IWBDA-25: International Workshop on Bio-Design Automation Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA, United States, September 7-10, 2025

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Bio-Innovation Week, September 7-10 - Worcester, MA

Bio-Innovation Week is back for its third year and will bring together researchers from academia and industry to discuss new advances and current challenges, share experiences, and plan future efforts in the field of Bio-design Automation. Bio-Innovation Week will include the annual International Workshop on Bio-Design Automation (IWBDA) and the Nona Works hackathon, workshops and discussions on selected topics, social events, and educational and mentoring events for students.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Seventeenth International Workshop on Bio-Design Automation (IWBDA)

Join us for the 17th annual IWBDA meeting in Worcester, September 7-10, 2025. IWBDA will take place during Bio-Innovation Week and will include presentation and poster talks selected from submitted abstracts, Birds of a Feather discussion, and breakout sessions on selected topics. We aim to bring together academic researchers and industry partners to advance the field of bio-design automation for synthetic biology.

The field of biology is still lagging behind the industry when it comes to implementing and adopting computational and digital solutions. This is primarily because offering a one-size-fits-all solution to engineering biology is tough. Some BDA solutions serve as templates for a more significant problem, but to make them usable in a practical setting, they often have to be redesigned for bespoke biological workflows. Understanding the requirements of the broader synthetic biology community makes it easier to design a solution that can have a broader impact.

Increasing the efficiency of biological processes and workflows with Biodesign automation is a continuous journey that requires a fresh exchange of ideas. The BDA community must have a forum where they can collaborate, gather new perspectives, and understand the requirements of the broader synthetic biology community. IWBDA provides this forum for cross-disciplinary discussion to seed and foster collaboration between researchers from the synthetic biology, systems biology, and design automation communities.

Topics of interest include:

• Design methodologies for synthetic biology
• Standardization of biological components
• Biosecurity in lab automation processes
• Biopreparedness through bio-design automation
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning in synthetic biology
• Computer-aided design tools and automation for engineering biology
• Biofoundries and their impact on synthetic biology
• Formalized protocol capture
• Design Build Test Learn case studies
• Synthetic biology education and outreach

Abstract Deadline and Important Dates:

• Deadline: August 3rd, 2025
• Notification of acceptance: August 17th, 2025

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts must be submitted via EasyChair (https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=iwbda25). A template for the abstract is available on overleaf: https://www.overleaf.com/read/wbdpqqpstxbg#02d65f. Submissions cannot exceed two pages (excluding figures and tables). If you do not have an EasyChair account, please create one by following the instructions specified here: https://easychair.org/help/account_creation.

We encourage abstracts for talks at IWBDA 2025 on ongoing research that may be submitted as a full journal paper later. We are currently in talks with ACS Synthetic Biology to set up a special issue on bio-design automation for such extended journal submissions.

For the full CFP and all the latest information, please visit: https://www.iwbdaconf.org 

CALL FOR WORKSHOP PROPOSALS

Do you have an idea for a workshop for Bio-Innovation Week? Submit a proposal for your workshop by uploading a PDF with the following information: workshop title, short description (100 words or less), overall goal(s), format, and expected length in hours for the workshop.

Workshops are expected to take place on September 7th.

Upload your proposals: Submission Form

Workshop Proposal Deadline and Important Dates:

• Deadline: August 3rd, 2025
• Notification of acceptance: August 17th, 2025

For any questions or concerns about the workshop proposals, please contact Lukas Buecherl (lukas.buecherl@usu.edu).  

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Bio Design Week and IWBDA are organized by the non-profit Bio-Design Automation Consortium (BDAC). The Nona Works Hackathon is organized by the Nona Research Foundation. BDAC and the Nona Research Foundation are officially recognized 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations.