Developing platforms for the production of diterpenoids
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Plant Sciences
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 project will address issues of supply and high production costs of selected high value chemicals of particular interest to its industrial partners (GSK, Unilever and Croda) and will provide advances in technology for wider applications across UK research and industry.
Currently a number of plant diterpenoids are used in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, food additive and fragrance industries. These are sourced from a limited number of species, restricting their supply and greatly increasing their cost. Using synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, the project will develop new production systems for high value diterpenoids by exploiting recent gene-based discoveries and novel platforms developed by the academic partner laboratories.
The aim of this project is to develop scalable heterologous production systems for diterpenoids. First, "chassis organisms" will be constructed that can supply elevated levels of the common diterpenoid precursor geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. Genes for secondary metabolism will then be introduced into these chassis to create strains producing specific target compounds. We will then scale up laboratory production processes to pilot scale (eg 100 litre fermenter) and develop processes for the purification of the target compounds. Although we will focus primarily on specific diterpenoids of interest to the industrial partners within our consortium, the GGPP producing chassis will be universal in that they could also be adapted to produce a wider range of diterpenoids of interest to the pharmaceutical, personal care, food, fragrance and agricultural industries.
The overall team has a very good balance of 'push and pull' and is well placed academically, technically and commercially to deliver a high impact project for the IB Catalyst.
Currently a number of plant diterpenoids are used in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, food additive and fragrance industries. These are sourced from a limited number of species, restricting their supply and greatly increasing their cost. Using synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, the project will develop new production systems for high value diterpenoids by exploiting recent gene-based discoveries and novel platforms developed by the academic partner laboratories.
The aim of this project is to develop scalable heterologous production systems for diterpenoids. First, "chassis organisms" will be constructed that can supply elevated levels of the common diterpenoid precursor geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate. Genes for secondary metabolism will then be introduced into these chassis to create strains producing specific target compounds. We will then scale up laboratory production processes to pilot scale (eg 100 litre fermenter) and develop processes for the purification of the target compounds. Although we will focus primarily on specific diterpenoids of interest to the industrial partners within our consortium, the GGPP producing chassis will be universal in that they could also be adapted to produce a wider range of diterpenoids of interest to the pharmaceutical, personal care, food, fragrance and agricultural industries.
The overall team has a very good balance of 'push and pull' and is well placed academically, technically and commercially to deliver a high impact project for the IB Catalyst.
Planned Impact
As described in proposal submitted to TSB
People |
ORCID iD |
| Alison Smith (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Brodie J
(2017)
The Algal Revolution.
in Trends in plant science
Bunbury F
(2020)
Responses of a Newly Evolved Auxotroph of Chlamydomonas to B 12 Deprivation
in Plant Physiology
Crozet P
(2018)
Birth of a Photosynthetic Chassis: A MoClo Toolkit Enabling Synthetic Biology in the Microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
in ACS synthetic biology
Geisler K
(2021)
Exploring the Impact of Terminators on Transgene Expression in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii with a Synthetic Biology Approach.
in Life (Basel, Switzerland)
Jackson H
(2021)
The Algal Chloroplast as a Testbed for Synthetic Biology Designs Aimed at Radically Rewiring Plant Metabolism
in Frontiers in Plant Science
Llavero-Pasquina M
(2022)
Thiamine metabolism genes in diatoms are not regulated by thiamine despite the presence of predicted riboswitches.
in The New phytologist
Mehrshahi P
(2020)
Development of Novel Riboswitches for Synthetic Biology in the Green Alga Chlamydomonas.
in ACS synthetic biology
Moses T
(2017)
Synthetic biology approaches for the production of plant metabolites in unicellular organisms.
in Journal of experimental botany
Nguyen GT
(2016)
Role of riboswitches in gene regulation and their potential for algal biotechnology.
