Based Reconstruction and Analysis (COBRA), and (right) the 8th Bioengineering and Translational Medicine (BTM) Conference present their research to attendees during the poster sessions and receptions.
Photo: Keynote speaker Adil Mardinoglu (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) kicked off the COBRA conference with his talk 鈥淓nabling Precision Medicine Using Multiomics and Systems Biology.鈥�
Photo: Attendees at the BTM Conference listen intently to the presentations on innovative and cross-disciplinary biological technologies.
This year鈥檚 FOODIE Conference, held on Oct. 31鈥揘ov. 1, took a holistic look at the complex systems involved in bringing food from the farm to the table. Many talks focused on improving the sustainability of the food cycle and innovations in food systems, highlighting the ways that engineers are shaping modern food processes while considering these processes鈥� effects on public health, greenhouse gas emissions, waste production, and water conservation. Other talks focused on novel food formulations and technologies, including alternative protein derived from chickpeas and pea whey, as well as other sustainable protein sources.
To stay on top of upcoming conferences, check out www.aiche.org/conferences to explore the variety of programming supported by AIChE and stay tuned here at AIChE's blog www.aiche.org/chenected.
This article originally appeared in the "Institute News" column in the January 2025 issue of CEP. members have access online to complete issues, including a vast, searchable archive of back-issues found at www.aiche.org/cep.