ChELSI: Chemical Engineering Life Science Interface
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Chemical & Biological Engineering
Abstract
In the United States and countries such as Singapore and Korea, chemical engineers collaborate extensively with biologists at what is termed the Life Science Interface. In the United Kingdom, such collaborations are worryingly few in numbers. We propose to establish a research centre - ChELSI, where Chemical Engineers will work at the Life Science Interface. ChELSI's purpose is to build a centre of excellence in its own right and to reach out to the whole UK chemical engineering community.ChELSI will be based in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering at the University of Sheffield. At the core of ChELSI will be existing staff from the Biological and Environmental Systems Group bolstered by new appointments - 3 lecturers, 3 PDRAs, 3 PhD students, 2 technicians and administrative support. The University of Sheffield will contribute to ChELSI by providing 1000 m2 of new laboratories, offices and an ideas space . In this bid we seek funds to support the 11 research staff for five years and to provide laboratory equipment and consumables and small amounts of funding to enable pump-priming of external collaborations.Our vision for ChELSI is that it will be focused on problems of relevance to human health. We propose initial projects in the areas of stem cells and regenerative medicine, kidney diseases, reproductive biology and protein aggregation. However the staff resources we propose should be much more broadly oriented and propose that these be in three thematic areas: (1) analytical techniques underpinning - omic measurement (2) multi-scale modelling and (3) metabolic engineering. These individuals will contribute to our exemplar projects, initiate their own activity and provide a vital source of expertise for reaching out to new collaborators. The concept of ChELSI is that it will be outward looking. To ensure success it must bridge to the life science community and the UK chemical engineering community. This concept is embedded in every level of what we plan: from the layout of the new facilities, with its ideas space , to our portal concept, our hub-and-spoke model for use of facilities, our multi-level communications plan and the membership of our advisory panel.At the end of the five years funding sought with this bid, we expect ChELSI to be a thriving centre of excellence for chemical engineering at the life science interface. More than 25 individuals will work in Sheffield with the costs of the lecturers and technicians borne by the University. Further there will be active links to other chemical engineering departments in the UK and beyond where chemical engineers have become involved in life-science work, in part we hope, because of ChELSI. The net result of this collection of engineers taking their skills to another problem set will be added vitality in their discipline in the UK, the emergence of the UK as the lead competitor to the USA in this field and emergence of quantitative systems level analysis as a routine tool in UK life science research.Given the rate of progress in life science tools and knowledge, we argue that if investment is not made now, the UK will not bridge the gap to the US, chemical engineering here will diverge in nature from other leading countries and UK biologists will either not have access to these skills or will have to seek them overseas.
Publications
Evans CA
(2015)
Reduced keratin expression in colorectal neoplasia and associated fields is reversible by diet and resection.
in BMJ open gastroenterology
Falconer R
(2012)
Terahertz Spectroscopic Analysis of Peptides and Proteins
in Journal of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves
Fazeli A
(2011)
Altered patterns of differentiation in karyotypically abnormal human embryonic stem cells.
in The International journal of developmental biology
Fletcher J
(2008)
Uncovering new challenges in bio-analysis with ToF-SIMS
in Applied Surface Science
Fletcher JS
(2007)
TOF-SIMS 3D biomolecular imaging of Xenopus laevis oocytes using buckminsterfullerene (C60) primary ions.
in Analytical chemistry
Foulger L
(2012)
Efficient purification of chromatin architectural proteins: histones, HMGB proteins and FKBP3 (FKBP25) immunophilin
in RSC Advances
Fuszard M
(2013)
The quantitative proteomic response of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 to phosphate acclimation
in Aquatic Biosystems
Fuszard MA
(2010)
Cellular acclimation strategies of a minimal picocyanobacterium to phosphate stress.
in FEMS microbiology letters
Fuszard MA
(2012)
Comparative quantitative proteomics of prochlorococcus ecotypes to a decrease in environmental phosphate concentrations.
in Aquatic biosystems
Gan CS
(2007)
Technical, experimental, and biological variations in isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ).
