DNA Synthesis at the Norwich Research Park
Lead Research Organisation:
Earlham Institute
Department Name: Directorate Office
Abstract
We propose to set up a DNA Synthesis facility at the Norwich Research Park (NRP) with the aim to support the design, generation and exploitation of high-value compounds and bioactives obtained from plants and microbes. These are areas of strength within the Norwich Research Park (NRP) which hosts a number of research institutes with strategic programmes that are recognised as international leaders, in particular in areas around the generation of novel antibiotics and other valuable secondary metabolites such as terpenes and anthocyanins. More recently the development of targeted genome editing technologies have emerged as another complementary area of strength within the NRP. The DNA synthesis facility within the NRP will also contribute to enhance the opportunities to develop computational methods in areas relevant to systems biology complementing other technology platforms within the NRP. The focus will be on the modelling of gene networks, which is placed at the interface of systems and synthetic biology.
Technical Summary
The focus of the facility will be on construction of long DNA fragments including whole plasmid-like genomes and the generation of recombinant libraries that could be used for high-throughput screening of advantageous phenotypes. The facility will be hosted by The Genome Analysis Centre (TGAC) and the activities will be focussed around areas of application that are priorities for the NRP. The engineering of specific compounds and the ability to screen for the effect of diverse genotypes will complement the well-established DNA sequencing platform at TGAC positioning the NRP as technologies leaders in the area. We propose to incorporate the DNA synthesis equipment within the current genomics platform which is mainly funded through the BBSRC's National Capability Grant. In this way we will leverage the investment in infrastructure regarding project management support and laboratory set up with the possibility to offer very rapidly a DNA synthesis service accessible to the wider UK plant and microbial community. There is however an intention to develop the services around the areas of expertise and application relevant to the NRP scientific vision. The development of technical expertise in DNA synthesis will be initially focused on three areas of active research: novel antibiotics, exploitation of the NRP yeast resources and plant genome editing. A fourth area of interest is the design of predictive computational and mathematical models. The recently created Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy Alliance (IIBA) within the NRP will serve as a catalyser to bring the research groups working in these areas together in a coherent technology development programme led by TGAC.
Planned Impact
The delivery of the Programme's objectives is focused on the deployment of a DNA synthesis facility: an area of technological development that is complementary to the current research programmes within the NRP. In this way the delivery of the proposed objectives will have a direct impact in areas of research relevant to the three BBSRC scientific priorities in food security, bioenergy and biology underpinning health. This facility will aim to integrate established methods in genomics and bioinformatics with emerging areas of research in systems and synthetic biology.
Academic, Economic and Commercial Impacts
The development of the DNA synthesis platform will generate new opportunities for collaborative work with R&D groups in industry and academic institutions within the NRP, nationally and internationally. We will also enhance the service portfolio of TGAC's NCG Genomics with the DNA synthesis capacity, in this way ensuring the UK scientific community remains at the forefront as an international leader in life sciences.
Societal impacts
The deployment of the proposed DNA synthesis within the NRP will directly impact the local and national communities with the generation of new funding opportunities and the development of new skills. TGAC's presence in the Norwich area has strengthened the position of NRP as a technology hub hosting specific expertise in biotechnology and computational biology. The proposed DNA synthesis facility will create new opportunities around the development of services, which will potentially translate into new opportunities for collaborations. TGAC computing facilities and access to expertise and resources has already delivered impact as it is one of the largest data processing centres in the UK.
BBSRC, Research Councils and UK
The deployment of cutting-edge technologies will enhance the NRP reputation and will support the development of expertise on new strategies for data analysis. The development of specific skills in computational methods related to DNA synthesis technologies will deliver impact to a broad range of stakeholders emphasising the key role the Institute will play in enabling researchers to develop innovative science.
Academic, Economic and Commercial Impacts
The development of the DNA synthesis platform will generate new opportunities for collaborative work with R&D groups in industry and academic institutions within the NRP, nationally and internationally. We will also enhance the service portfolio of TGAC's NCG Genomics with the DNA synthesis capacity, in this way ensuring the UK scientific community remains at the forefront as an international leader in life sciences.
