7th August 2020

Future of Protein Engineering

Author: Lilly Amore
Role: Technical R&D Scientist

It was great to be a part of the Protein Engineering Congress USA (PEC2020), as this is the most exciting time for this area of science, as Nobel prize winner, Frances Arnold remarked in her keynote speech. Hearing about what new techniques and technologies have been developed in this space was truly inspiring to me.

“This is the most exciting time for this area of science”

– Nobel prize winner, Frances Arnold

With the progresses in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, there is more and more focus being put towards engineering enzymes. Better performing enzymes are continuously requested to speed up reactions in any industrial field, from food to pharmaceutical. Enzyme discovery and engineering is key not only to optimize biological processes but also to develop reactions historically performed by chemical processes, like synthesis of hydroxylated compounds or oxidize heteroatoms, or even new human-invented reactions.

This was for me the first time attending a virtual conference and representing Biocatalysts at an international event. I had the opportunity to interact with several protein engineering companies, discussing their approaches and case studies, it also gave me the ability to meet with Biocatalysts’ customers and discussing their most recent needs. PEC2020 was a well organised event that gave me and my colleagues Ed Talideh and Valeria Volkova the opportunity to get to know new companies and define new potential collaborations.

I believe that Biocatalysts Ltd, attendance and sponsor of the PEC2020, was key in promoting the benefits of protein engineering into the food sector. At Biocatalysts Ltd, we pride ourselves on providing all the benefits that biotechnology capabilities can offer to exceed our customers’ expectation so…stay tuned for upcoming new capabilities from Biocatalysts Ltd!