in Journal of proteome research
Garlovsky MD
(2020)
Seminal fluid protein divergence among populations exhibiting postmating prezygotic reproductive isolation.
in Molecular ecology
Georgiou AS
(2007)
Modulation of the oviductal environment by gametes.
in Journal of proteome research
Ghai R
(2012)
Applications of isothermal titration calorimetry in pure and applied research--survey of the literature from 2010.
in Journal of molecular recognition : JMR
Glen A
(2008)
iTRAQ-Facilitated Proteomic Analysis of Human Prostate Cancer Cells Identifies Proteins Associated with Progression
in Journal of Proteome Research
Gonzalez-Perez D
(2020)
Directed evolution for improved total secretory protein production in Escherichia coli
Gonzalez-Perez D
(2021)
Random and combinatorial mutagenesis for improved total production of secretory target protein in Escherichia coli
in Scientific Reports
González-Villanueva M
(2019)
Adaptive Laboratory Evolution of Cupriavidus necator H16 for Carbon Co-Utilization with Glycerol.
in International journal of molecular sciences
Guesdon F
(2012)
Expression of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored ligand, growth hormone, blocks receptor signalling.
in Bioscience reports
Hamed SM
(2020)
Influence of nutrient status on the biohydrogen and lipid productivity in Parachlorella kessleri: a biorefinery approach.
in Applied microbiology and biotechnology
Hanotu J
(2014)
Harvesting and dewatering yeast by microflotation
in Biochemical Engineering Journal
Harden CJ
(2012)
Evaluation of the salivary proteome as a surrogate tissue for systems biology approaches to understanding appetite.
in Journal of proteomics
Hautbergue GM
(2009)
UIF, a New mRNA export adaptor that works together with REF/ALY, requires FACT for recruitment to mRNA.
in Current biology : CB
Helliwell KE
(2018)
Quantitative proteomics of a B12 -dependent alga grown in coculture with bacteria reveals metabolic tradeoffs required for mutualism.
in The New phytologist
Hernandez J
(2008)
Inhibition of biogas production and biodegradability by substituted phenolic compounds in anaerobic sludge
in Journal of Hazardous Materials
Hollingshead S
(2012)
Conserved chloroplast open-reading frame ycf54 is required for activity of the magnesium protoporphyrin monomethylester oxidative cyclase in Synechocystis PCC 6803.
in The Journal of biological chemistry
Hounslow E
(2016)
The Search for a Lipid Trigger: The Effect of Salt Stress on the Lipid Profile of the Model Microalgal Species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii for Biofuels Production.
in Current biotechnology
Hounslow E
(2016)
Lipid quantification techniques for screening oleaginous species of microalgae for biofuel production
in European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology
Hung ML
(2010)
Arginine methylation of REF/ALY promotes efficient handover of mRNA to TAP/NXF1.
in Nucleic acids research
Iqbal M
(2008)
Biosorption of lead(II) by free and immobilised fungal biomass of Phanerochaete chrysosporium: a comparative study
in International Journal of Environment and Pollution
Jackson PJ
(2012)
Quantitative proteomic analysis of intracytoplasmic membrane development in Rhodobacter sphaeroides.
in Molecular microbiology
Jajesniak P
(2015)
QuickStep-Cloning: a sequence-independent, ligation-free method for rapid construction of recombinant plasmids.
in Journal of biological engineering
Jajesniak P
(2022)
Rapid Cloning of Random Mutagenesis Libraries Using PTO-QuickStep.
in Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
Jajesniak P
(2019)
PTO-QuickStep: A Fast and Efficient Method for Cloning Random Mutagenesis Libraries
in International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Jensen HS
(2011)
Growth kinetics of hydrogen sulfide oxidizing bacteria in corroded concrete from sewers.
in Journal of hazardous materials
Johnson AO
(2018)
An Engineered Constitutive Promoter Set with Broad Activity Range for Cupriavidus necator H16.
in ACS synthetic biology
Johnson AO
(2017)
Design and application of genetically-encoded malonyl-CoA biosensors for metabolic engineering of microbial cell factories.
