AfroBiotech Conference 2019

The AfroBiotech Conference, hosted by the Society for Biological Engineering, will highlight the achievements of African Americans in biotechnology, inspire a new generation of diverse biotechnology professionals and identify, communicate, and explore current advancements in various aspects of Biotechnology. The conference aims to support AIChE’s diverse engineering community and all are welcome to join.  

Historically, scientists of various racial/ethnic and gender identities have participated in the advancement of science and engineering in the U.S., but historically certain groups have been “hidden figures” who were denied full recognition of their innovation and leadership. Today, habitual exclusion increasingly discourages participation and recruitment of the next generation, which in turn undermines the strength and creativity of the U.S. scientific workforce. The AfroBiotech conference will focus on discoveries, innovations, and achievements from African-American scientists  and engineers in biotechnology to feature the contributions of this underrepresented group to solving current problems and demonstrate the power of a diverse engineering community. By organizing African-American scientific talent from across the U.S. at a single event, AfroBiotech hopes to enable the biotech industry to hire diverse professionals, inspire organizers of other scientific conferences to invite diverse speakers, and inspire the next generation of diverse students and scholars to join this community. The venue for the inaugural AfroBiotech conference is Atlanta, home of the emerging Georgia biotech corridor.

Keynote Speakers

• Cherie Butts, Biogen
• Anthony Guiseppi-Elie, Texas A&M University
• Cato Laurencin, University of Connecticut
• Kristala Prather, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Session Topics

• Metabolic engineering
• Synthetic biology and intracellular engineering
• Microbiome engineering
• Tissue engineering
• DNA Synthesis and genome editing
• Mathematical and Computational Modeling
• Bioengineering and our community
• Health and medical applications