Societal impacts
The deployment of the proposed DNA synthesis within the NRP will directly impact the local and national communities with the generation of new funding opportunities and the development of new skills. TGAC's presence in the Norwich area has strengthened the position of NRP as a technology hub hosting specific expertise in biotechnology and computational biology. The proposed DNA synthesis facility will create new opportunities around the development of services, which will potentially translate into new opportunities for collaborations. TGAC computing facilities and access to expertise and resources has already delivered impact as it is one of the largest data processing centres in the UK.
BBSRC, Research Councils and UK
The deployment of cutting-edge technologies will enhance the NRP reputation and will support the development of expertise on new strategies for data analysis. The development of specific skills in computational methods related to DNA synthesis technologies will deliver impact to a broad range of stakeholders emphasising the key role the Institute will play in enabling researchers to develop innovative science.
Publications
Cai YM
(2020)
Rational design of minimal synthetic promoters for plants.
in Nucleic acids research
Craig T
(2017)
Leaf LIMS: A Flexible Laboratory Information Management System with a Synthetic Biology Focus.
in ACS synthetic biology
D'Amore R
(2017)
SMRT Gate: A method for validation of synthetic constructs on Pacific Biosciences sequencing platforms.
in BioTechniques
Halewood M
(2018)
Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture: opportunities and challenges emerging from the science and information technology revolution.
in The New phytologist
Hillson N
(2019)
Building a global alliance of biofoundries.
in Nature communications
Johnson JR
(2016)
GeneMill: A 21st century platform for innovation.
in Biochemical Society transactions
Kahl L
(2018)
Opening options for material transfer.
in Nature biotechnology
Patron NJ
(2020)
Beyond natural: synthetic expansions of botanical form and function.
in The New phytologist
Pollak B
(2019)
Loop assembly: a simple and open system for recursive fabrication of DNA circuits
in New Phytologist
| Title | Nicotiana, biofoundry. |
| Description | An artistic interpretation inspired by plant systems for bioproduction of natural products developed with artist and designer, Karen Ingram. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | Published as part of 'Convergent Visions' Faesthetic #15 produced in partnership with SXSW for the SXSW Art Program 2018. Presented at SXSW Interactive 2018. |
| URL | http://think.faesthetic.com/archives/9687 |
| Description | We have established a DNA foundry with automated protocols for DNA construct fabrication and transformation into a number of scaffolds. We have also co-developed a LIMS. |
| Exploitation Route | We hope to pump prime projects to use the foundry to engage the academic scientific community and also we hope to provide 'research hotel' services to industry |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| URL | http://www.earlham.ac.uk/earlham-dna-foundry |
| Description | The technologies and protocols developed at the foundry have been used in efforts to develop engineered orphan crops for developing countries. Through the open plant initiative the foundry is also involved in the IGems competition which educates young people about synthetic biology |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Education,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | BBSRC ENWW panel membership |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | The panel advises BBSRC exec and councillor how best to deliver BBSRC strategy. Impact is difficult to quantify |
| Description | Membership of BBSRC Transformative technology Panel |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | The transformative technology strategy advisory panel have influence BBSRC policy on data intensive bioscience and big ideas pipeline |
| Description | 17-ERACoBioTech - SUSPHIRE - Sustainable Bioproduction of Pheromones for Insect Pest Control in Agriculture |
| Amount | £395,317 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/R021554/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | 17ALERT Mid-range equipment initiative - Bioreactor capability for the Plant and Microbe DNA Foundry |
| Amount | £358,963 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/R000433/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2017 |
| End | 08/2018 |
| Description | Bioinformatics and Biological Resources (BBR) Fund |
| Amount | £603,560 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BBS/E/T/000GP076 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2016 |
| End | 03/2017 |
| Description | Bioreactor capability for the Plant and Microbe DNA Foundry |
| Amount | £358,963 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/R000433/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2017 |
| End | 08/2018 |
| Description | IPA Industrial Partnering Award - An improved bioproduction system for proteins and small molecules |
| Amount | £420,676 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/P010490/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2017 |
| End | 09/2020 |
| Description | IPA Industrial Partnering Award - Germany-UK: The Portable Organelle Project (TPOP) |
| Amount | £20,176 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/R021074/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 09/2019 |
| Description | SynBio LEAP Catalyst Grant |
| Amount | $10,000 (USD) |
| Organisation | Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program |
| Sector | Private |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 12/2018 |
| Description | ENSA Consortium |
