15th Globe Industrial Microbiology Congress & Metabolic Engineering Summit 2024 (GIM & MES 2024) was convened in metropolitan Shanghai, China during September 20-25. GIM & MES 2024 is proudly supported by GIM and IMES, hosted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and East China University of Science and Technology, with assistance from top research institutes in China. The GIM Symposium, originating in Prague in 1970 and renamed "Globe Industrial Microbiology" in GIM2019 in Pisa, makes its second appearance in China, coinciding with the bi-annual Metabolic Engineering Summit initiated by the International Metabolic Engineering Society (IMES) in 2015 in Beijing.

This global gathering united over 800 participants from academia and industry worldwide, fostering discussions on cutting-edge science and paving the way for future breakthroughs in industrial microorganisms, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. The conference featured 10 plenary talks and 13 sessions, including a poster session and flash talks, covering fundamental and applied microbiology, from industrial microbes to metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, and human health.

GIM & MES 2024 was attended by leaders and academic experts, including: Wei Qu (Deputy Director of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality), Weidong Liu (Vice President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University), Liming Zhao (Vice President of East China University of Science and Technology), Zixin Deng (Chair of GIM International Committee), Kristala Jones Prather (Chair of International Metabolic Engineering Society), Lixin Zhang (Associate Chair of ISBA International Committee). 270 domestic and international industry experts and scholars participated in panel sessions.

Prof. Zixin Deng delivered a plenary lecture entitled “DNA restriction-modification by sulfur: SynBio approached driven by the mechanistic breakthrough”. Prof. Kristala Jones Prather delivered a plenary lecture entitled “Biosensor-guided regulation of metabolic pathways”. Prof. Tianwei Tan delivered a plenary lecture entitled “Construction and application of genome-wide digital cell factory”. Prof. Tiangang Liu delivered a plenary speech entitled “Production, discovery, creation and degradation of terpenoids”. Prof. Huimin Zhao delivered a plenary lecture entitled “Synthetic biology 2.0: The dawn of a new era”. Prof. Sang Yup Lee delivered a plenary lecture entitled “Microbial systems metabolic engineering for chemicals and materials”. Prof. Lixin Zhang delivered a plenary lecture entitled “From symphony to intelligent manufacturing of porphyrins”. Prof. Axel Brakhage delivered a plenary lecture entitled “Shaping the structure and composition of microbiomes by arginoketide natural products”. Prof. Jay D Keasling delivered a plenary lecture entitled “Harnessing regulatory networks as new frontier towards the discovery of new chemical space”.  Prof. Gilles P. van Wezel delivered a plenary lecture entitled “Harnessing regulatory networks as new frontier towards the discovery of new chemical space”. 

GIM & MES 2024 opened dialogue, share scientific progress, and embrace innovative thinking. By bringing together diverse perspectives and expertise, this conference accelerated progress in understanding microbial genetics, development of metabolic engineering technologies, and their applications across industries.