Registration opens for OpenPlant Forum in Cambridge, 24-26 July 2017

OpenPlant Forum is an annual open meeting for plant synthetic biology organised by the OpenPlant partners: University of Cambridge, John Innes Centre and the Earlham Institute. Attendees from other organisations are welcome.

In 2017 the theme is fast and frugal engineering with biology. Join us to explore new ways of exploiting genetic tools, automation, open international exchange, DIY/maker approaches and more to develop globally accessible synthetic biology research and teaching resources. We will showcase the latest developments in plant synthetic biology from within OpenPlant and beyond, alongside outcomes from OpenPlant Fund, our seed funding scheme which has already supported almost 40 interdisciplinary projects led by early career researchers.

Registration is free to all but places are limited, please sign up early to ensure your space.

You can find more information on the Forum via the OpenPlant website.

OpenPlant Forum 2016

Seven Developments in SynBio: Science, Patents and Ethics | OpenPlant Forum 2016

by Steven Burgess and Cindy Chan

How researchers answer questions around innovation, patenting and open access will have a profound impact on the development of the synthetic biology community. These issues were at the center of discussions during the OpenPlant Forum last month as researchers gathered at the John Innes Centre to present the latest progress in plant synthetic biology. Here Steven and Cindy provide a review of seven key developments presented at the meeting.

See article by Steven Burgess and Cindy Chan on the PLOS Synthetic Biology Blog

[Closes 7 Mar 2017] OpenPlant Research Associate (Haseloff Lab)

A position is open for a postdoctoral research associate based at the OpenPlant Laboratory in Cambridge, within the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and directed by Prof. Jim Haseloff.

The appointee will develop a research project based on the development of new synthetic biology tools for engineering traits in the model plant Marchantia polymorpha. Work with Marchantia allows streamlined approaches to genome modification, secondary metabolism and morphogenetic engineering. We are looking for a highly motivated post-doctoral scientist to work in this area.

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate a strong background in plant molecular biology or synthetic biology, including a PhD in a relevant area. Experience with synthetic biology, plant molecular biology and advanced microscopy will be advantageous.

OpenPlant is a BBSRC-EPSRC funded Synthetic Biology Research Centre. It is based in the United Kingdom and is a collaboration between the University of Cambridge and the John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich. The OpenPlant SBRC is focused on the development of open foundational technologies for plant synthetic biology and their application for engineering new traits in crop systems. OpenPlant will (i) fund interdisciplinary efforts in plant Synthetic Biology, to explore novel foundational technologies and applications, build shared resources and provide a point of exchange for young scientists and entrepreneurs; (ii) promote two-tier intellectual property models that will promote sharing of DNA components and freedom-to-operate for commercial applications of plant synthetic biology, and (iii) address responsible innovation, and explore the potential wider impacts of synthetic biology on sustainable practices in agriculture, bioproduction, land use and environmental conservation.

• Salary: £29,301-£38,183
• Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 2 September 2019 in the first instance.
• Closing date: 7 March 2017
• Download: Further details
• You can apply online for this vacancy. You will need to register an account (if you have not already) and log in before completing the online application form.
• Please upload your CV and covering letter, ensuring you list at least 2 referees.
• Please quote reference PD11358 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
• For further information contact Prof Jim Haseloff (jh295@cam.ac.uk)

Please note if you have not received any news from us 1 month after the closing date you should consider that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

The University values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

Cafe Synthetique: Biology as Technology

Monday, February 20, 2017, 6:00 PM

Panton Arms, 43 Panton Street CB2 1HL, Cambridge

Café Synthetique is the monthly meetup for the Cambridge synthetic biology community with informal talks, discussion and pub snacks.

This months' theme will focus on how biology is used as technology, with a particular focus on how we have and will continue to shape plant crops species. We have two excellent speakers whose work focuses on how technology is used to modify genes both for use as research tools in genetics and evolutionary biology, and also as a means of plant breeding.  

Free bar snacks and good conversation provided!

Talks and speakers

"Biology as Technology: An Unexpected History of Innovation in Living Things" 
Dr Helen Anne-Curry
Department of History and Philosophy of Science

Helen's current research considers the history of global conservation, in particular efforts made to preserve the genetic diversity of agricultural crop species through the practice of seed banking.

"Breeding technology for better crops"

Dr Alison Bentley

NIAB

Alison has worked on a range of projects within NIAB’s flagship wheat pre-breeding programme, including research on characterising flowering time response and the exploitation of novel genetic diversity and genomics tools for wheat improvement. She has a strong interest in the genotype x environment interactions controlling complex traits and in the application of genomics in the breeding of high yielding, climate resilient cereals.

For more information and to RSVP, click here.

More information about this event…

Image credit: ZEISS Microscopy via Flickr, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

[22nd - 24th March 2017] Agro-Innovation 3-day workshop and networking event

Are you interested in ‘Entrepreneurial’ way of thinking? Do you think you could make a difference with your ideas? (but don’t know how) Thinking of starting your own business?

There are still places for Agri-Inno (22nd – 24th March 2017), a programme organised by the Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning of the Judge Business School and Plant Sciences. Agri-Inno will be looking at Agricultural waste opportunities, and it is a collaboration between Cambridge and Egypt Universities. If you are interested in being part of the Agri-Inno programme, please email ml745@cam.ac.uk with a completed application form.

This is a great opportunity to get out of the lab, look into innovative ways of using your research and next career steps. You also get the opportunity to meet lots of other researchers and companies.    

Agri-Inno is based on the Enterprisers programme, which was established as CMI-Connections by the Cambridge-MIT Institute in 2002. It has been managed and delivered by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL) since 2003 inspiring over 1200 students to date. 

Get involved – and make a difference!

For more information, see here:

 AGRI INNO call for participants.pdf — PDF document, 123 KB

 registration form.pdf — PDF document, 243 KB

Agri-Innovation 2017 Speed Networking event

The organisers of the program also invite you to come to a networking session with young entrepreneurs, researchers and business people from Egypt and Cambridge looking at new opportunities and innovation in Agricultural waste. The event will run from 6:30pm to 7:30pm on March the 23, 2017, at The Garden Cafe, Cambridge University Botanic Garden.

This is part of the week long workshop, Agri-Inno, which focuses on identifying innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities in providing solutions to the significant challenges of agricultural waste in Egypt, thereby bringing potential economic and environmental benefits.

For more information, and to register, please click here.

