News and Announcements
iDEC 2025 Nominees and Winners
Oct 27 2025
iDEC 2025 results are ready here. As always, iDEC hopes that every participant gains something far more valuable than awards through this competition. We believe the greatest rewards a scientific competition can offer lie in the stories of creativity, perseverance, courage, friendship, and dreams that unfold along the way.
Prof. Somenath Bakshi will deliver the Award Ceremony Lecture!
Oct 26 2025
Prof. Somenath Bakshi received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he focused on developing super-resolution imaging techniques to study the cellular physiology of microorganisms. He then pursued postdoctoral research in the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard University, working with Professor Johan Paulsson. During his postdoctoral studies, he developed the high-throughput time-lapse imaging technology, which has been used as a method for investigating bacterial stress responses.
In 2019, he joined the University of Cambridge, where he established the Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Microbiology. He also leads the Smart Microscopy Laboratory, which is a cross-school platform for bringing together engineers, computer scientists, and biologists to develop targeted imaging solutions for specific biological problems.
Prof. Somenath Bakshi is a leading figure in the field of high-throughput imaging technologies, which address one of the key challenges in directed evolution — how to screen imaging-based libraries at scale. In recent years, his group has combined high-throughput, time-resolved microscopy with machine learning algorithms, using AI to identify and model biologically relevant features. His research particularly focuses on understanding bacterial responses to antibiotics and mechanisms of drug resistance, with the goal of informing new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies against antimicrobial resistance.
This year, Prof. Somenath Bakshi will deliver a cutting-edge lecture titled:
“Physiology as a Design Constraint: Harnessing Single-Cell Insights to Shape the Future of Antimicrobial Therapy.”
Prof. Mark Howarth will deliver the Award Ceremony Lecture!
Oct 26 2025
We’re honoured to welcome Prof. Mark Howarth, Sheild Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge and Founder of SpyBiotech, to the iDEC Festival 2025 Awards Ceremony Lectures!
Prof. Mark Howarth did graduate work in molecular immunology at Oxford University Institute of Molecular Medicine and Southampton University Cancer Sciences. In his postdoctoral work at MIT he developed tools in chemical biology, advanced microscopy and nanotechnology to understand receptor trafficking. He is best known in SynBio students for his pioneering contribution — the invention of the SpyTag/SpyCatcher “protein superglue” technology, a versatile protein ligation system that has become one of the most widely used tools in the field. For this achievement, he received the Royal Society of Chemistry Norman Heatley Prize for Chemical Biology.
Deeply committed to academic outreach and innovation, Prof. Howarth actively supports young scientists and entrepreneurs. His team frequently organizes lectures and workshops on entrepreneurship for undergraduate and graduate communities. The resources developed by his group have been distributed to over 1,000 academic teams and licensed to multiple companies. This year, Prof. Mark Howarth will deliver a forward-looking lecture titled “Bacterial superglues to empower biologics discovery, cell therapy and disease prevention.”
iDEC Festival is coming!
Oct 24 2025
We are delighted to announce that iDEC 2025 has entered the final evaluation stage and that the iDEC Festival is just around the corner! This is the third time that the annual iDEC Festival and Award Ceremony have been held at the University of Cambridge.
This year is especially meaningful as iDEC celebrates its 5th anniversary. It also marks the largest on-site participation in iDEC’s history, with over 200 participants from 13 teams across 5 countries joining the event.
Please download the Handbook of iDEC 2025!
New England Biolabs supports iDEC 2025!
Oct 24 2025
We are delighted to announce that New England Biolabs continues its partnership with iDEC as a sponsor of iDEC 2025! We sincerely appreciate their generous support, which enables us to further expand iDEC’s impact and inspire students around the world.
Having supported iDEC for five consecutive years, New England Biolabs has consistently shown its strong commitment to empowering young talent and strengthening the global iDEC community. We look forward to continuing this meaningful collaboration in building an even more dynamic platform for young innovators in the field of directed evolution.
Join iDEC online as audience!
Oct 24 2025
Click here
to register and watch the live online broadcast of the presentations, award ceremony, and lectures.