| Organisation | John Innes Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have provided knowledge on how to automate and miniaturise synthetic biology workflow processes for the ENSA consortium, developed automation for our hardware platform, provided bench space for ENSA members to work, provided training areas for ENSA consortium partners. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The ENSA consortium brought knowledge on how to construct and develop multi-gene synthetic biology constructs, and worked with us to develop an appropriate suite of automation for the Foundry labs based on their international, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded consortium needs. |
| Impact | Collaboration is multidisciplinary, and combines laboratory automation, synthetic biology, next-generation sequencing. Outcomes are primarily knowledge exchange between the research groups of Prof Giles Oldroyd (JIC) and the DNA Foundry staff. |
| Start Year | 2016 |
| Description | Software for DNA Foundries |
| Organisation | University of Liverpool |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Co-development of LIMS software for DNA foundries |
| Collaborator Contribution | Co-development of LIMS software for DNA foundries |
| Impact | New software and publication of software |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Title | Leaf LIMS |
| Description | Leaf LIMS is a flexible laboratory information management system (LIMS) designed to address the complexity of synthetic biology workflows. At the project's inception there was a lack of a LIMS designed specifically to address synthetic biology processes, with most systems focused on either next generation sequencing or biobanks and clinical sample handling. Leaf LIMS implements integrated project, item, and laboratory stock tracking, offering complete sample and construct genealogy, materials and lot tracking, and modular assay data capture. Hence, it enables highly configurable task-based workflows and supports data capture from project inception to completion. As such, in addition to it supporting synthetic biology it is ideal for many laboratory environments with multiple projects and users. The system is deployed as a web application through Docker and is provided under a permissive MIT license. It is freely available for download at https://leaflims.github.io. |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2017 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | ongoing |
| URL | https://leaflims.github.io |
| Description | 2017 Youth STEMM Gold Awards |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on synthetic biology followed by a practical workshop on designing genetic circuits. Sudents then presented their ideas, asked technical questions and discussed the potential impacts of synthetic biology and biotechnology on society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://ysawards.co.uk |
| Description | 5 ways EI is improving global food security |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 5 ways EI is improving global food security |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/5-ways-earlham-institute-improving-global-food-security |
| Description | 600k machine learning collaboration to supercharge data driven science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 600k machine learning collaboration to supercharge data driven science |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/newsroom/%C2%A3600k-machine-learning-collaboration-supercharge-data-driven... |
| Description | A PhD, is it worth it? Just ask our students |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A PhD, is it worth it? Just ask our students |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/phd-it-worth-it-just-ask-our-students |
| Description | BBSRC SBRC/SBfG networking event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A 4 hour session after the end of the conference on the afternoon of Wednesday 16th November, which was open to the SBRCs, the IKC, DNA Synthesis investments and the CDTs. During the session we coveredtopics such as the Global Challenges Research Fund, encouraging interdisciplinary working through flexible funding mechanisms and flash talks on collaborative industry projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | CPSC PhD course: SYNthetic BIOlogy, From pro- to eukaryotic SYStems (SYNBIOSYS) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Delivered lectures and workshops as part of the University of Copenhagen's CPSC PhD course: SYNthetic BIOlogy, From pro- to eukaryotic SYStems (SYNBIOSYS) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://cpsc.ku.dk/calendar/2017/cpsc-phd-summer-course-2017-synbiosys/ |
| Description | EI DNA Foundry Tour : Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) delegation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The developed activity was related to the presentation of the EI DNA Foundry's capabilities to a Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) delegation. The goal of the event was to promote UK-China collaboration and the establishment of potential pioneering projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | EI DNA Foundry Tours |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The EI Biofoundry Tours are organized visits to this facility which aim to voice up the available capabilities and tools for researchers and industry professional. Since March 2018 to date more than 40 tours have been organized, reaching local and international researchers and local SMBs. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown measure, the Tours are online and the number have decreased significantly. The outcomes arisen from the visits are Service Contracts with local researchers, 5 Service contract with SMBs, 3 collaborations with local researchers, 1 collaboration with a local SMBs, 1 collaboration with national researcher, 7 quotes for Grant applications and 2 initial discussions for a new collaboration with local researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2020 |