OpenPlant PI Professor Alison Smith talks algae and The Life Scientific on Radio 4

OpenPlant PI Professor Alison Smith featured on BBC Radio 4's 'The Life Scientific' on Tuesday 31 January, discussing her love of biochemistry with Jim al-Khalili. Her interest led to a passion for algae and their extraordinary and sometimes bizarre molecular diversity. Their abundant complex metabolites and natural products, combined with their ease of growth in large volumes, make algae a key target for biotechnology and synthetic biology. Alison has worked extensively on the topic of algal biofuels and more recently, algal acquisition of vitamins from co-cultured bacteria, which could be used in food supplement development. Algal farms are beginning to emerge as sustainable biofactories for more and more compounds that we rely on in our daily lives.

Alison's lab will soon host an OpenPlant postdoctoral researcher examining genetic regulation through riboswitches and members of her lab are already contributing to a growing collection of MoClo DNA parts for the alga Chlamydomonas rheinhardtii.

Algae featured image credit: CSIRO on Wikimedia, licensed under CC-BY 3.0

Open research training for PhD students in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (14 Feb - 7 Mar 2017)

The Office of Scholarly Communication is offering a series of courses in open research training for PhD and graduate students at the University of Cambridge.

The courses will provide an extremely useful foundation of knowledge for a career in research. The courses offered will go into depth regarding issues such as open research, keeping digital information safe, and publishing and communicating your research effectively. They will be running between 14 February - 7 March 2017 and are free for all graduate students, but are pitched at a level most relevant for PhD students. Spaces need to be booked in advance.

The courses can be viewed below: 

Everything you need to know about Open Research: for researchers and graduate students

(Tue 14 Feb 2017) 10:00 - 11:00

Pre-Publication considerations: Publishing your Research Effectively

(Tue 21 Feb 2017) 10:00 - 11:00

Research Data Management Workshop (for PhD students in the Graduate School of Life Sciences)

(Mon 27 Feb 2017) 14:00 - 17:00

Post-Publication sharing: Publishing your Research Effectively

(Tue 28 Feb 2017) 10:00 - 11:00

Research Data Management Workshop

(Tue 7 Mar 2017) 09:30 - 12:30

For more information or for other courses from the Office of Scholarly Communication, please click here.

Image credit: Leo Hidalgo via Flickr, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Call for volunteers - 'Synthetic Biology and the Senses' at Cambridge Science Festival 2017

The Plant and Life Science Marquee at the coming Science Festival will be running 10:00-16:00 on Sat 18 Mar 2017. There will be a 'Synthetic Biology and the Senses' joint exhibit by OpenPlant and the SynBio SRI. We will be including exhibits on synthetic biology and the senses, with interactive puzzle games and activities for children, as well as posters of various projects going on in Cambridge relating to synthetic biology. 

We are looking for volunteers to help with the exhibit and presentation of the stall. We require volunteers for various times of the day and would be very happy to have 4 people at the exhibit at all times. One hour slots are available and volunteers can stay as long as desired. 

Open Innovation with Large Bioresources: a workshop report

OpenPlantand The Synthetic Biology SRI, Public Policy SRI and Faculty of Law co-organised a workshop held on 28 January 2016 on the openness of large bioresources in synthetic biology and genomics. The resulting report by Dr John Liddicoat and Dr Kathy Liddell has now been published on SSRN.

Research in synthetic biology and genomics depends on the use of collections of tissue and data, commonly known as bioresources. Substantial amounts of time and money are being spent on creating these bioresources and it is likely that significant scientific breakthroughs and development of end-products may be missed or delayed if the tissue and data in these resources are not shared. Accordingly, the ‘openness’ of these bioresources — in other words, the ability for other researchers to access, use, and share these resources (which is typically recorded in a bioresource’s IP and access policy) — is a key issue for the success of bioresource initiatives and the progress of synthetic biology and genomics.

There are, however, many different approaches to openness, and the development and dissemination of new knowledge are not necessarily advanced by distributing material at low cost or without any restrictions; time-limited rights of control (e.g. IP rights) may provide a useful incentive. It is a significant challenge to develop a fit-for-purpose openness policy that balances the advantages (and disadvantages) of different approaches to openness. The Workshop addressed this challenge by: reviewing openness policies adopted by large bioresources; eliciting ideas about access and intellectual property; debating the applicability of different openness policies; and identifying relevant areas for future research.

The report can be accessed here, and thanks and acknowledgments go to the Welcome ISSF and OpenPlant Fund. Both the Synthetic Biology SRI and OpenPlant were involved with co-organisation of funding along with Public Policy SRI and LML.

For more information please click here.

Image credit: Holly Gramazio via Flickr, licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0

 via Flickr, licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0

[Closes 17th February 2017] Research - Responsible Resarch and innovation (RRI) in European Practice and Funding

JOB DESCRIPTION

GenØk Centre for Biosafety has a research position available in connection with a new EU project NewHoRRIzon.

The research project “Excellence in science and innovation for Europe by adopting the concept of Responsible Research and Innovation (NewHoRRIzon)” sets out to promote the acceptance of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) across all parts of the Horizon 2020 (H2020) funding program and beyond. It will work out the conceptual and operational basis to fully integrate RRI into European and national research and innovation (R&I) practice and funding.

The project will engage a wide-ranging group of R&I stakeholders in 18 Social Labs (covering all sections of H2020) to co-create tailor-made actions to stimulate an increased use and acceptance of RRI. The Social Labs will bring program staff, project coordinators, participants and other relevant experts and stakeholders together to: a) adjust existing definitions of RRI to develop a shared understanding; b) diagnose the state of RRI in each part of H2020; c) adapt existing activities as well as create and test new agreed pilot actions to promote the uptake of RRI in the specific program lines of H2020; d) transform the activities into narratives and widely disseminate them for use.

The researcher will be required to perform work in connection with several work packages of the NewHoRRIzon project. This work will include the following key tasks:

1. Lead work package 2 focused on the “Excellent Science” arm of H2020 (including the funding programs of the European Research Council, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Future and Emerging Technologies and Research Infrastructure). Here the researcher will have specific responsibility for the social labs on future and emerging technologies and as work package leader, also responsibility for coordinating and reporting on the work of other partners.
2. Perform the social labs connected to the sub-program of “Food” under work package 4 focused on “Societal Challenges”. This sub-program concerns food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy.
3. Participate in the common task of drafting a manual for the work of the social labs, which will include the methodological concepts, guidelines, and templates necessary for planning, carrying out, and reporting on the process. There will also be some work involved in monitoring the social labs and communicating with the various social lab managers and facilitators.
4. Write academic articles and policy briefs for RRI stakeholders based on the research findings.
5.  Present at professional conferences and/or workshops to disseminate the idea of RRI and project’s research.

