A Plant and Microbe DNA Foundry to support Earlham Institute’s Institute Strategic Programmes (ISPs) and the UK BioScience Community and BioEconomy
Lead Research Organisation:
Earlham Institute
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Technical Summary
The Plant and Microbe DNA Foundry (NC2) will provide a national resource for the UK bioscience community to engage with the high-throughput laboratory automation facilities at Earlham Institute (EI). Focusing on nanoscale DNA construct assembly from standard parts, allied with validation by next-generation sequencing via Earlham Institute’s National Capability in Genomics and Single Cell (NC1), NC2 will provide access to DNA assembly at scale and also to toolkits and collections of standard DNA parts submitted under an Open Material Transfer Agreement (OMTA).
NC2 will complement the strengths of the Norwich Research Park, providing researchers with a platform to perform large-scale experiments. NC2 benefits from essential, local multi-disciplinary expertise. This will enable new research directions and approaches to drive innovation contributing to UK SynBio sector growth, one of the UK’s ‘Eight Great Technologies’.
This will be extended by educating researchers about biological standards and automated parallel DNA assembly through training delivered through EI’s National Capability in Advanced Training (NC4).
NC2 will complement the strengths of the Norwich Research Park, providing researchers with a platform to perform large-scale experiments. NC2 benefits from essential, local multi-disciplinary expertise. This will enable new research directions and approaches to drive innovation contributing to UK SynBio sector growth, one of the UK’s ‘Eight Great Technologies’.
This will be extended by educating researchers about biological standards and automated parallel DNA assembly through training delivered through EI’s National Capability in Advanced Training (NC4).
Planned Impact
unavailable
Organisations
- Earlham Institute (Collaboration, Lead Research Organisation)
- UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH (Collaboration)
- QUADRAM INSTITUTE BIOSCIENCE (Collaboration)
- OpenPlant Fund (Collaboration)
- JOHN INNES CENTRE (Collaboration)
- University of Cambridge (Collaboration)
- BioBricks Foundation (Collaboration)
- University of East Anglia (Collaboration)
Publications
Cai YM
(2020)
Phytobricks: Manual and Automated Assembly of Constructs for Engineering Plants.
in Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
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
Dudley QM
(2021)
Biofoundry-assisted expression and characterization of plant proteins.
in Synthetic biology (Oxford, England)
EFSA Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
(2021)
Evaluation of existing guidelines for their adequacy for the molecular characterisation and environmental risk assessment of genetically modified plants obtained through synthetic biology.
in EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority
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
Kahl L
(2018)
Opening options for material transfer.
in Nature biotechnology
| Description | Establishing the Earlham Biofoundry: The Earlham Biofoundry (EB) was established in 2015/2015 with a £1.9M capital investment award from BBSRC/EPSRC Synthetic Biology for growth program. In mid-2016 EI recruited a PI to lead a synthetic biology research group that would produce molecular/synthetic biology workflows that could be automated in the EB. It was immediately apparent that the increased ability to assemble DNA created a bottleneck in characterisation. A successful application was made to the 2016 ALERT call to purchase a platform for automated micro-fermentation to facilitate downstream characterisation experiments. By 2017, automated workflows for DNA assembly, validation by sequencing and delivery to bacterial cells were sufficiently robust to offer external access to the community. A biofoundry manager was appointed together with an automation specialist both funded through this award, to provide access to established workflows, develop new automated workflows and engage a user community (these roles were successfully reappointed during the lifetime of the grant following the departure of the original appointments). The first service projects using the DNA assembly pipelines were completed in 2018 and several new collaborations were established to enable the automation of new workflows. A platform resource comprising expertise in synthetic biology approaches and access to cutting-edge automation: Throughout this award, efforts in the EB were divided equally between collaborative projects (with internal and external partners) requiring new, automated workflows and delivering service projects that use established automated workflows. Feedback from EB users was highly positive. The EB established collaborations with partners in both academia and industry, resulting in 17 publications and in 3 successful collaborative grant applications. The EB also delivered service projects including DNA assembly and microfermentation to a range of users in both academia and industry. The requirement for the exchange of samples as well as multiple visits to exchange expertise on protocols during the automation process means that most EB users have been based on the Norwich Research Park (NRP). This naturally connects the EB with the other research platforms on the NRP. For example, the EB provided direct service to the NMR platform at the John Innes Centre. Other projects link indirectly, for example, screening of mutant libraries leads to the identification of candidate strains that required analysis at the metabolomic facility. The EB also receives enquiries from plant scientists from across the UK working with