After a record number of submissions, The United Nations University Biotechnology Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNU-BIOLAC) is pleased to announce its 2025 lineup of training courses, workshops, and symposia. These activities, led by Latin American researchers and professors, aim to equip students with the latest knowledge and skills in cutting-edge and resource-efficient biotechnological techniques. As always, the program emphasized hands-on training, technology transfer, and South-South cooperation to address pressing regional challenges.
Several key themes stand out as common subjects for this year's educational activities:
- Genomics and Bioinformatics, like next-generation sequencing (NGS), genome analysis, functional annotation, and comparative genomics. These courses aim to enable participants to analyze large datasets, understand gene function, and develop new biotechnological applications based on this plentiful but hard-to-read source of information.
- Microbial Biotechnology, including biofuel production, bioremediation, and agriculture. Participants will gain expertise in working with microbial cell factories, exploring anaerobic microorganisms, and using microbial electrochemical technologies.
- Plant Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture with a focus on using microbes to improve plant growth and enhance food security. Emphasis is placed on plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), tissue culture, advanced propagation techniques, the role of the agricultural microbiome, and bio-inputs.
- Neglected and emerging diseases: Several courses will focus on topics such as the molecular biology of parasites, the production of therapeutic proteins, and the development of vaccines.
Other courses will be a foothold for the region's opening up to new paradigms in synthetic biology, like the development of cell biosensors for environmental monitoring and other applications, molecular simulations, and protein design.
Participants in these activities will gain expertise in a variety of advanced techniques and technologies like Next Generation Sequencing, Bioinformatics, CRISPR-Cas9 Genome editing, Nanotechnology, metabolomics, bioelectrochemistry, bioreactors, artificial intelligence applied to biological research, and Mass Spectrometry.
The educational activities are closely linked to several of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:
- SDG 2: Zero Hunger: Projects focused on PGPR, plant disease resistance, and sustainable agriculture directly contribute to food security.
- SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: Activities focused on neglected diseases, vaccine development, and antimicrobial resistance.
- SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: Courses focused on constructed wetlands, wastewater treatment, and biofilm control aim to solve water-related issues.
- SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy: Projects focused on microbial fuel cells, biofuel production, and circular waste management.
These capacity-building activities are crucial for the future of Latin America and the Caribbean as technology transfer hubs, cooperation opportunities, and enablers of local problem-solving that can pave the way for a more sustainable, healthy, and prosperous Latin America.
UNU-BIOLAC's 2025 training program represents a significant investment in the region's scientific capacity. The program has been
The United Nations University Biotechnology Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean has dedicated 37 years to strengthening biotechnology in Latin America. BIOLAC is a unique regional program of the United Nations University. This global UN institution will arrive at its 50th anniversary this year with the mandate of generating knowledge, partnerships, and impact for an evidence-based approach to peace and sustainability.
Here's the complete lists of academic activities funded by UNU-BIOLAC in 2025. Attendance scholarships will be available as organizers announce enrollment. Please follow our social channels (@unubiolac) for timely information:
| Name of academic activity | Dates expected | Host institution | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| UNU-BIOLAC Announces 2025 Training Courses, Workshops, and Symposia: Empowering Latin America through Biotechnology Education and Technology Transfer | Feb 3rd - Feb 7th | Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales (CINDEFI) | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Analysis of genomes, transcriptomes and proteomes from parasites for the development of tools to control neglected diseases | Feb 17th - Feb 28th | Universidad de Buenos Aires | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Molecular biology and biotechnology of mosquito-borne viruses of public health importance in the Americas: understanding and using virus infectious clones. | TBD | Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav) | Mexico City |
| Workshop on Bioprocess with recombinant microorganisms: Fermentation, Recovery and purification of a recombinant enzyme at pilot scale | June 1st - June 7th | Instituto de Biotecnología, UNAM | Cuernavaca, Mexico |
| Update workshop on SAH seedling propagation method (Autotrophic Hydroponic System) in roots and tubers, as a mass propagation technique | July 7th - July 11th | Instituto Nacional de Innovación y Transferencia en Tecnología Agropecuaria | San José, Costa Rica |
| Advanced Biotechnology Workshop: Recombinant Cas9 Production and Genome Editing of Trypanosoma cruzi. | July 7th - July 11th | Universidad Simón Bolívar | Barranquilla, Colombia |
| Tools for the preclinical study of new bioactive molecules from a One Health perspective | Jul 20th - Jul 26th | Institut Pasteur de Montevideo | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Metabolomics in Food Science: From Food Resources to Industrial Processing and Food Intake | Jul 21st - Jul 25th | Universidad de Los Andes | Cartagena, Colombia |
| III Latin-American Week of Microbial Bioelectrochemistry (III SLAB) | Jul 28th - Aug 8th | Universidade de São Paulo | São Paulo, Brasil |
| Unveiling Prokaryotic Traits Through Whole Genome Sequencing Data Analysis | Aug 11th - Aug 25th | Universidad Nacional de Tucuman | Tucuman, Argentina |
| XII Course on Molecular Biology of Trypanosomatids and XII Symposium on Molecular and Cellular Biology of Chagas' Disease: From Bench to Biotechnology-Pioneering Innovations with AI and Molecular Tools | Aug 25th - Aug 29th | Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas | Santiago, Chile |
| Training activity : Introductory course to development of biologics and vaccines | Aug 25th - Aug 29th | Instituto Nacional de Salud | Bogotá, Colombia |
| CICICA Central American Course in Single-cell Cancer Analysis | Sep 1st - Sep 5th | Research Center in Surgery and Cancer at the University of Costa Rica | San José, Costa Rica |
| Molecular Biosystems Conference on Eukaryotic Gene Regulation & Functional Genomics | Sep 29th - Oct 3rd | Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile | Puerto Varas, Chile |
| Microbial Processes in Agroenergy: Fungal and Yeast Applications for Biofuel Production | Oct 3rd - Oct 15th | Federal University of Tocantins | Palmas, Brasil |
| Advance Bioprocessing for a Sustainable Future: From Microbial Engineering to Industrial Scale-Up | Oct 6th - Oct 15th | Cenibiot (Centro Nacional De Innovaciones Biotecnológicas) | San José, Costa Rica |
| Synthetic Microbiology Symposium (SMS) 3.0: Whole-cell biosensors development | Oct 13th - Oct 23rd | Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Innovative Biotechnological Approaches for Biofilm Control and Characterization | Oct 20th - Oct 24th | Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Production and mass spectrometry-based quality control of biotherapeutics | Nov 4th - Nov 8th | Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Rosario, IBR – CONICET – UNR | Rosario, Argentina |
| Microbes for food security 2025-A RELAR-PGPRLat joint workshop. | Dec 1st - Dec 5th | Universidad Nacional de Quilmes | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