The position is offered within GenØk’s Society, Ecology and Ethics Department (SEED).The position will ideally start May 1st 2017, or as soon as possible thereafter. The position will be offered as a full-time four year position until 30.04.2021.

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Qualifications & Selection Criteria

• A PhD in social science is required. While some level of experience with RRI or ethical, legal and/or social aspects of science and/or technology (i.e. ELSA or ELSI research) is preferred, work in related fields such as sociology, anthropology, philosophy, political science or science and technology studies is acceptable.
• An excellent command of English, in both written and oral forms is required.
• A demonstrated interest in interdisciplinary research (particularly across natural and social sciences) and experience addressing its unique challenges is important.
• A demonstrated ability to organise workshops and facilitate discussion with mixed stakeholder groups is crucial for the position, as is the ability to then analyse and report on the material collected during such discussions and events.
• Previous work on emerging technologies and/or the topic of food and agriculture will be given weight.
• Previous experience working in European projects will be viewed favourably
• The ability to work independently and creatively, as well as to make positive contributions to a team will be valued.

Application

The application must be submitted electronically via the "Apply for this job" button,  before February 17th.

The applications should be written in English and include:

• A 1-2 page statement of why you are interested in the position, how you meet the selection criteria and how your background, interests and/or expertise will be of benefit
• A curriculum vitae that includes details of all previous research projects and publications, as well as any workshops, focus groups, and/or seminars organised
• Certified copies of all academic degrees
• An example of academic writing (e.g. a published article or copy of a Masters/PhD thesis)
• The names and contact details of two referees

For more information contact:

SEED Coordinator & Project Leader: Fern Wickson, fern.wickson@genok.no, tlf. 77623137

or

Head of Administration: Katrine Jaklin, katrine.jaklin@genok.no, tlf. 77645546

ABOUT THE EMPLOYER

GenØk – Centre for Biosafety is the national competence centre for biosafety in Norway and was established in 1998 as an independent research foundation connected to the research environments at the of Tromsø and the Science Park. GenØk conducts research on social and ethical aspects of emerging bio- and nanotechnologies as well as their impacts on human health and the environment. It also provides policy advice to national and international governments and institutions on biosafety issues, and delivers capacity building for scientists, regulators and civil society organisers around the world in risk assessment and regulation and emerging technologies. The institute has approximately 40 employees. Read more at:www.genok.no

The position of employment will be at the GenØk offices in Tromsø, Norway. The city of Tromsø lies above the Arctic Circle and therefore offers spectacular auroras and snow in the winter and beautiful endless days of midnight sun in the summer. In addition to unlimited opportunities for outdoor activities all year round (e.g. skiing, hiking, fishing etc), the town has an international cosmopolitan atmosphere and a wide variety of cultural events.

The salary will be negotiated within the frames of the Norwegian State’s wage code 1109 (LR24) on the basis of the candidate’s level of education, experience and qualifications. As a GenØk employee you will receive the excellent social security provisions offered in Norway, including the Norwegian public health service and GenØk’s accident insurance and retirement benefits.

GenØk has human resource policy objectives that emphasize diversity, and therefore encourages qualified applicants to apply regardless of their gender, functional ability and national or ethnic background.

For more information and application, please click here.

[Closes 21st Februrary 2017] Postdoctoral Scientist - PNAC at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) is one of the birthplaces of modern molecular biology and has played an important role in the development of many new techniques, most notably X-ray crystallography of proteins, DNA sequencing and monoclonal antibodies. The LMB has a clear goal of understanding biological processes at the molecular level, with the ultimate aim of using this knowledge to tackle specific problems in human health and disease. We aim to tackle difficult, long-term problems, which often require investment over many years.

There are four scientific Divisions - Structural Studies, Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Cell Biology and Neurobiology. However, scientific collaboration between the different Divisions is extensive. Scientists are well supported by excellent scientific facilities and by the LMB Operations Group which maintains the core infrastructure and services of the institute.

With the new laboratory the LMB provides an unsurpassed environment for both new and established researchers. Scientists are drawn to the LMB from all over the world, thus creating a lively and international community for the exchange of ideas and technical innovation.

Band

MRC – PostDoc

Location

Cambridge

Salary

£30,162 - £32,975

Contract Type

Fixed Term

Job Type

Science

Full Time / Part Time

Full Time

Contract Length

2 Years

Job Description

Overall purpose: 

To work within the Group of Dr. Phil Holliger at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), within a programme aimed at the development of novel technologies, in particular the development of novel technologies for biomolecular discovery. Specifically to undertake research to investigate explore and develop technologies for the targeting and delivery of therapeutic agents.

Main duties:

•  To undertake research aimed at developing novel technologies for the selection and development of XNA aptamers and antibody scFv fragments using novel high throughput screening approaches.
•  To identify, develop and apply a broad range of techniques to pursue the research objectives.
•  To present scientific work at seminars within the Laboratory and at external meetings.
•  To contribute to Laboratory-wide discussions on developments within the field.
•  To draft scientific papers, and contribute to the overall preparation of research for publication.
•  To contribute to the LMB’s mission in the public engagement of science, and the translation of research findings into improvements in health care.
•  To assist in the training of PhD Students and other members of the LMB.

Key Responsibilities:

Within the overall direction of the programme, the Group, the remit of the project and in discussion with the Group Leader, you will make a significant input into determining the direction of the project within a 2 year lifespan. 
To plan your own work and objectives on a 12 month basis and manage your experimental work within the project along with your Supervisor.
To work with limited supervision to identify, develop, modify and apply the necessary techniques to achieve the goals of the project.
To introduce and apply new techniques across a wide range of disciplines and to have the creativity and initiative to develop novel approaches and methods where required.
To ensure the research is carried out in accordance with good practice and in compliance with local policies and legal requirements.
To contribute to the smooth running of the Group, including the effective use of resources, training of others and taking responsibility for use of communal facilities.
To enhance your research and generic skills through a tailored development programme.

Working relationships: 

You will report to Dr Phil Holliger and will interact and collaborate with other Postdoctoral Scientists, Research Support Staff and Students, not only in your Group, but also across the LMB and with external Groups as necessary.