photosynthetic organisms. For example, the use of the EB was costed into grant applications for work on rice, barley, and cyanobacteria. User engagement: The EB engaged with its local community through seminars, information sessions and facility tours. More than >20 groups visited the EB each year. It engaged with the wider UK community through presentations at scientific conferences, including meetings coordinated by the Synthetic Biology Research Centres and the Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy. The EB was promoted in community newsletters and engaged with the industrial community through industry-focused workshops, innovation-focused conferences and through networks such as the BIA. By the middle of the grant, the EB received unsolicited enquiries from scientists in industry and academia who have learned about the capability through their professional networks. The EB was a founding signatory of the Global Alliance of Biofoundries (GBA) that enabled sharing of experiences and resources. The EB has shared methods, technical expertise, and best-practice for developing collaboration agreements and cost models with GBA members. The EB worked closely with the OpenPlant SBRC (https://www.openplant.org) and the BioBricks Foundation (https://biobricks.org) to establish best practices for the exchange of enabling tools and technologies. This resulted in the establishment of the OpenMTA. The use of enabling tools such as plasmid toolkits shared under an OpenMTA reduces the administrative load on biofoundries by negating the need for large numbers of MTAs to be agreed upon between multiple parties before work commences. This lowers the barrier for starting projects that will use large numbers of DNA parts enabling work to start rapidly and project outputs to be provided and shared. While the EB hosts relevant plasmid collections providing them to users, the EB does not have the administrative capacity to serve as an on-demand biorepository for the global community. For wider distribution, plasmids are deposited at Addgene, which has also adopted the OpenMTA. The EB provided training in synthetic biology and automation approaches via a range of courses as well as laboratory placement training to collaborators and students. It also engaged with the Cambridge Open Bioeconomy lab to offer an introduction to automation course. Training events were inevitably disrupted by the pandemic, but a revised schedule was initiated to run beyond the length of this award. |
| Exploitation Route | Biofoundries are integrated automation platforms for the design, construction, and characterisation of organisms used both for investigating fundamental biological questions and for biotechnology applications. The Earlham Biofoundry (EB) provides a platform resource comprising expertise in synthetic biology approaches and access to cutting-edge automation platforms to enable the UK's bioscience and biotechnology communities to undertake large-scale experimentation. The EB has expertise in molecular biology, organism engineering, synthetic biology, and the development and optimisation of automated workflows. Our suites of automation hardware, together with our expertise in large-scale experiment design, automation programming, and synthetic biology approaches, can be applied to numerous molecular and microbiological workflows to revolutionise the speed and scale of research, increasing accuracy, and reducing costs per sample. The EB works collaboratively with researchers in academia and industry contributing scientific expertise and technical excellence in automation programming to pursue complex experimental designs, develop novel automated workflows, and to generate and analyse large and robust datasets. In addition, highly optimised automated workflows for widely relevant protocols such as DNA assembly are made available to researchers across academia and industry as services. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/earlham-bio-foundry |
| Description | The Earlham Biofoundry (EB) provides a platform resource comprising expertise in synthetic biology approaches and access to cutting-edge automation platforms to enable the UK's bioscience and biotechnology communities to undertake large-scale experimentation. To date, EB has engaged in collaborative projects with partners in academia and industry that have decreased the time and costs of experimental workflows and increased the accuracy and scale of quantitative data. These include the development of workflows for: (i) rapid discovery of the genetic basis of natural products that prevent the growth of plant pathogens (ii) production and characterisation of enzymes for biotechnology (agriculture and medicine) (iii) optimising growth conditions for engineered strains used in industrial biotechnology The provision of access to equipment and associated expertise has established collaborations with researchers in bioscience start-ups and SMEs based on the Norwich and Cambridge Research Parks. Collaborative projects, including those funded by Innovate UK, have enabled the EB to provide SMEs with: (i) synthetic DNA constructs (ii) identification of optimal conditions for biomanufacturing (fermentation) to improve yields (iii) new automated workflows for working with biological molecules (iv) staff training in the use of laboratory automation These provisions, together with the specific benefits of laboratory automation (reduced time and costs, increased accuracy and scale) have enabled bioscience start-ups and SMEs to work in new areas. From 2017-2020, the EB engaged in efforts to establish new legal tools for the exchange of biological materials. The EI Biofoundry worked closely with the OpenPlant SBRC (https:/ www.openplant.org) and the BioBricks Foundation (https:/ biobricks.org) to