| Description | Feature article on genomics in the Easton Daily Press |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Article was to cover the research activity at the Earlham Institute and at the Norwich Research park and how it would impact the general public |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Gatsby plant science summer school: engineering plants for farming and pharming |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented a lecture and particilaped in a discussion session with undergraduates as part of the Gatsby Plant Science Summer School. The summer school is an opportunity for first year undergraduate students in the UK to discover the challenge and opportunities of studying plant science. 76% of students rated this particular talk as good or very good with some very positive comments such as, 'I realised how much I loved to learn about Synthetic aspect of biology after the talk by Dr Nicola Patron'. 69% of students atteneding the whole summer school responded that they were more interested in plant science as a result of attending and one third of students reported in their feedback that they are now thinking of doing a PhD with some plant science, an increase in 12% from when asked before attending. 93% of students reported that they are interested in or are considering a career in or with plant science as a result of attending. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://intobiology.org.uk/dr-nicola-patron-engineering-plants-for-farming-and-pharming/ |
| Description | Industrial Biotechnology Alliance SAB meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Industrial Biotechnology Alliance aims to create a portfolio of expertise from across the schools of the University of East Anglia and the research institutes based on the Park, and to facilitate greater interaction with industry. The implementation and vision for the DNA Synthesis Facility at TGAC was presented to an audience of biotechnology industry and academic specialists. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Inside Synthetic Biology 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A one-hour interactive workshop exploring synthetic biology as part of a three-day course for 17 gifted and talented pupils from years 11-13. Three activies explored standards in plant synthetic biology, gene circuits and natural product engineering using synthetic biology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Molecular Training Workshop for African Scientists, University of Cambridge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Lectures deleivered as part of a two week training evint for agricultural research scientists, academics and PhD students from across Africa. This was followed by discussion and follow-up questions by email. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.jrbiotekfoundation.org/cambridge-lab-training-2018/ |
| Description | NRP-UEA 2015 iGEM Team (iGEM Giant Jamboree, Science in Norwich, Norwich Writers Centre Workshop) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Instructed an undergraduate iGEM team that presented at the iGEM Giant Jamboree in Boston, MA. The team also interacted with various audiences at Science in Norwich public outreach event, a workshop for scientists and poets at the Norwich Writers Centre, and to large numbers of students at the iGEM Giant Jamboree. The team also collaborated with other teams in Spain and the Netherlands. The project took different approaches to increase butyrate levels in the colon to protect against colonic cancer and also interacted with Cancer charities to discuss preventative measures to combat cancer and the use of bioengineering to make healthy foods and medicines. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://2015.igem.org/Team:NRP-UEA-Norwich |
| Description | Neo.Life - 25 Visions for the Future of our Species (Book) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Contributed a book section to Neo.Life - 25 Visions for the Future of our Species (Book). Editors: Jane Metcalf and Brian Bergstein |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://neo.life/visions/ |
| Description | Newsletter article June 2018: Unleashing the Power of Automation for Plant and Microbial Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This short communication about the DNA foundry at the Earlham had as main goal to voice up its capabilities, and inform the plant research community how to interact with us to help with their research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.garnetcommunity.org.uk/newsletters |
| Description | Norwich Biomakers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Norwich Biomakers brings together an interdisciplinary network of people from across NorwichCity and the Norwich Science Park that share an interest in the cross-over of biology with design, technology, engineering, electronics and software. This group meets monthly at a variety of local spaces for events including talks, training in the use of technologies and to work on projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019 |
| URL | https://www.meetup.com/Norwich-Biomakers/ |
