Tianjin University hosts first AI+Synthetic Biology competition final

Launched in April, the contest drew over 100 entries. After rounds of technical review, dry-wet lab iteration, open-source code evaluation and safety and ethics vetting, 51 teams took home medals.

Centered on a dual-track framework, the competition fosters cross-talents proficient in both molecular biology and coding, encouraging closed-loop research in which computation informs experiments and lab data refines AI models.

Yuan Yingjin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and dean of Tianjin University's School of Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing, said the competition addresses real-world demands ranging from public health to new-quality productive forces.

It adopts a merit-based gold, silver and bronze system instead of rigid rankings, with special awards for technical innovation and dry-wet integration. It also places strong emphasis on research reproducibility, open code, biosafety and AI ethics. The competition will be held annually, building a talent pipeline for cutting-edge interdisciplinary sectors ahead of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).