Additional information:

These are 2 year training and development positions for a Postdoctoral Scientist who has recently completed their doctoral studies, is moving into a new research discipline or has limited experience of key transferable skills. You will get the choice upon appointment of undertaking a Career Development Fellowship or the MRC Post-Doctoral Training Scheme. We support Postdoctoral Scientists with a range of formal and on-the-job training, including:
•  MRC training courses.
•  External training and personal development courses.
•  One-to-one training with your Supervisor and other Scientists.

You will commit to undertaking the following:
•  Developing and following a personal development plan.
•  Attending training courses.
•  Identifying additional training which will support you to develop your career.

Person Specification

Academic qualifications:

PhD in a biological subject or due to complete doctoral studies within 6 months of applying (in a biological subject).

Technical skills and expertise:

Experience of and ability to perform techniques relevant to the project. 

Experience in recombinant DNA technology and other standard molecular biology techniques are essential. 

Track record of research:

Demonstrated ability to develop novel experimental approaches e.g. new methodologies and techniques. Experience in presenting scientific work, both written and orally. Contributions to scientific papers in international peer-reviewed journals. 

Other relevant evidence of:

•  Commitment.
•  Originality.
•  Ability to communicate.
•  Working with others.

Additional information:

Experience in next generation sequencing, data analysis, bioinformatics, machine learning and/or in vitro translation is desirable.
 

The MRC is a great place to work and progress your career, be it in scientific research or the support functions.

The MRC is a unique working environment where our researchers are rewarded by world class innovation and collaboration opportunities that the MRC name brings. The MRC is an excellent place to develop yourself further and a range of training & development opportunities will be available to you, including professional registration with the Science Council.
 

Choosing to come to work at the MRC means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a final salary pension scheme and excellent holiday entitlement to access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme and childcare vouchers, as well as the chance to put the MRC on your CV in the future.

Our success is dependent upon our ability to embrace diversity and draw on the skills, understanding and experience of all our people. We welcome applications from all sections of the community irrespective of gender, race, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability or age. As "Disability Confident" employers, we guarantee to interview all applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

Final appointments will be subject to pre-employment screening.

For more information, please click here.

[Closes 6th February 2017] Senior Research Data Manager, SYNBIOCHEM Centre for Synthetic Biology

Senior Research Data Manager, SYNBIOCHEM Centre for Synthetic Biology: We are seeking to recruit a skilled dedicated (Senior) Research Data Manager (SRDM) with the expertise and experience to guide the development of, support the adoption of, and standardise the use of our leading-edge data management systems that support the Centre’s integrated interdisciplinary platforms and multiple science programmes. We require someone with the necessary expertise and experience to capture requirements and liaise with users and specialists in the Centre to develop, support, guide and standardise the adoption and development of the Centre’s Data Catalogues, Laboratory Information Management Systems, Electronic Lab Notebooks and Sample Formation Tracking systems. A strong ethos for team-based working and the ability to communicate comfortably with both computational specialists and non-computational scientists will be essential for the successful performance of this critical role. For full details please see the further particulars advertised on the University of Manchester Jobs website. Appointment will be at Grade 7 or 6 depending on experience. Closing date 06/02/17.

[Closes 18th February 2017] BriSynBio Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Responsible Research and Innovation

Applications open for BrisSynBio Post-Doctoral Research Assistant in RRI

We are seeking to appoint a BrisSynBio Post Doctoral Research Fellow in Responsible Research and Innovation. This is a full-time, fixed term post for two years. 

BrisSynBio ia a BBSRC / EPSRC-funded Synthetic Biology Research Centre based between the University of Bristol and the Universitiy of West England (UWE). The post will be based primarily with Professor Julie Kent in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences at UWE. 

The role holder will be responsible for carrying out social science/ethics research pertaining to the use of gene-editing techniques in agricultural crop breeding working closely with Professor Keith Edward’s team at the University of Bristol. The post is within the Responsible Research and Innovation Theme of BrisSynBio and will be supervised by Professor Julie Kent (UWE Bristol), Dr Darian Meacham (UWE Bristol / Maastricht University) and Professor Keith Edwards (University Bristol). 

For more information about BrisSynBio see: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/brissynbio/ 

For further details about the post and application process see: https://t.co/1HLZfnQzIo

Applicants should have some experience in social science discourses (ESLI/ELSA, RRI) surrounding gene-editing and/or agriculture, or social studies of science and technology, and a strong aptitude and appetite for inter-disciplinary research.

For further information contact k.sedgley@bristol.ac.uk or Julie.Kent@uwe.ac.uk

Deadline: 18 February 2017 

Co-Lab OpenPlant: an interdisciplinary science design workshop

The 5th edition of Co-Lab workshop was hosted in Cambridge, including Makespace Cambridge and Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge. This workshop received a grant from the OpenPlant Fund, with the aim to spur discussion of plant synthetic biology from an ethnographic point of view. The facilitator, Open Science School, is an non-profit based in Paris interested in exploration of open source technology in the fields of education, design and beyond.

This is a guest post by Lena Asai from Open Science School. Follow her @LenaAsai!

Image credits: Imane Baïz

The workshop consisted of 3 ideation workshops and a ‘Big Making Days’ prototyping workshop with activities that bridges together artists, scientists and designers to brainstorm and work on an interdisciplinary project around synthetic biology and life engineering. The programme includes pigment extraction, making electricity with plants (hosted by Paolo Bombelli), Ethnography activity, and series of participatory lectures.

The Big Making Days at Makespace on 7 - 9 October were a great opportunity for the participants to indulge in a full weekend of making at the Makespace. The three projects funded by the workshop were:

Project 1: VRICKS (Virus Bricks for Citizens)  #virus #3Dmodel #SyntheticBiology #LearningByDoing #DesignToShare

VRICKS is a citizen science based project that aims to connect students and general public with science. Virology is the basic scientific direction of the project. Researchers go to a classroom or science event, they pitch the project and the participants play, design and assemble viral structures using the VRICKS box. Participants upload pictures of the assembled structures in Twitter/Instagram. Researchers pick their favourite structure once a week and comment on it in the blog of the project. Additionally, researchers get inspired by the proposed structures and might even add new VRICKS to the collection. In the end, we have a citizen science project, which combines education, creative thinking and advanced research technologies.

Pictured in the middle, is a prototype constructed by the VRICKs team, created using the laser cutter. The project was presented at the Science Festival in Norwich along with Roger’s PhD project on viral structures (pictured in the left). Photo Credit: Roger Castells

Project 2: TEB (The Edible Books)
#Food #Books #Edible #Supplements #Education

The edible book aims to present the traditional hardback book in a new light. The edible rice paper will add an additional layer of sensory experience to reading the book, whether for educational purposes aimed at young children, or for novelty purposes aimed at opening the minds of gift-givers, and even as an innovative medium for communicating food science principles, inside and outside the kitchen.