| Description | OpenPlant Intellectual Property Working Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Twenty four experts were recruited to the first OpenPlant working group on the topic of IP solutions for OpenPlant and the wider SynBio community, specifically an open Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) that would allow materials such as DNA parts to be exchanged between institutions with a standard contract that allows for redistribution and commercial use. A meeting of the IP Working Group took place on 30 July 2015. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together academic researchers, technical experts, and legal practitioners to explore the challenges and solutions for creating and sustaining an international platform of open technologies for plant synthetic biology. A report on the meeting was drafted and will be made available online along with the draft OpenMTA Linda Kahl from the BioBricks Foundation is compiling. Decisions and refinement of this draft was a direct outcome of the meeting. The working group had regular teleconferences following the meeting and BioBricks Foundation and University of Cambridge have recently entered the Wellcome Trust/NIH/HHMI supported Open Science Prize for additional funding to continue this collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Plant Genetics Resources and the Sustainable Development Goals: Needs, Rights, and Opportunities. Rockefeller Bellagio Center, Bellagio, Italy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 18 experts from a range of disciplines were hosted by The Rockefeller Foundation at its Bellagio Center in Italy to discuss how plant genetic resources relate to and can be instrumental in meeting the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The group had three objectives, which were to: • Advance the ongoing global dialogue about how science, technology, data, and digital information about plant genetic resources (PGR) may impact and potentially help agriculture adapt to the changing climate and augment food and nutritional security, particularly in the developing world • In the context of the SDGs, explore the interaction between emerging R&D opportunities (emanating from scientific and technological advances and increased data sharing capability) and the current policy framework related to access, use, and benefit-sharing of PGR and related information. • Identify pathways for harmonizing the PGR policy framework with rapid developments in science and information technology to ensure safeguards and enhance opportunities to address the SDGs. The group agreed to pursue three outputs, to be completed in the next six months: • As a group, the participants will develop a comprehensive meeting report for public distribution. This report was initiated during the meeting and will be completed early in 2017. • During the meeting, participants from the Diversity Seek Initiative (DivSeek) gathered input for their response to an invitation by the Secretary of the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources in Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) "to report on the implications for the objectives of the Treaty of the technologies underlying the DivSeek initiative" (as per paragraph 6 of Resolution 3/2015 of the Sixth Session of the Treaty Governing Body). This outcome can be used by the Secretariat to compile a synthesis on this report for consideration by the Governing Body of the Treaty at its Seventh Session in 2017. Participants agreed to provide additional input on the draft submission to the Treaty upon request from DivSeek. • Finally, at least one scholarly article will be published as a result of this meeting describing the issues discussed and exploring potential solutions and bottlenecks to progress. The group agreed that it would be ideal to aim to develop a balanced treatment such that all participants would be happy to be identified as authors or contributors where their expertise was relevant to the subject matter. Participants also discussed how best to communicate the results with other audiences and agreed to consult with one another if any developed blog posts or articles related to the meeting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Plants in iGem Workshops |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Workshop on Plants in synthetic biology held at the iGEM Giant Jamboree every year since 2014. Members of many international iGEM teams, industry and civil society representatives, as well as the iGEM executive team attend. The workshops comprise short talks followed by discussion (with audience participation) and information-sharing about plant synthetic biology tools and techniques. these workshops, together with other activities have resulted in - The establishment of a Plant Committee at iGEM - The acceptance of parts in the Common Plant Syntax in the iGEM Registry - The establishment of a Special Award for excellence in Plant Synthetic Biology in the iGEM competition (from 2016 onwards) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015,2016 |
| URL | http://2016.igem.org/Resources/Plant_Synthetic_Biology |
| Description | Presentation and discussion at Norwich Science Festival 2018 (Engineering Day) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on biomanufacturing to general public including interactive activity with biochemical pathways and debate about the meaning of the word 'natural', biological vs chemical manufacturing methods and whether manufacturing can be sustainable. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://norwichsciencefestival.co.uk/events/building-with-biology/ |
| Description | Presentation at Automation in Synthetic Biology Workshop, University of Bristol |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk to Introduce the EI DNA Foundry to the UK SynBio community and industry/business attending the workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.bristol.ac.uk/brissynbio/events/2018/automation-workshop.html |