establish best practices for the exchange of enabling tools and technologies. This resulted in the establishment of the OpenMTA (PMID:30307930; https://www.openplant.org/openmta). The OpenMTA reduces the administrative load for sharing research materials, which is especially important for biofoundry projects in which reusable DNA parts from multiple sources are often combined into new designs. The use of the OpenMTA for sharing foundational tools negates the need for large numbers of MTAs to be agreed upon between multiple parties before work commences. The OpenMTA has since been used to distribute research materials to researchers in ODA countries via the GrowMore Foundation. In 2021, the OpenMTA was formally adopted by Addgene (the global non-profit plasmid repository) and journals, including Synthetic Biology, now advocate the use of the OpenMTA for sharing research materials in their submission guidelines. Gene editing technologies are used in many synthetic biology projects and EB has completed several projects for which the deliverable has been genetic constructs to enable gene editing. To achieve socioeconomic impact, the eventual outcomes of these projects require a pathway to market, which is currently limited by the regulatory landscape. We have therefore engaged with members of the government and associated agencies to provide scientific evidence on the methods of production as well as the potential impacts of genome editing in agriculture. In 2019, we presented oral evidence to the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Commons. We have worked with European Food Safety Authority to evaluate existing guidelines for the molecular characterisation and environmental risk assessment of genetically modified plants obtained through synthetic biology. In 2021, we submitted a response to a DEFRA consultation on the regulation of genetic technologies; we worked with NRP colleagues to advocate BEIS officials the potential for gene editing innovation as an economic development opportunity in relation to both the R&D Place Strategy and the Life Science Vision; we advised the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology on the content of a new POSTnote on gene editing in agriculture, which informed Parliament's response to DEFRA legislation; the EB participated in an EI-hosted policy roundtable discussion on new regulation for genetic technologies with 15 members of the DEFRA policy team and other NRP based stakeholders including representatives from the NBIs. Updated regulations for Genetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 to use existing powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to simplify the process of research and development in plants were laid before the House of Commons in January 2022 and debated and approved in the House of Lords in March 2022. Earlham Institute then continued to engage with Parliamentarians in both Houses to support the swift passage of the Bill. We worked closely with Norwich Research Park colleagues to present a united front to Parliamentarians scrutinising the Bill. We have provided written material during the Committee stages and proactively sent parliamentary briefings to MPs and Peers. Our briefings have included case studies about our collective research, as well as advocacy about the potential for gene editing to contribute to tackling challenges such as climate change, food security and biodiversity loss. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Economic Policy & public services |
| Description | Advised the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology on the content of a new POSTnote on gene editing in agriculture |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://post.parliament.uk/research-briefings/post-pn-0663/ |
| Description | FNS cloud Advisory Board |
| Geographic Reach | Europe |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| URL | https://www.fns-cloud.eu/overview/advisory-board/ |
| Description | Invited submission to the ad hoc technical expert group (AHTEG) on digital sequence information on genetic resources of the the Convention on Biological Diversity |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.cbd.int/abs/dsi-gr/ahteg.shtml#submissions |
| Description | Meeting with Professor Lionel Clark (Chair of the Synthetic Biology Leadership Council) to discuss synbio strategy in Agrifood sector |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Meeting with Sir John Kingman to discuss UKRI strategy and the sustainability of Institutes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health |
| 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 | Membership of Future Leaders Fellowship Panel |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Policy Round Table on Synthetic Biology, UK Cabinet Office |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Submission to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture ( ITPGRFA) on access and benefit sharing of digital sequence information |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Description | Synthetic Biology Expert Roundtable, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| 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 | 07/2017 |
| End | 08/2018 |
| Description | A modular synthetic biology pipeline for the engineering of next generation sustainable and bioactive dyes |
| Amount | £393,067 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | 72672 |
| Organisation | Innovate UK |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2020 |
| End | 04/2022 |
| Description | Biological production of bioactives from medicinal Asteraceae |
| Amount | £20,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2023 |
| End | 09/2027 |