Project 3: SMELL YOU LATER

#Perception #Smell #diyEEG #SmellDirectory #EmotionAndScent

Image Credit: Lena Asai

Having the aim to investigate at the relationship of emotion and smells, this team utilised EEG scans to connect to sense of smell and person’s psyche. They sought to developing a framework, based on EEG and questionnaires, to elucidate these factors and to assemble a dictionary of smells, the reactions to which are most uniform and repeatable. Such a dictionary could have applications ranging from storytelling via an olfactory sequence of smell “snapshots” to mood control.

The participants took full advantage of the facility at of Makespace, especially during the Big Making Days. It was a fantastic experience for the workshop, as Makespace Cambridge is such a wonderful space and the participants were very thankful for this opportunity. We were able to host over 20 participants to work on the ideas developed during the Brainstorming Weekends. We would like to thank Directors of the Makespace, Jenny, Carlos and all Makespace members for providing us with such an amazing experience.

Image Credit: Paloma Portela

This workshop was supported by a grant received by OpenPlant, which allowed materials for participants to be fully funded. The workshop is part of EU project No. 709443.

Doing It Together Science (DITOs), an EU citizen science project:

DITOs will implement many innovative participatory event formats across Europe focusing on the active involvement of citizens in two critical areas: the cutting edge topic of biodesign and the pressing area of environmental monitoring. The project will advance the EU Responsible Research and Innovation agenda by moving beyond more traditional approaches into direct engagement that builds upon DIY, grassroots, and frugal innovation initiatives so that in the short and medium term we sustain localised capacity building and in the long term the effects of these grassroots efforts channel into policy action at different levels.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 709443.

Photo Album!

Ten projects awarded £5000 OpenPlant Fund grants to develop open technologies for plant or cell-free synthetic biology

Congratulations to the successful ten teams who will be working on projects as diverse as microfluidic devices for cyanobacteria to light sheet microscopy for algae to open teaching resources for genetic circuit fabrication.

The OpenPlant Fund supports innovative, open and interdisciplinary projects relevant to plant Synthetic Biology and aims to promote the development of plant Synthetic Biology as an interdisciplinary field and to facilitate exchange between The University of Cambridge, the John Innes Centre, the Earlham Institute and The Sainsbury Laboratory for the development of open technologies and responsible innovation in the context of Synthetic Biology.

Ivan Reyna-Llorens pitches for Plant-ProChip 2.0

Ten teams successfully pitched for funding to a panel of four judges on 5 December 2016, with a five minute presentation followed by questions from the floor.

We look forward to seeing the results in six months time and encourage anyone with an interest in the projects to contact the teams for more information or to offer collaborations and support. The next round of the OpenPlant Fund will be held from June 2016 with pitches at the OpenPlant Forum in later July 2016.

The Projects and Teams

Plant-ProChip 2.0: High throughput transformation of plant protoplast

Ivan Reyna-Llorens (Plant Sciences, UCam), Steven Burgess (Plant Sciences, UCam), Ziyi Yu (Chemistry, UCam), Gregory Reeves (Plant Sciences, UCam), Christian R. Boehm (Plant Sciences, UCam)

Translating Nitrogen Use Efficiency from models to crops

Maraian Fazenda (Plant Sciences, UCam), Matthew Milner (NIAB), Mario Caccamo (NIAB), Dan Swan (Earlham Institute)

The Green Mother Machine Reloaded

Christian Schwall (Biochemistry, UCam), Philipp Braeuninger-Weimer (Engineering, UCam) , Bruno Martins (Sainsbury Laboratory, UCam), Arijit Das (Sainsbury Laboratory, UCam), Chao Ye (Sainsbury Laboratory, UCam), Toby Livesey (Biochemistry, UCam), Antony Hall (UEA)

Development of a Low-Cost Micro-Environment Device for Root-Nutrient Interaction

Tyler McCleery (JIC), Ziyi Yu (Chemistry, UCam), Zhijun Meng (Chemistry, UCam), Veronica Grieneisen (JIC)

DNA-mediated fusion of spheroplasts with synthetic liposomes

Lorenzo Di Michele, (Physics, UCam), Martin Howard (JIC), Pietro Cicuta (Physics, UCam)

Developing Cell-Free Genetic Circuits and their Electronic Counterparts as Educational Tools for SynBio Students.

Cambridge University Synthetic Biology Society

Ambient temperature preservation of cell-free TX-TL reagents for use in synthetic biology

Susana Sauret-Gueto (Plant Science, UCam), Colette Matthewman (JIC), Fernan Fedirici (Plant Sciences, UCam and PUC, Chile), Dean Madden (NCBE, Reading)

Accessible 3D Models of Molecules

Vanessa Bueno (Earlham Institute, Roger Castells Graells (JIC), Elisabeth Gill (Engineering, UCam), Charlie Owen (JIC)

Developing teaching resources for rapid, open and combinatorial genetic circuit fabrication in cell-free systems.

Fernan Fedirici (Plant Sciences, UCam and PUC, Chile), Dean Madden (NCBE, Reading), Nicola Patron (Earlham Institute), Bernardo Polak (Plant Sciences, UCam)

Light sheet microscopy of cell sheet folding in Volvox

Stephanie Hoehn (DAMPT, UCam), Pierre Haas (DAMPT, UCam), Karen Lee (JIC)

Understanding the Nagoya Protocol; your role in protecting the World’s Biodiversity

Guest blog by PhD student Hannah Griffiths (John Innes Centre)

Have you heard of the Nagoya Protocol? Do you understand how and when Nagoya may affect your research? And most importantly do you know why Nagoya exists?

Let me put that another way...

Does your research involve working on any sort of biological material? Do you know where the material originated from? And do you have evidence that you are allowed to use it in your research?

Not sure? Then read on...

The Nagoya Protocol is a new international Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) legislation, created to ensure that genetic resources are sourced and utilised fairly for providers and users.

Many people are not yet aware of Nagoya and, amongst those who are, there remains confusion regarding how and when it might be relevant to their research. In fact many non-commercial researchers assume that academic research will be exempt from this type of ABS legislation (which is not the case).

Nagoya is sometimes regarded warily as understanding whether your research falls in scope of Nagoya, and how to comply if it does, can be a daunting and time-consuming task. However, after attending the first regional workshop on Nagoya in the UK, myself and representatives from a variety of industries left understanding that fair ABS should be an integral part of research and that the Nagoya Protocol sets out bold plans to achieve this whilst simultaneously protecting biodiversity. The link between biodiversity and ABS may not be obvious, however it could be a crucial tool to protect biodiversity at a local level.