in Journal of phycology
| Description | Industrial biotechnology uses biological systems to generate a range of products, from pharmaceuticals, food additives and colourants, vitamins, and other chemicals. It is an increasingly important sector because it offers the way to make these materials more efficiently and with less reliance on fossil fuels. In this project, which is joint between Universities of York, Cambridge and Reading, and three multinational companies, we are trying to establish a platform that will allow production of molecules called diterpenoids, which have potential as drugs. In Cambridge we are focussing on trying to get microalgae, simple aquatic plants, to make these compounds. Although the project is still running, we have already made a number of advances. We have established a tool-kit for manipulation of the microalgae that gives effective and reproducible expression of plant genes, and we have generated several strains that make the first diterpenoid compound we are interested in. We have also established a system to regulate expression of the genes in the microalga by adding the vitamin B1 (thiamine), which will be important if the compounds turn out to impede growth of the cells. This has allowed us to have the gene for the enzyme switched off initially, and then only expressed once we have produced enough algal cells. We have demonstrated that this works at the laboratory scale, and investigated the timing of the regulation and the concentration of thiamine needed to regulate the system. We have tested the production strain in outdoor conditions at larger scales and were able to show that the diterpenoid was still produced. We are now investigating effect of changing a range of parameters (size and shape of photobioreactor, means of harvesting, media composition amongst others). |
| Exploitation Route | We have published our work on the standard DNA 'parts' toolkit needed to manipulate the microalga Chlamydomonas, and have made the kit available to the community for research purposes. We have published a paper on the dissection of a regulatory element, a thiamine pyrophosphate riboswitch, and shown that we can regulate production of our high value compound by tuning the riboswitch. This has been made available to colleagues in the community. We are preparing two additional papers on the scale up of our production strain and on a refinement of the regulatory system, whereby we can use the riboswitch to tune expression of chloroplast encoded genes. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Description | We have secured several additional grants to support work with companies or to develop open source tools |
| First Year Of Impact | 2017 |
| Sector | Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | BBSRC IBBE Strategy Panel |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Impact | The Strategic panel provided advice and guidance for the setting up of the Networks in Industrial Biotechnology & Bioenergy (NIBBs), which aim to foster increased awareness and interaction between academics and industrialists in the bioeconomy. It was also important for the thinking behind the IB Catalysts, joint with Innovate UK & EPSRC. Many of the grants and proof-of-concept awards are aimed at increased sustainability through the use of IB solutions |
| URL | http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/funding/filter/networks-in-industrial-biotechnology/ |
| Description | Agri-Inno: Stimulating Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Egypt's Agricultural Sector |
| Amount | £28,520 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2017 |
| End | 01/2017 |
| Description | Growth optimisation in next generation algal bioreactors for bioactive compounds |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2018 |
| End | 09/2018 |
| Description | Implementing Algebra guidelines to risk assessments of scale-up of non-native species |
| Amount | £9,500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2017 |
| End | 10/2017 |
| Description | Improving regulation of chloroplast gene expression in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii |
| Amount | £2,100 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | SSB-AU032214 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2022 |
| End | 09/2022 |
| Description | NIBB-BIV Expanding the range of algal species suitable for membrane harvesting |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | Phyconet BIV-22 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2018 |
| End | 09/2018 |
| Description | Phyconet-DEFRA Importing non-native algae - clarifying UK legal requirements for the biotechnology industr |
| Amount | £23,610 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | Phyconet DEFRA |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2018 |
| End | 07/2018 |
| Description | Rewriting The Genetic Code: The Algal Plastome As A Testbed For Basic And Applied Studies |
| Amount | £3,146,402 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | BB/W003538/1 |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2022 |
| End | 03/2027 |
| Title | MoClo Toolkit for Chlamydomonas |
| Description | A kit of 119 standard DNA parts that can be used for Golden Gate (Modular Cloning, MoClo) cloning to prepare constructs for genetic modification of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. |
| Type Of Material | Biological samples |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The kit is freely available to the community (for a small distribution fee) and should enable much more rapid preparation of clones and then easy comparison between results from different groups |
| Description | Promoting algae for industrial biotechnology |