| Description | CyanoSource: A foundry generated barcoded mutant library resource for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 |
| Amount | £343,143 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/S020365/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 10/2024 |
| Description | ERA CoBioTech |
| Amount | € 1,643,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | BB/021554/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2018 |
| End | 03/2021 |
| Description | FTMA4 - Earlham Institute Flexible Talent Mobility Account |
| Amount | £107,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/X017761/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| 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 | 09/2017 |
| End | 09/2020 |
| Title | A biofoundry workflow for the identification of genetic determinants of microbial growth inhibition |
| Description | Biofoundries integrate high-throughput software and hardware platforms with synthetic biology approaches to enable the design, execution and analyses of large-scale experiments. The unique and powerful combination of laboratory infrastructure and expertise in molecular biology and automation programming, provide flexible resources for a wide range of workflows and research areas. This workflow demonstrate the applicability of biofoundries to molecular microbiology to identify the genetic basis of growth inhibition of the plant pathogen Streptomyces scabies by a Pseudomonas strain. Combining transposon mutagenesis with automated high-throughput antagonistic assays, the workflow accelerated the screening of 2880 mutants to correlate growth inhibition with a biosynthetic gene cluster within 2 weeks. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | This method exemplifies the relevance of biofoundries to study microbial interactions in the soil, identifying gene clusters implicated in the growth inhibition of plant pathogens. Such microbial interactions are of interest to agriculture, particularly the identification and characterization of plant-associated or rhizospheric soil bacteria capable of inhibiting the growth of specific plant pathogens. The workflow accelerates screening processes, increases reproducibility and minimizes human error. Additionally, the development of this method resulted in a scientific publication. |
| URL | https://academic.oup.com/synbio/article/6/1/ysab004/6122745 |
| Title | Automated preparation of crystallization screening solutions. |
| Description | The workflow allows the automated generation of 96 different crystallization solutions, and their aliquots in 96 deep well blocks to a total of 480 samples. The workflow is available to the research community as service. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The workflow is available to the research community reducing cost in consumables. This method will allow us to develop automated approaches to more complex crystallization solutions, minimizing human errors and cost. |
| Title | Cell-free expression toolkit for plant proteins |
| Description | A phytobrick-compatible molecular toolbox containing plasmid acceptors for cell-free expression using Escherichia coli or wheat germ lysates as well as a set of N- and C-terminal tag parts for detection, purification and improved expression/folding. |
| Type Of Material | Biological samples |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The toolkit enabled the rapid screening of candidate enzymes to identify those with the desired activity. The toolkit has been requested by a number of other laboratories and has been made available through the Addgene plasmid repository. |
| URL | https://www.addgene.org/browse/article/28215454/ |
| Title | High-throughput fermentation screening for yeast with real-time monitoring of biomass, pH and dissolved oxygen |
| Description | The BioLector is a microfermentator able to mimic small bioreactor conditions allowing simultaneously high-throughput fermentation procedures and live monitoring of parameter such as OD, temperature, pH and fluorescence emission. Using this system, we were able to monitor five yeast strains biomass production, pH values and dissolved oxygen in real time throughout the culture duration. |
| Type Of Material | Technology assay or reagent |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This method has been develop to increase the service porfolio of the EI DNA Foundry and phenotipically characterise yeast with industrial interest and compare strains for their ability to heterologously express a set of high-value proteins or metabolites. Provided as service at the DNA Foundry Facility |
| Title | Database of Automation scripts for Synbio in Github (https://github.com/Earlham-Biofoundry) |
| Description | Creation of a Database of Automation scripts for Synbio in Github (https://github.com/Earlham-Biofoundry) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Knowledge Exchange and sharing of Automated protocols with other Biofoundries and Researchers. |
| URL | https://github.com/Earlham-Biofoundry |
| Description | 21EBTA Engineering specialised metabolism and new cellular architectures in plants |
| Organisation | John Innes Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Designed automated protocol for the large-scale assembly of core synthetic pathway for the production of natural compounds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in synthetic biology to design/optimise biosynthetic pathways to produce natural compounds, and expertise in engineering Marchantia polymorpha to trigger production of compounds of interest for different sectors (agricultural, food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical). |