The Nagoya Protocol and protecting biodiversity

“…how easy it is to lose our connection with the natural world. Yet it is on this connection that the future of both humanity and the natural world will depend”

- David Attenborough (2016)

The presence of biodiversity in ecosystems, individuals and everything in between is critical for current and future life on earth. Natural and agricultural systems are more resilient to change when more biodiverse, and the unfathomable diversity of genetic elements in nature will be an essential resource for synthetic biology to innovate solutions to the World’s challenges. Yet, biodiversity has long suffered with intensive human population growth and urbanisation.

The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity is a United Nations international treaty to address this and protect biodiversity. The Nagoya Protocol is a legal framework which entered into force over 20 years later, in 2014, to achieve the third and final objective of the convention;

“The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources”.

 - Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)

The Nagoya Protocol describes how countries can exercise sovereign rights over genetic resources to ensure that providers of resources (or associated knowledge) receive a share of any benefit arising from their utilisation.

For the providers, the benefits received and their involvement in negotiating access demonstrates the high-value of their resources, which acts as a direct incentive to locally preserve such resources and consequently biodiversity.

Simultaneously, countries that become party to Nagoya agree to allow the utilisation of genetic resources under reasonable terms, which should ensure that the world’s genetic resources are actually available and accessible for research.

ABS schematic https://www. cbd.int/abs/infokit/powerpoint/revised/brochure-en.pdf

The first regional Nagoya workshop (John Innes Centre, November 2016)

The UK became a party to the Nagoya protocol on the 22nd May 2016, the international day of biodiversity. Regulatory Delivery, the UK organisation that will be enforcing Nagoya, are currently raising awareness and understanding in relevant industries with activities such as this cross-sector workshop.

The workshop was very informative, with the Nagoya Protocol being thoroughly explained from the very basics to how to find answers to seemingly unanswerable questions, such as how to use the online chat feature on the Access and Benefit Sharing Clearing House (ABSCH).

The clarity of information helped remedy some common misconceptions. For instance, some people did not understand the incentive for the UK and EU to become party to Nagoya, as the association with biodiversity and ethics of fair sharing are not always immediately clear.

Further, there was a false impression that all benefits must be monetary, when in fact there is great flexibility and benefits are encouraged to be non-monetary, such as training and technology transfer. The main crux behind the “fair and equitable sharing” isn’t a monetary value but something that is negotiated and agreed fairly between the user and provider before sharing takes place. For many researchers this may already occur in an informal way, the Nagoya protocol just formalises the process and provides legal certainty.

Speakers from various industries also shared their views on Nagoya. For some of the speakers from huge historic collections, such as Natural History Museum and Kew Gardens, Nagoya implementation meant reassessing and tightening ABS systems already in place, which was seen as a positive action.

A speaker from AstraZeneca shared the systems they had put in place throughout the company to implement and raise awareness of Nagoya, including a great promotional video.

ABSCH opening webpage https://absch.cbd.int/

The workshop also raised a number of interesting discussion points about the challenges of Nagoya. For instance; the enormity of the task of ensuring all future research is Nagoya compliant, the difficulties for research that bridges the gap between non-commercial and commercial research, and that small pilot studies may not have the resources to implement Nagoya.

The relevant UK and EU authorities are aware of the challenges of Nagoya, and eager for feedback and suggestions of best practices to incorporate into future legislation and Nagoya implementation.

Therefore, for most of the challenges discussed positive ideas and solutions could be suggested. Some ideas raised at the workshop included; scientific journals requiring evidence of Nagoya competence before accepting papers, funding bodies providing small amounts of money to allow pilot studies to be Nagoya competent, and the idea of Nagoya competent registered collections of genetic resources (which is already an article in EU legislation).

It will take time for implementing Nagoya to become a clear and easy process, however, for the principles of undertaking fair research and moreover protecting biodiversity, it will be crucial and undoubtedly worth the effort.

Call for participation in 4th International Synthetic & Systems Biology Summer School - to be held in Cambridge!

The Synthetic and Systems Biology Summer School (SSBSS) is a full-immersion five-day residential summer school at the Robinson College - University of Cambridge - UK on cutting-edge advances in systems and synthetic biology with lectures delivered by world-renowned experts.

Biology meets Computer Science & Engineering

Recent advances in DNA synthesis have increased our ability to build biological systems. Synthetic Biology aims at streamlining the design and synthesis of robust and predictable biological systems using engineering design principles. Designing biological systems requires a deep understanding of how genes and proteins are organized and interact in living cells: Systems Biology aims at elucidating the cellular organization at gene, protein and network level using computational and biochemical methods.

The school provides a stimulating environment for students (from Master students to PhD students), Post-Docs, early career researches, academics and industry leaders. Participants will also have the chance to present their results (with Oral Talks and Posters), and to interact with their peers, in a friendly and constructive environment.

July 17-21, 2017 - University of Cambridge, Robinson College, UK

Website | Email | Facebook

DEADLINES

Application: March 31, 2017 Notification Acceptance: April 10, 2017 Oral Presentation/Poster Submission: March 31, 2017 Notification of Decision for Oral/Poster Presentation: April 10, 2017

SPEAKERS:

* Antonino Cattaneo, Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa, Italy * Jasmin Fisher, Microsoft Research & Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, UK * Carole Goble, University of Manchester, UK * Jim Haseloff, University of Cambridge, UK * Jay Keasling, University of California, Berkeley, USA Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA Joint BioEnergy Institute, USA * Edda Klipp, Humboldt University, Germany * Natalio Krasnogor, Centre for Synthetic Biology and Bioexploitation, Newcastle University, UK * Markus Ralser, Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, University of Cambridge, UK & The Francis Crick Institute London, UK * Uwe Sauer, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland * Sarah Teichmann, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute & EMBL, European Bioinformatics Institute, UK

SCHOOL DIRECTORS:

* Massimo Gulisano, University of Catania, Italy * Giuseppe Nicosia, University of Catania, Italy * Steve G. Oliver, University of Cambridge, UK

[Closes 10 Jan 2017] BBSRC 16ALERT: Mid-Range Equipment Initiative

BBSRC are inviting applications from eligible researchers to purchase items of mid-range research equipment.

