On December 9, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) hosted the first meeting of the “Synthetic Biology” key project of the National Key R&D Program. It is a project being undertaken by SUSTech that seeks to use synthetic DNA for data storage. SUSTech Acting Vice President Zhang Dongxiao, Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) Head Professor Jiang Xingyu, Hunan University Professor Tan Weihong, and Shanghai Jiaotong University Professor Fan Chunhai attended the meeting. They were joined by members of the Shenzhen Municipal Science, Technology and Innovation Commission, as well as key members of this project. Several expert groups also sent representatives to the meeting, along with members of the project team.

BME Head Professor Jiang Xingyu introduced all the attendees to the meeting. He was followed by SUSTech Acting Vice President Zhang Dongxiao, who spoke on behalf of SUSTech. Expert group researcher Dai Junbiao highlighted the importance of this project for the nation and hoped that everyone would work together in laying the foundation for the future development of DNA storage.

Hunan University Academician Tan Weihong chaired the meeting. BME Department Head Professor Jiang Xingyu, as project leader and chief scientist, gave a detailed briefing for the project, along with the sub-project leaders. The project advisory team provided a lot of advice for the teams.