| Impact | No impact yet. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | 21EBTA Engineering specialised metabolism and new cellular architectures in plants |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Designed automated protocol for the large-scale assembly of core synthetic pathway for the production of natural compounds. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in synthetic biology to design/optimise biosynthetic pathways to produce natural compounds, and expertise in engineering Marchantia polymorpha to trigger production of compounds of interest for different sectors (agricultural, food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical). |
| Impact | No impact yet. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Amplification and Assembly of DNA parts to asses Bacterial motility (NT) |
| Organisation | Quadram Institute Bioscience |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Developed an Automated amplification protocol and Assembly of DNA parts to asses bacterial motility. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise for the design and provision of DNA parts to assembly a DNA collection of bacterial mutants with impaired motility. |
| Impact | No impact. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | CyanoSource : An automated mutant library and synthetic biology resource facility for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 |
| Organisation | University of East Anglia |
| Department | School of Biological Sciences UEA |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Quote for Grant application Training in automation for a Senior Research Associate Support, expertise and access to technological platforms to develop the project CyanoSource, the first mutant library and plasmid resource facility for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Grant application Expertise and intellectual input to develop the project CyanoSource, the first mutant library and plasmid resource facility for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. |
| Impact | Development of new DNA assembly workflow from PCR amplicons at the EI DNA Foundry. Training of visiting scientist |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | CyanoSource : An automated mutant library and synthetic biology resource facility for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Quote for Grant application Training in automation for a Senior Research Associate Support, expertise and access to technological platforms to develop the project CyanoSource, the first mutant library and plasmid resource facility for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Grant application Expertise and intellectual input to develop the project CyanoSource, the first mutant library and plasmid resource facility for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. |
| Impact | Development of new DNA assembly workflow from PCR amplicons at the EI DNA Foundry. Training of visiting scientist |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Developing an automated growth-challenge assay for the plant pathogen Streptomyces scabies |
| Organisation | John Innes Centre |
| Department | Molecular Microbiology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Design and development of an automated workflow to screen a Pseudomonas putida mutant's library. Design and development of an automated growth-challenge assay for plant pathogens. Access to Technology platforms and expertise in automation |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in microbiology and intellectual input on the assay design |
| Impact | Development of new automated workflows and assay. Publication: 10.1093/synbio/ysab004 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Development of a automated high-throughput Agrobacterium transformation method (FR) |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Develop an automated Opentron protocol for high-throughput Agrobacterium transformation using chemically competent cells. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Develop a miniaturised protocol for high-throughput Agrobacterium transformation using chemically competent cells. |
| Impact | No impact yet. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Development of a legal tool to openly share biological materials: OpenMTA |
| Organisation | BioBricks Foundation |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Participated in a working group comprising researchers, technology-transfer professionals, social scientists, legal experts, and others interested in creating a legal framework that could improve sharing of biomaterials |
| Collaborator Contribution | Participated in a working group comprising researchers, technology-transfer professionals, social scientists, legal experts, and others interested in creating a legal framework that could improve sharing of biomaterials |
| Impact | https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4263 |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Development of a legal tool to openly share biological materials: OpenMTA |
| Organisation | Earlham Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Participated in a working group comprising researchers, technology-transfer professionals, social scientists, legal experts, and others interested in creating a legal framework that could improve sharing of biomaterials |
| Collaborator Contribution | Participated in a working group comprising researchers, technology-transfer professionals, social scientists, legal experts, and others interested in creating a legal framework that could improve sharing of biomaterials |
| Impact | https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4263 |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Development of a legal tool to openly share biological materials: OpenMTA |