in Metabolic engineering
Jones EV
(2007)
Regulation of p73-mediated apoptosis by c-Jun N-terminal kinase.
in The Biochemical journal
Jore MM
(2011)
Structural basis for CRISPR RNA-guided DNA recognition by Cascade.
in Nature structural & molecular biology
Kano Y
(2010)
Text mining meets workflow: linking U-Compare with Taverna.
in Bioinformatics (Oxford, England)
Kapoore R
(2015)
Cell line dependence of metabolite leakage in metabolome analyses of adherent normal and cancer cell lines
in Metabolomics
Kapoore R
(2018)
Microwave-Assisted Extraction for Microalgae: From Biofuels to Biorefinery
in Biology
Kapoore RV
(2019)
Effects of cryopreservation on viability and functional stability of an industrially relevant alga.
in Scientific reports
Kapoore RV
(2022)
Co-culturing microbial consortia: approaches for applications in biomanufacturing and bioprocessing.
in Critical reviews in biotechnology
Kapoore RV
(2016)
Towards quantitative mass spectrometry-based metabolomics in microbial and mammalian systems.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Kapoore RV
(2018)
Quenching for Microalgal Metabolomics: A Case Study on the Unicellular Eukaryotic Green Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
in Metabolites
Karunakaran E
(2011)
"Biofilmology": a multidisciplinary review of the study of microbial biofilms.
in Applied microbiology and biotechnology
Description | The research funded has enabled the establishment of expertise and facilities for advancing analytical techniques underpinning omic characterisations, in particular quantitative proteomics and metabolomics, multi-scale modelling and metabolic engineering, several upstream developments in biomanufacturing impacting on biopharmaceutical, chemical, water, energy and agricultural sectors. These have been used to initiate several projects with life science faculties across the country and beyond, as is evidenced by representative further funding (given elsewhere) that this award has contributed in attracting. It has helped further our interactions with the bio-industry, in particular the bio-pharmaceutical and agricultural sector. The research activities have informed teaching in the Department, resulting in incorporation of life science principles and concepts in chemical engineering curriculum , broadly evidenced by a change in the name of the department from "Chemical & Process Engineering" to "Chemical & Biological Engineering". It has resulted in the establishment of a Masters programme in Biological & Bioprocess Engineering to attract life science graduates to upgrade their education with Chemical Engineering fundamentals. In addition, challenges and concepts in life sciences are taught to undergraduate and post-graduate engineering students in the department to enable and prepare a UK workforce for tomorrow capable of interacting with biologists and addressing the challenges presented by Life Sciences in the Life Science Interface. |
Exploitation Route | The expertise developed using the grant will impact in the education of chemical engineers who will be trained in the challenges of working in the life science interface, as is required, for example, in the burgeoning bio-manufacturing industry with relevance to a wide variety of sectors, such as healthcare, biopharmaceuticals, agriculture, food, environment, energy, bio-based chemicals, etc. The facilities that this grant has helped establish can be used in developing systems level characterisation of biological systems towards developing an understanding of underlying metabolism and developing processes with impact in several of the sectors mentioned above. |
Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Education,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
URL | https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cbe |
Description | The grant has been instrumental in bringing the life sciences interface into chemical engineering education and research at Sheffield, which was the primary vision. This is clearly demonstrated by a change in the name of the associated department from "Chemical & Process Engineering" to "Chemical & Biological Engineering", reflecting the various educational and research activities that the department currently focuses on. The facilities and personnel that the grant helped us attract have been instrumental in developing future Chemical Engineers who are well aware of the challenges they need to address in applying their skill sets to find solutions in the life sciences interface. The grant has been instrumental in initiating and establishing collaborations with life scientists and bio-based industry, contributing to the economic competitiveness of the UK. The grant has enabled establishment of 11 academic members of staff (25% of the department) directly working in the Life Science interface, creating economic and societal impact. It has so far enabled attraction of research income to the tune of GBP 80M (~50M directly apportioned to the department, including 8M from Industry) to create economic and societal impact. It has enabled interactions with Life Science Industries, such as Biogen Idec Ltd., Lonza, Medimmune, Pfizer, Syngenta, etc., to spur economic activity in the UK and beyond. It has enabled interactions with Life Scientists in the UK and abroad (for example, Wageningen Uni, Netherlands, UCL Berkley, USA and Vilnius Univertsity, Lithuania, Bharathidasan University, India) for creating impact. |