| Organisation | Rothamsted Research |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I have been very active in promoting the idea of using algae as industrial biotechnology (IB) hosts. This has led to a successful BBSRC sLoLa award, and also contributed to the debate about how to cement the rather fragmented algal expertise in the UK. Ultimately the introduction of the BBSRC networks in IB (NIBBs) were borne out of this debate, and these include Phyconet, which is specifically algal biotechnology. In addition several other NIBBs consider using algae as source of novel products, pathways, genes (NPRONet, HVCfP), or as platforms for community based metabolism (ADNET) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Research and development collaborations with colleagues in the algal biotechnology field, but also in metabolic engineering and SMEs in algal biotechnology |
| Impact | sLoLa Several BBSRC NIBBs, with Phyconet as specific one on algal biotechnology IB Catalyst award |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | Promoting algae for industrial biotechnology |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Department | Division of Biosciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I have been very active in promoting the idea of using algae as industrial biotechnology (IB) hosts. This has led to a successful BBSRC sLoLa award, and also contributed to the debate about how to cement the rather fragmented algal expertise in the UK. Ultimately the introduction of the BBSRC networks in IB (NIBBs) were borne out of this debate, and these include Phyconet, which is specifically algal biotechnology. In addition several other NIBBs consider using algae as source of novel products, pathways, genes (NPRONet, HVCfP), or as platforms for community based metabolism (ADNET) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Research and development collaborations with colleagues in the algal biotechnology field, but also in metabolic engineering and SMEs in algal biotechnology |
| Impact | sLoLa Several BBSRC NIBBs, with Phyconet as specific one on algal biotechnology IB Catalyst award |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | Promoting algae for industrial biotechnology |
| Organisation | University of Aberdeen |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I have been very active in promoting the idea of using algae as industrial biotechnology (IB) hosts. This has led to a successful BBSRC sLoLa award, and also contributed to the debate about how to cement the rather fragmented algal expertise in the UK. Ultimately the introduction of the BBSRC networks in IB (NIBBs) were borne out of this debate, and these include Phyconet, which is specifically algal biotechnology. In addition several other NIBBs consider using algae as source of novel products, pathways, genes (NPRONet, HVCfP), or as platforms for community based metabolism (ADNET) |
| Collaborator Contribution | Research and development collaborations with colleagues in the algal biotechnology field, but also in metabolic engineering and SMEs in algal biotechnology |
| Impact | sLoLa Several BBSRC NIBBs, with Phyconet as specific one on algal biotechnology IB Catalyst award |
| Start Year | 2009 |
| Description | AS gave a seminar to Festival of Genomics & Biodata |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | AS gave a seminar to Festival of Genomics & Biodata entitled 'Using Synthetic Biology to Develop Algal Production Platforms for High Value Compounds'. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.genomicseducation.hee.nhs.uk/events/festival-of-genomics-2021/ |
| Description | AS gave a talk at SymBLS21 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | AS gave a talk entitled 'Synthetic Biology Approaches to Developing Microalgal Production Platforms' at SymBLS21, a student-led research conference for postgraduates in Life Sciences at the University of Cambridge. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | AS gave a talk at the 2nd Biodesign Research Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | AS gave a talk at the 2nd Biodesign Research Conference entitled Redesigning the Chlamydomonas chloroplast genome' to an audience from across biological and engineering disciplines, both academics and industrialists. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.biodesign-conference.com/2021/ |
| Description | AS gave a talk to AlgaEurope 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | AS gave a talk entitled 'Coming into the light - from synthetic biology in the lab to growing transgenic algae at scale in the Algal Innovation Centre' to AlgaEurope 2021, the major conference for the algal biotech sector in Europe. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://algaeurope.org/ |
| Description | AS gave a talk to PhD students on AgriForwards CDT in Cambridge. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | AS gave a talk entitled 'Algae for Food - enhancing nutritional value and reducing waste' to students on the AgriForwards Centre for Doctoral Training in agritech at the University of Cambridge. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtO8RRcNaQA&list=PLITP3sTC3oh2wL-aPLEQy1ON68AOzW10E&index=5 |