| Organisation | OpenPlant Fund |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Participated in a working group comprising researchers, technology-transfer professionals, social scientists, legal experts, and others interested in creating a legal framework that could improve sharing of biomaterials |
| Collaborator Contribution | Participated in a working group comprising researchers, technology-transfer professionals, social scientists, legal experts, and others interested in creating a legal framework that could improve sharing of biomaterials |
| Impact | https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4263 |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Development of a legal tool to openly share biological materials: OpenMTA |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Participated in a working group comprising researchers, technology-transfer professionals, social scientists, legal experts, and others interested in creating a legal framework that could improve sharing of biomaterials |
| Collaborator Contribution | Participated in a working group comprising researchers, technology-transfer professionals, social scientists, legal experts, and others interested in creating a legal framework that could improve sharing of biomaterials |
| Impact | https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.4263 |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Development of a workflow for automated DNA assembly and cell-free expression (CFPS) of plant proteins (NP) |
| Organisation | Earlham Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Developed molecular tools and automated Biofoundry workflows to enable cell-free expression of plant proteins significantly increasing the scale and throughput of experimentation. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in Plant synthetic biology and resources to identify sources of bioactive natural products |
| Impact | https://doi.org/10.1093/synbio/ysab029 |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Generation of CyanoSource: A foundry generated barcoded mutant library resource for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 |
| Organisation | University of East Anglia |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Training and expertise to build an automated high-scale DNA library for generating a barcoded cyanobacteria mutant collection. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in cyanobacterial manipulation and transformation. Expertise in automated workflows for DNA assembly. |
| Impact | no impact yet. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Generation of CyanoSource: A foundry generated barcoded mutant library resource for the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Training and expertise to build an automated high-scale DNA library for generating a barcoded cyanobacteria mutant collection. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in cyanobacterial manipulation and transformation. Expertise in automated workflows for DNA assembly. |
| Impact | no impact yet. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Using synthetic biology to make anticancer peptides (AT) JIC |
| Organisation | John Innes Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Developing methodology to assemble genes using high-throughput robotic methods aiming to enhance the production of proteins and bioactive natural products, and establish automated approaches for Streptomyces synthetic biology. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Expertise in the discovery and biosynthesis of peptide-derived metabolites from bacteria and in the genetic manipulation of actinobacterial strains and heterologous expression of complex pathways. |
| Impact | No impact yet. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| 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 | 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 | AgriTech East - Pheromones for Insect Pest Control |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Ineractive presentation at Agritech East event to farmers, agronomists and the general public about biomanufacturing of insect sex pheromones for pest control in agriculture. Participants were given a brief presentation on bioproduction on insect pheromones and progressed through a 'fragrant biochemical pathway'. This was followed by small group discussions on new methods for pest control and the uses of biotechnology in agriculture. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Biofoundry introduction |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Meeting with NeoGenome Ltd to explore collaboration and service opportunities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Blog post - 'Unlocking power of gene editing to protect the natural environment' |
| 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 | Blog post - 'Unlocking power of gene editing to protect the natural environment' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/newsroom/unlocking-power-gene-editing-protect-natural-environment-earlham-... |
| 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 | EI Innovate 2020: From Identification to Intervention |
| 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 | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | EI Innovate is a networking event to explore opportunities for collaboration and innovation with external organisations. Having worked with agri-food, biotech and med-tech sectors, we have a wealth of experience in collaborating with others on developing potential solutions to industrial and societal challenges. The event was virtual this year, showcasing EI's expertise and capabilities across 3 select areas : Disease identification and monitoring - how genomics and bioinformatics are used for disease identification and monitoring, from COVID-19, to AMR to agricultural pathogens. Finding a needle in a haystack - Identifying specific targets in health and disease with long read RNA and single cell sequencing. Accelerating plant breeding with next generation genetics, genomics and epigenetics. We shared examples of existing collaborations and use it as a chance to explore new opportunities. There was also a chance for participants to promote their work with lightning pitches, and participate in 1-to-1 meetings to network further. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/ei-innovate-2020 |
