Synthetic biology centre has spin-outs in its sights

Imperial College London has launched a new centre focusing on programming biological cells so that they behave like engineering parts. The Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation, established in partnership with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and with an £8 million grant from the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, will have tech transfer as a major aim.

“Imperial will recruit the best scientists from the UK and around the world to carry out collaborative research, generate intellectual property for licensing, and ultimately create spinout companies that will play a part in spawning new industries for the UK,” said Centre director Richard Kitney.

Imperial’s Paul Freemont, Co-Director of the Centre, says that in the next 20 to 50 years research in this field will get to the point where synthetic biology techniques will have the precision of electronics. Currently, biology is much more complicated and less understood.

“Our understanding of how living cells work isn’t as good as our understanding of electronic devices. We want to get to the stage where we’ve got all the parts we need to build any biological machine that we want,” Freemont explained.

Initially, researchers at the Centre will focus on developing standard systems and specifications to create these parts. This will involve modifying DNA, inserting it into cells, and cataloguing what these cells do. These will then be used to assemble devices for use in a range of applications.

One long-term application could include the development of biological microprocessors. These are microscopic biologically based electronic devices that could, for example, be inserted into the body to monitor the health of patients, or detect types of cancer.

Imperial will work closely with LSE to inform the public about the research that will be carried out at the Centre. This will involve lectures and outreach activities about the potential benefits of synthetic biology and its public value.

LSE will also train researchers at the Centre in the social, ethical, legal, and political issues surrounding this emerging field. These include examining the social and economic impacts of biotechnology, and developing practices of regulation and good governance.

The Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation is part of Imperial’s Institute for Systems and Synthetic Biology – a multidisciplinary, multifaculty institute focused on developing novel approaches to research in biology, medicine and engineering. The new centre will be based in the Faculty of Engineering.