| Description | Agritech East - outreach evening to algal innovation centre by those interested in and working in farming sector |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This is the text from the Agritech East Report after the event: Sainsbury Lab and Algal Innovation Centre - Cambridge University At the end of January we hosted a Young Innovators' Forum (YIF) visit to the Sainsbury Lab and Algal Innovation Centre, Cambridge University. This was visit as part of YIF programme which aims to bring together early career entrants from across farming, science and technology at innovative agri-business and research facilities. On the night we were joined by farmers, scientists, researchers and engineers who were all interested to find out about the work happening in the lab. The Sainsbury Lab is a world class research facility which opened in 2011. The group found out that the research which is carried out is exploring the regulatory systems which control growth and development in plants. We were able to get an insight into the labs as we walked through the building due to the open plan nature of the space. Unlike some research facilities, the Sainsbury Lab is unusual in having individuals from different research groups sat on the same benches, which encourages more conversation and collaboration across different research strands. We heard about the findings of some of the research and particularly enjoyed finding out about the most unusual discovery which was made totally by accident when a plant was found to produce minerals that were previously only believed to be found in asteroids! We then moved onto the Algal Innovation Centre which sits within the Botanic Gardens. A purpose built facility, the AIC provides a secure environment to carry out research into the uses and behaviour of algae. Matt Davey, Senior Research Associate, talked us through some of the different work which has been carried out within the lab. This includes working with a local water company on growing algae on waste nitrate which can then be used to produce energy by putting it into an anaerobic digester. We learnt about other research linked to the health food sector due to the fact that Omega oils, which in the past have been extracted from fish, an actually be captured from the algae which produces it. Some of the work that Matt and his team have been carrying out is how to optimise growing conditions and nutrient supply, especially understanding how different algal strains survive in different climates. It was a surprise to learn that algal pigments can be found in everyday products such as Smarties and wine gums! Finally, we were shown around the Plant Growth Facility. In this building there are lots of separate chambers in which all factors needed for plant growth can be controlled, such as humidity and light. This enables researchers to be able to drill down into the specific variables that might influence or affect a particular result. As we walked around the facility, we saw a range of plant species being tested on including wheat, potatoes and rice. These secure, air tight chambers also allow tests into plant pathogens to happen as they can be contained and assessed within a rigorous framework. We were really lucky to be able to explore the Sainsbury Lab and Algal Innovation Centre. It was so interesting to hear about all the research that is going on which could impact the agricultural industry in the future. As with all of our YIF events, attendees then had the opportunity to discuss the tours as well as talk about their experience and knowledge in the area. We chatted to some of the attendees to see what they got from attending the event, here is what they had to say: Matt White, Engineer, Cambridge Consultants The YIF visit was an excellent opportunity for industry members like ourselves to learn about the cutting-edge research being carried out in agricultural sectors. Having the opportunity to speak with leading researchers in algae growth and cultivation was fascinating and highly valuable for expanding our knowledge in this area! These events are great at increasing links between academia and industry to help us develop agricultural technology together more effectively. Pamela Ribone, Researcher, Sainsbury Lab The reason for attending the YIF visit was that I really wanted to try and apply what I have done so far with my research to a more applied science, and this was an incredible opportunity to know more about what is in between really basic science and the final application to a product. The Algal Innovation Centre looks like the kind of things I would like to go for the next step. From the visit I understood that they do laboratory research, but focusing on solving problems. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.agri-tech-e.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/civicrm/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=23903&qid=1491603 |
| Description | AlgaeEurope 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of research into algal synthetic biology to the principle conference in Europe aimed at supporting and developing the algal biotechnology sector. About half the participants were from industry (including large multisector, SMEs and startups)and 10% or so policy makers and officials eg from EU. The aim was to inform this group about the potential of synthetic biology in developing algal industrial biotechnology, providing the impetus to consider algae as production platforms for high value products as well as simply for biomass production. As a result, a consortium has been formed of academic colleagues who will share best practice and resources in SynBio. I also described our recently opened Algal Innovation Centre (AIC), where it is possible to carry out pilot-scale algal cultivation, including of GM algae. As a result of the talk several contacts have been made with companies who are interested in the AIC. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | AlgaeUK/IBioC workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | PM gave a presentation titled "Algae research at the Algal Innovation Centre - University of Cambridge" and was a facilitator for the discussion forum on "Biomass Opportunities and Market Needs". The discussion forum on "Biomass Opportunities and Market Needs" discussed key question for industry and academia concerning the gaps in biomass demand outstripping supply, need for regulation/government help in the sector, types of biomass being underutilised. The participants discussed these issues for 35 minutes. The event resulted in industry-academic partnerships that applied for the newly announced funding opportunities from IBiolC, AlgaeUK and BBNET |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BBC Radio 4 Frontiers - What ever happened to biofuels? