Cafe Synthetique
Café Synthetique is the meetup for the Cambridge synthetic and engineering biology community with informal talks, discussion and pub snacks. Join us every 2 months for informal talks, discussion, drinks and snacks and to catch up with engineering biology news and projects from across the Cambridge community.
We meet at the Panton Arms to share the latest developments in engineering biology and related approaches and techniques. Speakers range from students and group leaders to industry professionals and entrepreneurs. Topics cover many areas at the intersection on biology and engineering, often pairing speakers from the University with local start-ups and biotech companies to provide a broad view from emerging research and technologies to real-world and commercial applications. Meetings are open to everyone, from students and academics to those working in industry and policy, social scientists and DIY biologists. The format is informal, with 1-2 short talks followed by discussion and an opportunity to network, all accompanied by pub snacks and buy-your-own drinks.
Next Cafe Synthetique Meet Up - 30 November
Details coming early October
Previous Cafe Synthetique Meet UpsMonday 6 July
"More-than-human labour and resistance in the political economy of biotechnology"
Yuning Chen, Design Informatics, University of Edinburgh
"Rubisco enzymology at scale"
Noam Prywes, Biochemistry, University of Cambridge
Monday 2 March
"From the steak to the nanomedicine: the power of proteins"
Gabriela Guedes, Department of Pharmacology, Laura Itzhaki Lab
“Hunting for Plastic-Eating Enzymes in Nature”Joel Roca, UCL (Florian Hollfelder Collaborator Lab) "Exploring the potential of urethanases as generalist plastic degrading enzymes"Gorjan Stojanovski, Department of Biochemistry, Hollfelder Lab19 January 2026Cellular Decision Making in Plant Environmental Responses Alexander Jones, Sainsbury Laboratory Cambridge University 3 November 2025Gut feelings: engineering smart probiotics that can sense disease
David Riglar, Assistant Professor in Engineering Biology, Imperial College London
Andrew Baker, Research Associate, Dept. Pharmacology, Cambridge.
Get Involved!
We are always open to speaker suggestions so if you would like to nominate yourself or suggest a speaker or topic, please get in touch via coordinator@engbio.cam.ac.uk.