UK to establish three synthetic biology centres
29 Jan 2015
The UK government has announced investment of £40 million for three synthetic biology research centres and four DNA synthesis projects within the UK.
Business secretary Vince Cable made the announcement at the University of Manchester’s Manchester Institute for Biotechnology (MIB) where researchers are investigating ways of using bacteria as opposed to fossil fuels to produce the chemicals used in the manufacturing process.
Alongside Manchester University’s £10.2 million funding proportion, the University of Edinburgh is set to receive £11.4 million to help build in-house expertise in synthetic biology in mammalian systems for use in areas such as the pharmaceutical and drug testing industries.
“Synthetic biology is a new way of doing science that applies engineering principles to biology
Vince Cable MP
Meanwhile, the University of Warwick has been awarded £10.5 million to establish the Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre (WISB).
Research undertaken at the WISB will seek to develop next-generation synthetic biology tools to improve the environment as well as skin and gut health.
“From materials for advanced manufacturing to developing new antibiotics and better tests for diseases, this new £40 million investment is in one of the most promising areas of modern science,” Cable said.
“Synthetic biology is a new way of doing science that applies engineering principles to biology to make and build new biological parts, devices and systems.
“It’s being used to make biological ’factories’ that make useful products like medicines, chemicals and green energy, as well as tools for improving crops.”
Alongside the three research centres, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) has awarded four projects an additional £7.9 million funding for capacity building in DNA synthesis.
These projects include £1.3 million funding for the establishment of a synthetic biology ’foundry’ for manufacturing biological devices at Imperial College London.
“The Foundry represents a major leap forward in the UK for producing biological devices and processes at an industrial standard. It will provide a focal point for academics and industry to work together on a range of new and exciting projects,” said Richard Kitney, co-director of the National Centre for Industrial Translation of Synthetic Biology, which The Foundry is aligned to.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh and Liverpool universities are set to receive £2.4 million to enable the rapid design and synthesis of multiple varied DNA circuits.
Elsewhere, the universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge will receive £2.0 million to enhance national capacity of synthetic DNA design and manufacture, while the Oxford, Liverpool, Bristol, Southampton, and Birmingham universities have been chosen to receive £2.2 million to analyse DNA made by modern ultra-high throughput chemical methods and optimise the process.
