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Biocatalysis

Gordon Research Conference

Changing Paradigms in Catalysis

July 6 - 11, 2014
Chairs and
Vice Chairs and
Bryant University
1150 Douglas Pike
Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States
 Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

Biocatalysis encompasses the use of enzymes or whole cell systems for effecting the conversion of readily available, inexpensive starting materials to high value products. Enzymes are fully recyclable catalytic proteins that frequently display exquisite chemo-, enantio- and regioselectivity and operate under mild conditions of pH and temperature. These characteristics make them cost-effective and sustainable catalysts for a wide range of chemical transformations. Modern tools of protein discovery and engineering as well as advances in molecular biology and protein structure aid the development of biocatalysts and their tailor-designed integration into industrial processes. Consequently, they find wide application in the production of pharmaceutical intermediates, novel materials and diagnostics, as well as fine, performance and commodity chemicals. The Biocatalysis Gordon Research Conference highlights the best science, technologies and case studies to provide in-depth understanding of the development and practical use of biocatalysts around the world.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Biocatalysis" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

SUNDAY
2:00 pm - 9:00 pmArrival and Check-in
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 7:45 pmWelcome / Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff
7:45 pm - 9:30 pmEnzyme Engineering: From Fundamentals to Applications
Discussion Leader: Joelle N. Pelletier (Université de Montréal, Canada)
7:45 pm - 8:45 pm Frances H. Arnold (California Institute of Technology, USA)
"Expanding the Enzyme Universe: New Chemistry by Evolution and Design"
8:45 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:30 pm General Discussion
MONDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
8:30 amGroup Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pmSynthetic Biology
Discussion Leader: Claudia Schmidt-Dannert (University of Minnesota, USA)
9:00 am - 9:30 am Elmar Heinzle (Saarlande University, Germany)
"Tailored Permeabilized Cells Allow In Vitro Synthesis of Secondary Metabolites"
9:30 am - 9:45 am Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 am Rebecca Goss (St. Andrews University, UK)
"Combining Synthetic Biology and Synthetic Chemistry to Dial into New to Nature Natural Products"
10:15 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 am Konrad Otte (Stuttgart University, Germany)
"De Novo Retro-Aldolase Enables Novel Artificial Pathway Derived from Biocatalytic Retrosynthesis"
11:30 am - 11:45 am Discussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pm Maureen Quin (University of Minnesota, USA)
"Training the Next Generation of Synthetic Biologists - Beyond Building an Army of Clones"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmThe Impact of Disruptive Technologies on Biocatalysis
Discussion Leader: John Woodley (Technical University of Denmark)
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm Andreas Schmid (Technical University of Dortmund, Germany)
"Catalytic Biofilms for Organic Syntheses"
8:00 pm - 8:15 pm Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:45 pm Toby Richardson (Synthetic Genomics, USA)
"Next Gen DNA Sequencing: An Indispensable Tool for Discovering Novel Biocatalysts and Enhancing Microbial Strains for Biobased Process Applications"
8:45 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm Pamela Peralta-Yahya (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)
"GPCR-Based Biosensors for the Directed Evolution of Chemical-Producing Microbes"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
TUESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmNovel Chemistry and Enzymes
Discussion Leader: Gjalt Huisman (Codexis, USA)
9:00 am - 9:30 am Harald Gröger (University of Bielefeld, Germany)
"Combination of the 'Two Worlds' Chemo- and Biocatalysis Towards Multi-Step One-Pot Processes"
9:30 am - 9:45 am Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 am Isabel Arends (Technical University of Delft, the Netherlands)
"The Potential of Carotenoid 1,2-Hydratase and Oleate Hydratase as Novel Biocatalysts"
10:15 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 am Yane-Shih Wang (Yale University, USA)
"Upgrading Protein Synthesis: The Substrate Range and Efficiency of Pyrrolysyl-tRNA Synthetase Variants"
11:30 am - 11:45 am Discussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pm Gavin Williams (North Carolina State University)
"Engineered Polyketide Synthases with Orthogonal Substrate Specificities"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmAdvancing Science Through Flagship Programs