First Year Of Impact | 2008 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Education,Energy,Environment,Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Impact Types | Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
Description | BBSRC ALERT14 |
Amount | £400,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/M012166/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2015 |
End | 12/2015 |
Description | Chinese Scholarship Council |
Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 2009623024 |
Organisation | Chinese Scholarship Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | China |
Start |
Description | Engineering new capacities for solar energy utilisation in bacteria |
Amount | £3,380,116 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/M000265/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2015 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | Enhanced Biofuel Production via Integrated Microbubble Technology |
Amount | £932,491 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/N011511/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2016 |
End | 07/2019 |
Description | Marie-Sklodowska Curie Fellowship |
Amount | € 195,000 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 661063 - EQUIP |
Organisation | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Global |
Start | 05/2015 |
End | 04/2017 |
Description | Sustainable Bioenergy from biomass |
Amount | £2,000,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2013 |
End | 10/2016 |
Description | The Biogenesis, Structure and Function of Biological Membranes |
Amount | £3,514,959 (GBP) |
Funding ID | BB/G021546/1 |
Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2009 |
End | 02/2015 |
Title | Dissolved inorganic carbon speciation in aquatic environments |
Description | A method was proposed for the assay of DIC speciation in aquatic environments. |
Type Of Material | Biological samples |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Impact is notable in our research group. Yet to notice impact elsewhere. Likely areas of impact are in Marine science and in algal biotechnology practice. |
Title | iTRAQ based proteomic methodology |
Description | Methodology for quantitative proteomics in microalgae were developed using hydrophobic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC). |
Type Of Material | Biological samples |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Notable impact has been seen within the research group and department. Yet to see notable changes elsewhere. |
Title | Seminal fluid protein divergence among populations exhibiting postmating prezygotic reproductive isolation |
Description | Despite holding a central role for fertilisation success, reproductive traits often show elevated rates of evolution and diversification. The rapid evolution of seminal fluid proteins (Sfps) within populations is predicted to cause mis-signalling between the male ejaculate and female reproductive tract between populations resulting in postmating prezygotic (PMPZ) isolation. Crosses between populations of Drosophila montana show PMPZ isolation in the form of reduced fertilisation success in both noncompetitive and competitive contexts. Here we test whether male ejaculate proteins deriving from either the accessory glands or the ejaculatory bulb differ between populations using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. We find more than 150 differentially abundant proteins between populations which may contribute to PMPZ isolation. These proteins include a number of proteases and peptidases, and several orthologs of D. melanogaster Sfps, all known to mediate fertilisation success and which mimic PMPZ isolation phenotypes. Males of one population typically produced greater quantities of Sfps and the strongest PMPZ isolation occurs in this direction. The accessory glands and ejaculatory bulb have different functions and the ejaculatory bulb contributes more to population differences than the accessory glands. Proteins with a secretory signal, but not Sfps, evolve faster than non-secretory proteins although the conservative criteria used to define Sfps may have impaired the ability to identify rapidly evolving proteins. We take advantage of quantitative proteomics data from three Drosophila species to determine shared and unique functional enrichments of Sfps that could be subject to selection between taxa and subsequently mediate PMPZ isolation. Our study provides the first high throughput quantitative proteomic evidence showing divergence of reproductive proteins implicated in the emergence of PMPZ isolation between populations. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.pvmcvdnhw |
Description | China research |
Organisation | State Oceanic Administration |
Department | Third Institute of Oceanography |
Country | China |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Initiate collaborative dialogue through project student, resulting in joint publication (no formal collaboration yet). |
Collaborator Contribution | Initiate collaborative dialogue through project student, resulting in joint publication. |
Impact | 2 joint publications so far. There has been an initiation of dialogue but no formal collaboration, multi-disciplinary - Engineering and ocean sciences/oceanography. |
Start Year | 2015 |