On 9th of October, we hosted Edinburgh's first Café Synthetique event. The first meeting, titled “The What, How and Why of Synthetic Biology”, featured talks from Dr Stephen Wallace and Dr Leonardo Rios Solis.

Our very own Sean Bankier kicked off the evening, introducing Café Synthetique and the importance of developing an informal space for the synthetic biology community. He was followed by Dr Leonardo Rios Solis, who explored the engineering concepts at the heart of synthetic biology and how we can harness the power of this technology to help underprivileged communities. The evening was rounded off by Dr Stephen Wallace, who gave an enthusiatic talk about his work at the interface between organic chemistry and synthetic biology, and the potential of seemingly "crazy" ideas.

The sold-out event attracted attendees from the public, academia, and industry - showing an appetite for informal conversations about synthetic biology across communities.

We're hoping the success of this evening is a sign of things to come!