Suddath Symposium
This annual Symposium celebrates the legacy of F.L. "Bud" Suddath by discussing the latest developments in bioscience and bioengineering. The research topic changes annually, and speakers include leading researchers from around the world.
2026 Event Information
“Biomedical Applications of Synthetic Biology”
March 18-19, 2026
Georgia Institute of Technology, Petit Biotechnology Building (IBB), Suddath Seminar Room 1128, 315 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, GA
The 34th annual Suddath Symposium will focus on exciting, cutting-edge applications and future directions of synthetic biology in the biomedical space along with considering the societal and ethical implications of ongoing and future work.
Synthetic biology has changed how we can program cells, making it possible to control their behavior in a predictable way by combining genetic building blocks into more complex systems. While early demonstrations of these ideas have been around for decades, only recently have these tools been applied effectively to medicine. This approach opens the door to creating new diagnostics and treatments while also helping us better understand how biology works. Synthetic biology is now a key field with enormous potential to improve human health and advance biotechnology.
2026 Keynote Speakers
John Collins
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Julius Lucks
Northwestern University
2026 Symposium Co-chairs
Tara Deans is an associate professor in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University. Her research focuses on synthetic biology approaches to program stem cells using engineered genetic circuits, with the goal of directing cell fate decisions and developing innovative cell‑based therapies, including engineered platelets for therapeutic delivery.
Mark Styczynski is a professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and director of Georgia Tech’s Bioengineering Graduate Program. An expert in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, his research combines experimental and computational approaches to understand and control cellular metabolism, with applications ranging from engineered microbial biosensors to biotechnology and diagnostics.