View full details and apply via BBSRC >>

Background

Advanced research equipment and the development of capability in its creative use is a key component in maintaining the competitiveness of the UK research base. The RCUK Strategic Framework for Capital Investment ‘Investing for growth: Capital Infrastructure for the 21st Century’ explains the important roles of acquiring state-of-the-art equipment into the science base, and the rapid development of people skilled in its use.

The capital equipment budget for this call is approximately £10M.

Applications for mid-range equipment costing over the current OJEU threshold (currently £115k net of VAT and import duty, £138k inc VAT) must enhance the capability of the UK research base in areas of science in our remit (see 'Our portfolio' in related links). Applications will typically be from groups of researchers in one or more eligible institutions, for instrumentation to be deployed on a multi-project/multi-use basis.

Scope

This is a capital funding call; awards will only fund the purchase of equipment and limited installation costs. No resource or other associated costs may be requested, and funding for the costs of research using the equipment should be found through other project funding. Consequently, in order to ensure sustainable equipment usage, applicants need to demonstrate their potential for obtaining continued support, for example via a track record of successful competitive grant funding, or through host institution commitments.

We encourage:

• applications for equipment that is widely used and underpins capability in the priority areas in our refreshed strategic plan (although the call is open to all scientific areas within our remit)
• applications that seek to pioneer the use of emerging advanced research technology
• applications that seek to utilise equipment in novel applications

Our strategic plan recognises that 'biological discovery is increasingly being driven by ground-breaking technologies, such as high-throughput genomic and proteomic analysis and next generation biological imaging, that generate massive and complex datasets'. To support these technologies, requests for pipelines of associated technologies (e.g. automated high-throughput platforms or workflows) will be supported where they come together to form a connected whole, and where the total cost is over the OJEU threshold (the value of each individual component must also be over £10k).

Computing infrastructure proposals should address a need for resources (such as cloud or high-performance computing installations) for large-scale data analysis, e.g. genome assembly, metagenomics and real-time image analysis that build on existing BBSRC investment and funded research activity. Computing equipment may also be requested in support of advanced research technologies where the scale of the data generated will necessitate significant new computing/data management resources (the total cost of the equipment must be over the OJEU threshold and the value of each individual component must also be over £10k).

Applications may seek the costs of initial service maintenance contracts, where these can be purchased upfront as part of a package with the relevant equipment. If these are required, they should be itemised as part of the requested equipment costs and must be fully justified. Costs of service maintenance contracts will not be paid beyond the end date of any successful awards.

Effective and efficient use of research equipment and instrumentation is dependent on trained staff, particularly where equipment will be available to multiple users. The application must set out the arrangements for the technical support of the equipment and the professional development of the individuals involved, including access to training and sustainability of the technical staff in question. Commitments to staff posts for the running and maintenance of the equipment, as well as for the training of users (where applicable), should be provided in the form of host institution contribution(s). Provision of staff, support and training will form part of the assessment criteria. BBSRC may establish a network of such staff for the consideration of professional development issues and relevant individuals would be expected to participate.

Value for money will be an important factor in assessment. Consequently, whilst contributions from the host institution(s) and/or other external sources are not mandatory, they are strongly encouraged.

In accordance with the Wakeham recommendations to maximize the use of equipment and to encourage sharing, the arrangements for managing access to the equipment and the prioritisation of its use should be fully described. Award holders will be expected to put arrangements in place for providing advice and support to others wishing to assess the potential of the technology for their own research.

Collaboration and the extension of access to the instrumentation to industry and public sector users that would enhance the potential impact of research is encouraged, and any arrangements for this should be explained in the application.

Where more than one instrument of a similar type or application is funded through the 16ALERT call, or where a range of capabilities is established that are applicable to the same research field, we may expect grant holders to operate within a network to share expertise and coordinate access.

Applicants are asked to provide details of the institutional environment into which the equipment will be integrated (e.g. existing facilities and related equipment, housing, technical and scientific support staff, plans for on-going management and maintenance of equipment). Multidisciplinary applications, spanning the remits of more than one Research Council, may be considered if the majority of the research in which the equipment will be utilised falls within our remit. Applications where the majority of the research falls outside our remit will be rejected (see 'Our portfolio' in related links).

Applicants uncertain whether the science in their proposal is within our remit must contact us before submission. If an application contains components of proposed research that fall outside our remit, we may seek the advice of other Councils as part of the assessment process.

Eligibility

16ALERT is open to institutions and researchers normally eligible to apply to BBSRC managed-mode calls; this includes BBSRC approved HEIs, strategically funded institutes and Independent Research Organisations (IROs)

• Categories of eligible organisations can be found in section 3 of our grants guide (see downloads)
• A list of IROs can be found in the RCUK eligibility guidance (see external links)

Applications that include principal or co-investigators who are not eligible to apply for funding, and/or from ineligible organisations will be rejected.

A research organisation may submit more than one application; however there is a limit on the number of applications from an investigator or consortium. Details of limitations are in the call guidance.

How to apply

Applicants should refer to the call guidance (see application downloads below).

Applications must be submitted using the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system (see external links) by 10 January 2017, 4pm.

Plants at iGEM2016: guest post by Geraint Parry

This article is authored by Gerant Parry and originally appeared on the GARNet blog, it is republished with permission. 

Photo credit: the iGEM Foundation and Justin Knight

Take a look over there! As even the name suggests, the iGEM Giant Jamboree is a conference like no other.

Consider that there are 2500 mostly undergraduate students from all around the world, the vast majority of them at their first conference and each giving presentations that are being critically assessed. This provides a clue as to the kind of frenetic and excited energy that characterises this event.

For those a little confused, the International Genetically Engineered Machine Foundation oversees and organizes iGEM, which is synthetic biology competition for groups of participants who are usually hosted by academic institutions. The basic idea is that a group of students works through the summer on a completely novel project that conforms to the principles of synthetic biology, before presenting it in the aforementioned Giant Jamboree.

As this is a competition, each project is judged on metrics that assess many aspects of the teams work. These include the contribution of biobricks to the iGEM registry (an impressive selection of molecular parts that are held within a standardised plasmid), the development of their novel project, initiating collaborations with other teams and their attempts to integrate human practices and public engagement into their project. By meeting certain criteria each team is eligible for Gold, Silver or Bronze medals alongside special prizes for different project categories.

Given registrations, student stipends, research expenses, travel and accommodation, putting forward even a small team can stretch to at least £20K. Therefore this is not a something to be taken lightly. To this financial requirement must be added the time donated by a team of instructors and advisors that support the students. However regardless of the cost, one thing is certain; for those students who participate, attend, present and are inspired by the Jamboree, it can be a career-defining moment.