| Description | EI Innovate: a platform for collaboration and new ideas |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | EI Innovate: a platform for collaboration and new ideas |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/ei-innovate-platform-collaboration-and-new-ideas |
| 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 | Global BioFoundry Meeting at Kobe (Japan) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Research institutions around the world have been establishing biofoundries to expand their biotechnology development capacities. However, the existence of these biofoundries is not yet widely known.Biofoundries aim to accelerate and enhance both academic and translational research in engineering/synthetic biology. To enable global coordination of these efforts, 15 non-commercial biofoundries from four continents gathered in London in June 2018 to discuss the formation of a Global Biofoundry Alliance (GBA). The GBA was formally launched on 9th May, 2019 in Kobe, Japan, during a meeting of the Founding Members. As outcome, the GBA members have agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding, which is a voluntary arrangement dependent upon goodwill and cooperation. The main goals are: 1 Develop, promote, and support non-commercial biofoundries established around the world, 2 Intensify collaboration and communication among biofoundries, 3 Collectively develop responses to technological, operational, and other types of common challenges, 4 Enhance visibility, impact and sustainability of non-commercial biofoundries 5 Explore globally relevant and societally impactful grand challenge collaborative projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.synbicite.com/news-events/events/global-biofoundry-meeting/ |
| Description | Global BioFoundry Meeting at London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Increase collaboration among national and international Bio Foundries |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://biofoundries.org/global-biofoundry-meeting-london-june-2018 |
| Description | Introduction to Automation and the Opentrons OT2 Workshop (Cambridge) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I participated in the delivery of an Automation workshop (4 hours). The workshop introduced the benefits of automation and in particular the Opentrons OT-2 instrument to interested members of the Engineering Biology community around the Cambridge area. There were approximately 15-20 attendees ranging from phD students, post doc researchers to industrial researchers who all had an interest in how automation could benefit their research/work. The attendees took part in discussion and also had the opportunity to design their own simple protocol to gain insight into how accessible the Opentrons instrument and software are. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Media interview about a new method for automated functional genomics screens of plant pathogens. |
| 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 | Media interview about a new method for automated functional genomics screens of plant pathogens. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.earlham.ac.uk/newsroom/rapid-new-automated-genomics-screening-stamps-out-crop-disease |
| 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 | 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 | Oral presentation - Population level cis-regulatory variation highlights the importance of DNA shape to transcription factor binding affinity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Oral presentation at the SMBE Annual Meeting 2019, Manchester, UK 21-25 July 2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Participation in the Steering Committee for Standards and Metrology in Engineering Biology |
| 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 | Participation in the steering committee for the development of standards and metrology in engineering biology with the National Measurement Laboratory. This activity is ongoing and is expected to lead to the development of standards to improve the accuracy of measurements, essential for confidence in engineering biology products that are brought to market/the clinic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| 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 | Presenter at the EI Innovate 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | EI Innovate is an annual engagement event that provides an insight into the Earlham Institute's research, exploring opportunities for innovation and collaboration. Specialising in agri-food, biotech, med-tech and public health, we have a wealth of experience collaborating with others to develop potential solutions to urgent industrial and societal challenges. The biofoundry presented their platforms and workflows as well as the business model and opportunities. As a result, the Earlham Biofoundry engaged in further meetings with potential users that have an interest in high-through put experimentation that wishes to learn more about our capabilities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Press release: Discovering hidden plant medicines on your doorstep |