Discussion Leader: Oliver May (DSM, the Netherlands)
7:30 pm - 7:45 pm David Berkovitz (University of Nebraska, USA)
"Science at the Chemistry/Biology/Engineering Interface"
7:45 pm - 8:00 pm Paul Willems (Energy Biosciences Institute, USA)
8:00 pm - 8:15 pm Andreas Bommarius (Georgia Institute of Technology)
"The Center for Pharmaceutical Development (CPD) - An NSF-Sponsored Public-Private Partnership, and a Related Biocatalyst Story"
8:15 pm - 8:30 pm Anton Glieder (Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Austria)
"Sustainable International Public Private Partnerships Creating Win-Win for Science and Industry. 5 Years of Experience at ACIB"
8:30 pm - 9:30 pm Open Discussion and Debate
WEDNESDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmFundamental Science in Biocatalysis
Discussion Leader: David Berkovitz (University of Nebraska, USA)
9:00 am - 9:30 am José Manuel Sanchez-Ruiz (University of Granada, Spain)
"Ancestral Biocatalysis"
9:30 am - 9:45 am Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 am Dorothy Kern (Brandeis University, USA)
"Using Ancient Protein Kinases to Unravel a Modern Cancer Drug's Mechanism"
10:15 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 am Melanie Hall (Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Austria)
"Identification, Application and Classification of Enantiocomplementary Lactamases for Vince Lactam Derivatives"
11:30 am - 11:45 am Discussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pm Jürgen Pleiss (University of Stuttgart, Germany)
"Diversity and Modularity of Thiamine Diphosphate-Dependent Enzymes"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:00 pm - 7:30 pmBusiness Meeting
Nominations for the Next Vice Chairs; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chairs
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmFood, Feed and Materials Applications
Discussion Leader: Anton Glieder (Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Austria)
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm Adrienne Huston Davenport (Verenium - Now Part of BASF, USA)
"Developing High Performance Enzymes: From Ideation to Product"
8:00 pm - 8:15 pm Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:45 pm Georg Gübitz (Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology, Austria)
"Binding Modules and Hydrophobins: Useful Mediators Between Enzymes and Synthetic Substrates"
8:45 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm Jeong Chan Joo (University of Toronto, Canada)
"Biocatalytic Production of Adipic Acid from Unsaturated Six-Carbon Dicarboxylic Acids Using 2-Enoate Reductases"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
THURSDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pmFine Chemicals and Pharma Applications
Discussion Leader: Jeffrey Moore (Merck & Co., USA)
9:00 am - 9:30 am Robert DiCosimo (DuPont, USA)
"Reduction in Isobutanol Toxicity During Fermentative Production by In-Situ Enzymatic Esterification"
9:30 am - 9:45 am Discussion
9:45 am - 10:15 am Burckhard Seeling (University of Minnesota)
"Creating De Novo Enzymes to Study the Origin of Enzymes and for Biomedical Applications"
10:15 am - 10:30 am Discussion
10:30 am Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:30 am Torsten Sehl (Jülich Research Centre, Germany)
"Synthetic Enzyme Cascades - One-Pot Synthesis of Optically Pure Nor(pseudo)ephedrines in Only Two Steps"
11:30 am - 11:45 am Discussion
11:45 am - 12:15 pm Birgit Kosjek (Merck, USA)
"Dynamic Kinetic Transaminations"
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Discussion
12:30 pmLunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pmFree Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pmPoster Session
6:00 pmDinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pmEnzyme Design and Engineering
Discussion Leader: Nicolas Turner (University of Manchester, UK)
7:30 pm - 8:00 pm Daniela Grabs (Arzeda, USA)
"Synthetic Enzymes for Industrial Applications"
8:00 pm - 8:15 pm Discussion
8:15 pm - 8:45 pm Oscar Alvizo (Codexis, USA)
"Engineering a Novel Enzyme Class for the Production of Secondary and Tertiary Chiral Amines"
8:45 pm - 9:00 pm Discussion
9:00 pm - 9:20 pm Maximilian Ebert (University of Montréal, Canada)
"Biased Molecular Dynamic Simulations of Cytochrome P450s to Increase the Efficiency of Biocatalyst Engineering"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm Discussion
FRIDAY
7:30 am - 8:30 amBreakfast
9:00 amDeparture

Contributors

Conference Links

Conference History Biocatalysis (GRS)
Additional Fee Info

Biocatalysis (GRS)
July 11 - 12, 2026
Bioorganic Chemistry
June 7 - 12, 2026
Enzymes, Coenzymes and Metabolic Pathways
July 26 - 31, 2026
Lignin
May 17 - 22, 2026


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