Plant Synthetic Biology can make for a challenging summer!

Plant experimental chassis have not been widely used during the ten years of the iGEM competition where bacteria, yeast, mammalian cell lines or cell-free systems offer time efficient alternatives for the usual 10-week research period. However the iGEM foundation, alongside a group of committed advocates have recently developed the Phytobricks cloning standard, which is based on a recently published standard syntax within the Golden Gate cloning system. The aim is to lower the barrier of accessibility for teams to start plant projects and the evidence from this years competition seems to suggest that this is slowly happening. The 2016 iGEM team from Valencia-UPV is advised by plant synthetic biologist Diego Orzaez and their project submitted phytobricks for the expression of a split Cas9 system. They showed that the two halves of the Cas9 protein could reconstitute and was active in a tobacco expression system. They have documented this work on their Parts pages and this is hopefully a resource that will be used by future iGEM teams. Their team was very successful at the jamboree, winning a gold medal alongside specific awards for the best hardware  and software.

Another successful team with a plant project was from SCAU-China who had, over the course of at least two years, added an additional two genes to conventional Golden rice. This produces a ‘brown rice’ that produces the natural keto-carotenoid Astaxanthin, which is thought to have beneficial anti-oxidant properties. This is clearly a significant research project that has been badged with the iGEM logo and as such was very positively received by the judges. Although they did not submit parts in the Phytobricks standard it was exciting to see such a potentially high profile plant-project feature at the jamboree.   These projects are well deserving of their awards and their work builds upon years of expertise contained within the supporting labs. This highlights one of the challenges for the competitive element of iGEM; namely how teams can be equally judged when they have hugely varying levels of support. Fortunately it appears that this is not a significant issue as each team is able to take positives from their own performances and are happy to celebrate the excellent projects that they each had individually put together.

Remarkably the iGEM competition includes at least 30 high school teams and one of these, GDSYZX in China, worked with plant light responsive promoters that they added to the Parts Registry.

Algae on the rise.

A number of teams including Cambridge-JIC, Linkoping University in Sweden and USP_UNIFESP in Brazil used the algae Chlamydomonas_reinhardtii in their projects. Cambridge team had most success in their project that generated a set of parts in the Phytobrick standard that can be used in future algal projects. In addition they created a remarkable blueprint for the production of a prototype Genegun for plant transformation, costing just £300, making it accessible for less well funded labs. The other two teams mentioned above were hoping to use Chlamydomonas to produce either biofuels or spider silk protein and although the ambition of both projects outstripped their achievements this year, iGEM is all about thinking big: sometimes it works, sometimes not!

The team from Pretoria in South Africa took on an extremely ambitious plan called WattsApatmer to create ‘plant batteries’ by using short aptamers to attach either photosystem II or a laccase enzyme to either pole of an electrical circuit held within a novel graphene scaffold. The students made some progress with this and the project serves to highlight the blue-sky thinking that undergraduate students undertake as part of this competition. It is clearly difficult to make enormous progress over a summer project but there were so many amazing project ideas on display at this iGEM I hope that the host institutions can find finances to develop some of these ideas so that some can come to fruition to add value to the time already committed to these projects.

Europe on Top

From a UK and European perspective the iGEM jamboree was a huge success with Imperial College and LMU TU Munich taking the overall undergrad and overgrad awards respectively, with remarkable projects that highlighted the talent of their students and the level of support their receive from their host institutions.

The UK was represented by over 20 teams, the third most numerous behind the USA and China. Aside from Imperial College, the teams from Exeter, Dundee, Dundee Schools, Cambridge-JIC, Oxford, Sheffield, UCL, Glasgow and Manchester gained Gold medals. There is little doubt that the UK is developing a cohort of talented synthetic biologists who will be the research leaders of the future.

Overall we look forward to seeing the number of plant projects increase over the years to come. The development of the Phytobrick standard will undoubtedly help in this goal for students to come up with ideas to test the possibility of using plants in their projects.

There are exciting times ahead for plant synthetic biology!

Cambridge iGEM team win Gold Medal and Best Plant Synthetic Biology Prize at prestigious international competition

Summary: A team of Cambridge students have been awarded a Gold Medal and Best Plant Synthetic Biology Prize for their entry into the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition 2016.

iGEM is a prestigious international Synthetic Biology competition designed to challenge university students from around the world. This year more than 300 teams entered iGEM and came together on 27-31 October at the annual Giant Jamboree in Boston. The Jamboree represents a culmination of a summer’s worth of work, with the teams competing for prizes while learning from experts across the world. iGEM teams are tasked with designing a genetically modified system using ‘BioBricks’, a set of standardised biological parts, with the aim of having ‘a positive impact on their communities and the world’. The competition aims to bring synthetic bology, the melding of biology and engineering - to the forefront of research, in an effort to design innovative biological systems.

This year, the Cambridge team consisted of four Engineering and six Natural Sciences undergraduates, with support from faculty member advisors in Plant Sciences, Pathology, Engineering, Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, and Physics - as well as engineering experts Cambridge Consultants, who sponsored the team.

Together they aimed to create a toolkit for algal chloroplast engineering, a process that holds great potential for producing everything from biofuels to edible vaccines both efficiently and in large quantities. In just ten weeks the team managed to generate a library of tested parts optimised for Chlamydomonas algae, build a gene gun for less than 1/100th of the current commercial price and design a genetic tool which helps achieve transformation of all DNA contained within a chloroplast (homoplasmy) in a much shorter timeframe than previously possible. This work won them a Gold Medal and the 2016 Best Plant Synthetic Biology Prize (overgrad category).

iGEM team member Ciara McCarthy said of the project: “We met a huge variety of people working in different disciplines, and spread our ideas about our project and synthetic biology as a whole through articles and outreach events. The opportunities that iGEM has given us will continue to have an influence well beyond this summer.”

The University of Cambridge is at the forefront of the plant synthetic biology field as co-host of the OpenPlant research centre. This is the first year that iGEM has featured a Plant Prize and Co-Director of OpenPlant Professor Jim Haseloff, who organised the first UK iGEM team in 2005, delivered a popular workshop on standards and tools for engineering plants to the global gathering of young synthetic biologists. Explaining the importance of plants as ‘chassis’ for synthetic biology, and the significance of the Cambridge iGEM project, Haseloff emphasised their sustainability. “We think that biological technologies are the underpinning of the 21st century’s industrial processes,” he said. “Plants are cheap and inherently sustainable, and have a major role to play in our future.”