| Description | Presentation for Norwich Research Park Industrial Biotech Alliance 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presented OpenPlant industrial biotech case studies to the Industrial Biotechnology Alliance Science Advisory Board |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Science Café, Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich 19th April 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Norwich Science Café at the Maddermarket Theatre entitled "Building with Biology". A presentation and interactive activity for identification of aromatic plant natural products and understanding biosynthetic pathways. This was followed by an extensive discussion on the meaning of the words 'synthetic', 'synthesis' and 'natural' and the relative benefits to the environment and health of synthetic biology approaches for manufacturing. Audience members expressed interest in adult-focussed lab-based workshops and bio-make spaces. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/scicafenorwich |
| Description | Scientific Advisory Board for Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), a joint initiative of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), University of Cologne (UoC), Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research Cologne (MPIPZ) and Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Member of the Science Advisory Board for the Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences (CEPLAS), a joint initiative of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), University of Cologne (UoC), Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research Cologne (MPIPZ) and Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
| URL | https://www.ceplas.eu/en/home/ |
| Description | Synthetic Biology Foundry meeting, Liverpool |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Representatives from three BBSRC-funded DNA Synthesis Foundry Groups met to discuss knowledge exchange around laboratory workflows, laboratory information management systems (LIMS) and software support required for DNA Synthesis Foundries in Liverpool. The three foundries represented were: GeneMill (hosts) The Genome Analysis Centre The Edinburgh Genome Foundry |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Synthetic biology session and discussion panel at the London Festival of Genomics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Chaired a session on synthetic biology session and participated in a panel discussion at the London Festival of Genomics, 2017. This brought the synthetic biology to a new audience of industry, investors and the general public. There was a lengthy discussion with the general public, investors and industry representatives from diverse fields (e.g. computing and engineering) about the ethics and potential of biological engineering at the panel discussion and also following the workshop. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.festivalofgenomicslondon.com/full-agenda |
| Description | The Essex Synthetic Biology School (ESBS), University of Essex, UK : |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presented lectures on "Engineering Plant Genomes for Farming and Pharming" and "Sharing Biology in the Information Age: Perceived Threats of Dematerialisation and Open Data". These were followed by discussions on the use of biotechnologies in agricultures and a debate on access and benefit sharing of genetic resources. Participants reported changes in their views on the common practices used to share information relating to genetic resources as well as physical resources. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://esbs.essex.ac.uk |
| Description | UK CBCB: an ELIXIR for cross-disciplinary collaboration in bioinformatics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | UK CBCB: an ELIXIR for cross-disciplinary collaboration in bioinformatics |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/uk-cbcb-elixir-cross-disciplinary-collaboration-bioinformatics |
| Description | Web Article - Spotlight on Synthetic Biology. Yaomin Cao |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Interview with Yaomin Cai of Nicola Patron's DNA Foundry at Earlham Institute, on how he got into synthetic biology, how it can help us to tackle biological questions, and what the future has in store. -SOCIAL MEDIA- Engagement x92, Impressions x70456 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/spotlight-on-synthetic-biology |
| Description | Web Article - Spotlight on biohacking |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Interview with Elliot Roth, founder of Spira and Indie-lab on biohacking and algae research. -SOCIAL MEDIA- ENgagement x88, Impressions x176657 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/spotlight-biohacking-elliot-roth-%E2%80%9Cit%E2%80%99s-algae-time%... |
| Description | Web article - Spotlight on Synthetic Biology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Article with a focus on Synthetic Biology. An interview with John Cumbers, founder of SynBioBeta. -SOCIAL MEDIA- Engagement x160, Impressions x159540 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/spotlight-synthetic-biology-john-cumbers |
| Description | Web article for Public Engagement - What's in a genome? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 'Learning' Article to explain what's in agenome. -SOCIAL MEDIA- Engagement x 285, Impressions x 138027 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/whats-genome |
| Description | Why statistics is important in a world of big data |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Why statistics is important in a world of big data |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/why-statistics-important-world-big-data |
| Description | Year 10 Summer Science Camp SynBio day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A one-day workshop on synthetic biology as part of a week long Science Camp for 13 promising year 10 pupils with an interest in careers in science. We covered activities from gene circuits and understanding important concepts of standardisation and modularisation, cloning and transformation of E.coli, engineering nitrogen symbiosis into crop plants, the design-build-test cycle. We had a lively debate on responsible research and innovation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |