From July 26 to 29, the 18th Q-Bio International Conference on Quantitative Biology (referred to as "Q-Bio Conference") was held at the Guangming Cloud Park Conference Center in Shenzhen. Over 230 researchers and scholars from around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and India, gathered for the event. Around the topic of "Quantitative Patterns and Predictable Models in Complex Life Systems," attendees delved into the future prospects and potential opportunities within the fields of quantitative biology and synthetic biology.

All attendees pose for a photo

Following the success of the 17th conference, this year's Q-Bio Conference was held Shenzhen once again. The local organizing committee was led by Liu Chenli, Deputy Director of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Director of the Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology.

At the beginning of the conference, Liu Chenli expressed his gratitude to the Q-Bio International Organizing Committee for choosing Shenzhen once again—a city known as "China's Silicon Valley" for its technological innovation. The venue, Guangming Science City, is rapidly developing into a national center for scientific research and technological innovation. Encompassing nine research institutes, the SIAT focuses on the integration of information technology (IT) and biotechnology (BT). Among them, quantitative synthetic biology is flourishing, with an academic community that is rapidly expanding, forming a significant hub for science, education, and industry. This year, leveraging the research and educational resources of the SIAT, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, a new research-oriented university, was officially established in Guangming District. Liu hoped that everyone explore new realms in quantitative biology on a journey of transformation with Q-Bio 2024.

The conference was chaired by Dai Lei, a researcher at the SIAT. He introduced that the Q-Bio Conference served as a platform for global experts and young scholars in quantitative biology to explore cutting-edge advancements and promote interdisciplinary collaboration. He expected that all attendees could promote the sharing of knowledge and resources to drive scientific and technological innovation and address global scientific challenges and issues together.

During the event, speakers shared their insights on topics such as synthetic biology, systems biology, artificial intelligence, aging, tumors, molecular evolution, and microbiomes. Their presentations covered the latest scientific achievements and the future directions and potential applications of their respective fields. The cross-disciplinary exchanges were conducted in a strong academic atmosphere throughout the conference.

James E. Ferrell, a professor from Stanford University and a special guest speaker, praised the diversity of topics presented at the conference. He noted that predictive design of behaviors within genetic circuits remained an unresolved issue. The conference provided valuable insights and inspiration for scholars of quantitative methods, influencing the future of quantitative biology.

"Shenzhen shows tremendous vitality in the field of quantitative biology." said Tang Chao, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor with Westlake University. He observed that Shenzhen is gradually becoming an international hub for exchanges in cutting-edge fields like quantitative biology and synthetic biology. He hoped that more young scholars would engage in interdisciplinary collaborations, maintaining an active mindset and pursuing meaningful careers in a free and open academic environment.

 Scott M. Coyle, Assistant Professor from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, remarked that quantitative approaches have transformed biology from an observation-based science into a predictive tool that helps people understand life systems. This event allowed him to witness the construction of major scientific infrastructure for synthetic biology research in Shenzhen and various cutting-edge projects, inspiring him with a sense that "the future is coming."

Wei Ping, a member of the organizing committee and researcher with the SIAT, emphasized the urgent need for extensive and efficient international cooperation in quantitative biology, a cutting-edge interdisciplinary research area of complex biological systems. By pooling global intelligence, it aims to advance the tackling and solving of significant scientific problems in quantitative biology, whose development will promote breakthroughs in areas such as precise measurements, computational and mathematical tools, fundamental theories of life processes, and high-throughput standardized data in complex life system. This will help people understand the design principles behind the complex functions of life system and propel the transition from understanding life to designing life.

The Q-Bio Conference, initiated in 2007 by research teams from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of New Mexico, has been successfully held globally for 18 times. It holds high prestige and broad influence in fields such as biophysics and systems biology. The event this year collaborated with the journal Quantitative Biology to launch a special issue, offering all accepted papers the opportunity for open access publication.

The successful conclusion of the Q-Bio 2024  highlighted Shenzhen's deployment and vision in global scientific collaboration, especially in the field of quantitative synthetic biology. As a cutting-edge interdisciplinary field, quantitative biology's advanced measurement techniques and theoretical modeling provide powerful tools for revealing the design principles and operational rules of biological systems. This conference showcased Shenzhen as an open window and a frontier city in technology, with in-depth discussions on national strategic needs and major scientific frontiers. It promoted original innovation and interdisciplinary advancements, injecting new momentum into Shenzhen's strategic goal of building a highland for synthetic biology.

The conference was co-hosted by the SIAT, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, Peking University, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, and the Shenzhen Synthetic Biology Association.