Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre

Synthetic biology is seen as a way to develop biology beyond naturally evolved biological systems to the benefit of mankind. It is a new type of engineering in which either existing parts of living cells are modified, or completely new parts are generated, in order to produce useful technologies and products. The function of the Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre (WISB) will be to establish a community of researchers from a range of relevant disciplines that will pursue the aims of synthetic biology following responsible procedures that are informed by considerations of ethical, legal and societal aspects. Our work will create products and technologies that will be valuable to multiple sectors, including biotechnology, health, food security and the environment. We will work in partnership with a wide range of companies that have interests in this area.

At the core of WISB will be an underpinning commitment to developing synthetic biology technologies and knowhow that will both be useful to the wider community and will also enable progress in the applied projects that will be pursued in the Centre. This core activity is called Predictive Biosystems Engineering because the idea is to find ways of developing synthetic biological systems that behave in predictable ways. The benefit of this would be that predictable components can be assembled into more complex systems that also behave in predictable ways - this is a principle of fundamental importance in classical engineering.

There are also three areas of more applied research:

Engineering Biosynthetic Pathways is about building tailor-made and controllable pathways in living cells that direct the assembly of useful products, e.g. antimicrobials and anti-cancer drugs. Engineering principles will be applied with the objective of optimizing the productivity of these intracellular drug production lines.

Engineering Microbial Communities is a research area in which we assemble different species of microbial organism that can be used in a range of biotechnological and biomedical applications. For example, synthetic communities of this type will be able to degrade noxious and toxic compounds from the environment, or could be utilized to treat diseases of the skin or gut.

Engineering Microbial Effector Systems research will take advantage of the fascinating interplay between plants and microbial species with which they interact in Nature, for example in the soil. Such microorganisms use a range of molecules, called effectors, to modify the genetic and metabolic systems of plant cells. By re-engineering these interactions, we will be able to enhance the properties of plants, thus contributing to food security.

In parallel to the above activities, WISB will perform research on the ethical, legal and societal aspects of synthetic biology and follow principles of responsible research and innovation. We will engage in a wide range of outreach activities in order to communicate our research philosophy and findings to the wider community. A special feature of this outreach will involve work and presentations on the relationships between technology, design and art.

Finally, WISB will be fully committed to education and training in synthetic biology, thus ensuring that we contribute strongly to the training of future generations of synthetic biology researchers.

The proposed Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre (WISB) will utilise state-of-the-art principles of computational design and control engineering to optimise the development and application of novel synthetic biology tools. This Predictive Biosystems Engineering strategy will underpin three further areas of applied research based on integrated computational/experimental approaches.

In the core Predictive Biosystems Engineering theme we will adopt a dual approach in order to balance relatively rapid progress in improving current synthetic biotool predictability against longer-term development of new types of tools. In the former, we will address the causative factors that undermine the predictability and scalability of synthetic gene circuitry. In the latter, we will explore the use of posttranscriptional layers of biomolecular circuitry, specifically RNA and protein components, as a way of expanding the capabilities of current SGC tools, and also with the ultimate objective of building new types of circuitry.

Our work on Engineering Biosynthetic Pathways will combine computational design, rate control engineering and high resolution analytical chemistry with de novo synthesis/assembly of entire pathways in Streptomyces. The Theme on Engineering Microbial Communities will pursue rational engineering of synthetic microbial communities that are rendered robust and functional through metabolic, genetic and physical interdependencies/interactions. The third applied Theme will be Engineering Microbial Effector Systems in Plants, in which we will build a new type of synthetic control system based on microbial effector molecules (synEffectors). The synEffectors will be used to re-engineer signalling pathways with the objective of developing desired properties in the plants.

There will also be research on ethical, legal and societal aspects of synthetic biology that will feed into the strategy and other activities of WISB.

The Warwick Centre for Integrative Synthetic Biology (WISB) will work with key stakeholders from academia, industry, government departments, and the public, across a broad range of disciplines, to bring together researchers in the field of Synthetic Biology (SB) for the formation of a skilled, global-leading SB community, with a hub in the UK. WISB will provide state-of-art training and research infrastructure, promote awareness of the societal and ethical implications of SB, and enable and embed public engagement; to ensure the activities delivered through its national and international networks realise the potential of SB to have a significant impact to the UK's Economy and Society, Research Communities, and Education and Knowledge Programmes.

WISB will:
1. Accelerate the route to market for innovative SB research;
2. Develop and sustain an internationally competitive research programme with a strong collaborative culture and a supporting physical environment to drive advancement and lead development in the field of SB;
3. Facilitate adoption and uptake of novel SB approaches and make these available to the wider community;
4. Contribute to and accelerate growth in the SB UK network and offer outreach and exchange opportunities;
5. Practise responsible innovation and research at all stages.

Industrial impact will be maximised by:
(i) Engaging actively with the industrial members of the Advisory Board (AB) to promote dialogue as to research progress and potential applications;
(ii) Reviewing progress annually with our technology transfer office, Warwick Ventures (WV) to look for opportunities to develop commercial opportunities such as patents and licensing;
(iii) Seeking industrial engagement opportunities through our AB;
(iv) Engaging actively with the EPSRC-funded Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) in SB.

International impact will be maximised by:
(i) Engaging with internationally leading research groups including Prof. Michael Elowitz (Caltech), Prof. Jim Collins (Boston University), Prof. Mark Bedau (Reed College), and Prof. Sibylle Gaisser (University of Ansbach)) who have agreed to serve on our AB;
(ii) Building on our existing partnerships with the SB Centre at Boston University (CoSBi), the University of São Paulo Biomass Systems and Synthetic Biology Center (BSSB), the University of Pompeu Fabra and the CSIC Institute in Madrid;
(iii) Extending our academic interactions to include additional key institutions in the EU, US and China;
(iv) Promoting a strong collaboration culture in which WISB researchers are encouraged to form cross-disciplinary teams.

Societal impact will be maximised by:
(i) Exploiting and exploring paths to society such as briefings to Government Departments and engaging with regulatory authorities;
(ii) Exploring the role of arts and design, both in the scientific development of SB and its engagement with the public via our formal relationship with our Artist-in-Residence;
(iii) Publishing in a range of popular science communication outlets;
(iv) Developing a publicly accessible web site for the tools and technologies that result from WISB research;
(v) Using social media and ways of online communication tools to enhance impact.

Impact to the UK's Synthetic Biology network will be maximised by:
(i) Actively engaging with the growing SB research community in the UK, through our SB Centre for Doctoral Training (joint with Oxford and Bristol), our membership of the SB IKC, and our many joint SB projects with collaborators from other UK Universities;
(ii) Organising an annual meeting and secondments with the scientific members of the AB to promote dialogue on scientific progress and potential collaborations;
(iii)Taking a leadership role in the UK in engaging with the broader base of stakeholders in the SB landscape, including environmental and other lobby groups, government departments, and the general public;
(iv) Training future leaders in SB.