| 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 | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release on how our scientists are delving into the genetics of UK wildflowers to find the medicines that we never knew were right on our doorstep. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | http://www.earlham.ac.uk/newsroom/discovering-hidden-plant-medicines-your-doorstep |
| Description | Production of 3 Earlham Institute Biofoundry training videos supported by the Award BB/W510890/1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The activity consisted of the preparation of 3 training videos produced with EyeFilm. The purpose of these videos (Opentrons, Echo and Biolector) is to introduce 3 pieces of the equipment and protocols used in the Earlham Institute's Biofoundry, ahead of individuals arriving on site. The goal is that these videos will expedite the on-site training required while still providing these individuals with high-quality guidance and support. For each of the planned films, a script was developed and annotated with suggested shots or sections for animation/graphics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3lTC-_gPbd7zuGDqeAN0WdnD-KWxm0Ht |
| 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 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 Earlham Biofoundry: How automation can help on your research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | EI Seminar series is an internal event to promote and show cast research and capabilities to EI faculty and scientist based on the NRP. The talk was focused on how automation can help accelerate research and how scientist and industry can collaborate, interact and request services from the EI Biofoundry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | The Earlham Biofoundry:Â Unleashing the Power of Automation for Engineering Biology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Engagement with industry (ELO life, https://elolife.ag/) to promote the EI Biofoundry and explore future opportunities of consultancy, collaboration, and services. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| 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 | Training at the Biofoundry supported by the Earlham Institute's Flexible Talent Mobility Account (FTMA) Award BB/W510890/1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The activity consisted of the Earlham Institute Biofoundry staff providing training on the use of the Biolector and Robolector equipment. The trainee was CG from Colorifix. The purpose was to allow the trainee, CG from Colorifix staff to gain skills and be self-sufficient in both experimental design, software and hardware operation and analyses and interpretation of results. By exploiting the use of the Biolector and Robolector, Colorifix improved their throughput capability in screening strains and media, as well as increase the dataset generated from these experiments. This will serve to strengthen and fasten their pipelines when scaling-up processes to industrial fermentations. The trainee expressed that acquired the ability to confidently operate the Biolector and learning about the equipment additional uses and limitations, she will need support if troubleshooting is needed, which can be provided by EB staff. As impact, there are discussions ongoing about running more microfluidic experiments using the Biolector and likely Robolector with staff from Colorifix, there is an interest to explore using it for fed-batch fermentations. Impact/outcomes: There was a request about further involvement and running more microfluidics experiments at the Earlham Institute Biofoundry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | UK BioFoundries Meeting at Edinburgh |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Increase and improve collaboration between UK Biofoundries, provide a Biofoundries update, define the objectives and priorities to build the UK biofoundries portal, discus grand challenges that could only be tackled by a joint biofoundry effort. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| 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 - A celebration of science in Norwich - 27.08.2018 |
| 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 | Articles such as this pertain to our publically funded research such that the information gleaned can be disseminated to the general public. As of March 2019, our articles have reached people in all but 6 countries worldwide, with over 50000 pageviews on our website in the year 2018. On social media, this reach has exceeded a million people, monthly. As part of an expanding portfolio covering the range of science that we do, each article forms a vital component of how we engage the wider international community with important scientific breakthroughs and knowledge. Promoting our engagement in the Noriwch Science festival beyond our region. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/celebration-science-norwich |
| Description | Web article - Decoding Living Systems: from cell to ecosystem - 28.03.2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Articles such as this pertain to our publically funded research such that the information gleaned can be disseminated to the general public. As of March 2019, our articles have reached people in all but 6 countries worldwide, with over 50000 pageviews on our website in the year 2018. On social media, this reach has exceeded a million people, monthly. As part of an expanding portfolio covering the range of science that we do, each article forms a vital component of how we engage the wider international community with important scientific breakthroughs and knowledge. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.earlham.ac.uk/articles/decoding-living-systems-cell-ecosystem |
| 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 | 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 |