Prof. Florian Hollfelder will deliver the opening speech
Oct 24 2025
Professor Florian Hollfelder is a renowned expert in the field of directed evolution. In 2001, he established his own research group in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, where he now serves as Professor of Chemical and Synthetic Biology.
His group’s research centres around quantitative and mechanistic questions at the chemistry/biology interface, involving low- and high-throughput approaches.
This year, Professor Hollfelder will deliver the Opening Lecture titled “How Do We Find New Functional Proteins in Sequence Space?” — the question appears simple, but represents one of the central challenges in modern protein science and AI-driven biology.
Truly a lecture to look forward to!
Bluepha supports iDEC
Oct 24 2025
We are pleased to announce that Bluepha continues its partnership with iDEC as a sponsor of iDEC 2025! We are deeply grateful for Bluepha’s generous support, which enables iDEC to further expand its reach and inspire students across the globe.
As a gold-level sponsor for five consecutive years, Bluepha has consistently demonstrated its strong commitment to nurturing young talent and driving innovation within the iDEC community.
We look forward to continuing this close collaboration to create an engaging platform for aspiring minds in the field of directed evolution.
Together, we will keep inspiring and empowering the next generation of innovators.
iDEC Webinar 2025
Aug 27 2025
"iDEC 2025 Summer Webinar | August 28
As a prelude to the International Directed Evolution Competition (iDEC) Festival at the University of Cambridge this October, the iDEC 2025 Summer Webinar will feature leading experts in directed evolution, high-throughput technologies and protein engineering.
Shuailong Zhang (Beijing Institute of Technology & OptoSeeker)
Expert in micro total analysis systems (µTAS), optoelectronic tweezers, and digital microfluidics.
Talk: “Future high-throughput technologies enabled by advanced µTAS”.
Karla Milcic (Harvard University & RevivBio, CSO)
Protein engineer combining library design, microfluidics/FACS, and machine learning to engineer enzymes beyond natural limits.
Talk: “Next generation of ultrahigh-throughput screens”.
Christian Diercks (Scripps Research)
Researcher in reticular chemistry and synthetic biology; developer of T7-ORACLE for continuous hypermutation and accelerated evolution in E. coli.
Talk: “An orthogonal T7 replisome for continuous hypermutation and accelerated evolution in E. coli”.
Schedule (August 28)
• 10:00–10:30 (BST): Shuailong Zhang
• 15:00–16:00 (BST): Karla Milčić & Christian Diercks
Register via the QR code in the poster or through the official iDEC website.
Join us to explore the future of directed evolution and high-throughput screening!"
Welcome to Cambridge!
Jul 15 2025
We are pleased to announce that the iDEC Festival 2025 and the accompanying Awards Ceremony will take place in person at Gonville & Caius College,
University of Cambridge. This gathering provides a distinctive opportunity for participating teams to convene and collectively celebrate their innovative endeavors and accomplishments.
We eagerly anticipate welcoming teams from across the world to present their work and share their achievements within the rich historical context of Cambridge.
Accommodation
Jul 15 2025
To facilitate convenient accommodation arrangements for iDEC teams visiting Cambridge,
we have established a partnership with the Møller Institute at the University of Cambridge.
A number of rooms have been reserved exclusively for iDEC participants and are offered at a preferential rate.
The prices are set at £115 + VAT per night for single occupancy and £125 + VAT per night for double occupancy,
with breakfast and Wi-Fi included. Alternatively, teams are welcome to arrange accommodation at other hotels within Cambridge.
To secure a room at the Møller Institute, participants are advised to contact iDEC Headquarters to obtain the necessary discount code.
A virtual tour of the Møller Institute is also available for prospective guests.
Take a virtual tour of the Møller Institute.
Registeration fee for iDEC 2025
Apr 1 2025
Team registration fees for iDEC 2025: Early-bird Registration: £500 (Available for the first 20 registered teams), Regular Registration: £1000 (Applicable after the first 20 registered teams).
iDEC 2025 is coming!
Apr 1 2025
We are happy to announce iDEC 2025, the registration channel will open on 3 April, stay tuned!