The "International Interdisciplinary Forum on Synthetic Biology Frontiers" was successfully held at the Shanghai Grand NEO Bay. The event brought together over 300 top scholars, industry experts, and leading enterprise representatives in the field of synthetic biology from more than 10 countries and regions worldwide to jointly chart a new blueprint for the collaborative development of an innovative ecosystem in synthetic biology.

Guided by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the Science and Technology Commission of Minhang District, Shanghai, and the Science and Technology Development Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and hosted by the School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the forum focused on three major directions—principle innovation, application implementation, and future expansion in synthetic biology—for discussions and exchanges from March 30 to April 1.

Karl Barry Sharpless, a two-time Nobel laureate in Chemistry, Foreign Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, and W.M. Keck Distinguished Professor at the Scripps Research Institute in the United States, served as the Honorary Chair of the conference. Deng Zixin, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chair Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, President of the Global Industrial Microbiology International Committee, and Director of the National Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism; Sang Yup Lee, a Foreign Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Member of the Korean National Academy of Sciences and Engineering, Foreign Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, Foreign Academician of the National Academy of Engineering of the United States, Foreign Fellow of the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, and Senior Vice President of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST); and Zhang Yan, a Distinguished Professor and New Cornerstone Investigator at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, served as the Conference Chairs. Tong Yaojun, an Associate Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, acted as the Executive Chair.

During the event, it was officially announced that Vita Microbiology, a journal hosted by the National Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was launched. As a new sub-journal under the Vita flagship journal series, it precisely focuses on two core areas: fundamental research and cutting-edge applications in microbiology. The journal covers key strategic directions such as exploring fundamental life mechanisms, analyzing multi-dimensional ecological interactions, driving advanced biomanufacturing, and addressing global health challenges. Relying on an international editorial board and a high-level academic publishing platform, the journal adheres to the principle of prioritizing academic quality, is committed to publishing high-quality original research, and strives to build an open, shared, and interconnected international academic exchange platform. It aims to promote domestic and international academic exchanges and cooperation, provide an authoritative and open academic exchange platform for the field of microbial fundamental research and its industrial applications, and comprehensively support the high-quality development and technological innovation applications of microbiology.

As an important part of the series of academic activities commemorating the 130th anniversary of the founding of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, this conference not only facilitated extensive exchanges and cooperation among domestic and international experts and scholars but also promoted the construction of an international cooperation network in the field of synthetic biology. The participants unanimously expressed that they would take this conference as an opportunity to further strengthen transnational and interdisciplinary collaborative innovation and jointly drive the rapid development and wide application of synthetic biology and biomanufacturing technologies.