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was one of 4 invited participants in this programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and available as a podcast. I had many emails and contacts from the wider public, including at the Festival of Plants exhibit, generally indicating that this had increased people's awareness of the possibility to use solar energy with algae, not just for biofuels, but also for other 'green tech'. Their attitude to biofuels per se was also more positive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/player/b02ykygv |
| Description | BBSRC funded Algal Biotechnology workshop for researchers and industry representatives from New Zealand and UK to discuss progress and opportunities in the exploitation of microalgae |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The workshop brought together algal researchers and industry representatives from New Zealand and UK to discuss progress and opportunities in the exploitation of microalgae, particularly as feedstock for aquaculture and as sustainable sources of novel bio-products. The UK delegation included six leading academics, together with representatives of four SMEs from the algal biotech sector: namely, Varicon Aqua, TeeGene Ltd, Greenskill Ltd and Algenuity. Approximate 20 NZ delegates joined the workshop and comprised algal researchers from the Cawthron Institute, several NZ universities, and biotech companies in the Nelson region. We were also honoured to be joined by Min Sung Park, a world authority on algal biotechnology and Distinguished Professor at the Centre for Microalgal Biotechnology and Biofuels, Institute of Hydrobiology, Wuhan, China |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.phyconet.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/NZ-UK-workshop-report.pdf |
| Description | EIT-Food professional course on Algae Biotechnology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A 3-day workshop open to postgraduate, postdoctorate and industry researchers new to algae biotechnology. Opportunities for networking and training, leading to increase entrepreneurial activity in the sector |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.eitfood.eu/education/courses/algae-biotechnology |
| Description | GM presented a poster at the Synthetic Biology UK 2021 conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | GM presented a scientific poster entitled "Engineering 5'UTRs to enhance gene expression in a green alga" on the 22-23 of November in Nottingham, UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.eventsforce.net/biochemsoc/frontend/reg/thome.csp?pageID=53019&ef_sel_menu=703&eventID=1... |
| Description | High Value Products from Plants conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation of algal synthetic biology approaches to help support algal industrial biotechnology. This was at a Network in Industrial Biotechnology & Bioenergy (NIBB) meeting organised by the High Value Compounds from Plants NIBB. Interest was sparked amongst researchers to consider using algae, as well as plants, and production platforms. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | IntoBiology resource |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A final year undergraduate student in Plant Sciences produced a webpage describing work on algae in Plant Sciences and Biochemistry. The webpage is part of the programme established by IntoBiology, aimed at encouraging school children to consider studying plant biology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://intobiology.org.uk/unlocking-the-potential-of-algae-how-the-green-stuff-in-your-pond-might-go... |
| Description | KG Talk at AlgaeEurope 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the event was held online in 2020. Around 250 researchers, industry and business partner with interests in algae biotechnology joined the four-day event. We gave a talk presenting the research in the lab and attended a Q&A session afterwards. Discussions with ongoing partners (e.g. Algenuity) and new partners continued throughout the event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://algaeurope.org/participants-information/?utm_campaign=2911&utm_source=enormail&utm_medium=em... |
| Description | KG conference talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | KG gave a presentation entitled "Synthetic biology approaches to developing microalgal production platforms." at the 6th German Association for Synthetic Biology conference. The conference took place at the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research Würzburg, Germany. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://gasb.de/events/gasb-conference/ |
| Description | KG gave talk at Molecular Life of Diatoms Satellite meeting, Norwich, UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The main Molecular Life of Diatoms conference was accompanied by a satellite meeting on Friday the 19th of July, which focused on important technical advances in diatoms genome editing including methods development, mutant collections, plasmid and data deposition. We presented data on the MoClo syntax and he Golden Gate cloning system that we and others are developing for algae. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://meetings.embo.org/event/19-diatoms |
| Description | KG presented a poster at the Metabolic Engineering 14 Conference, 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Discussions about research results. Updating community on developments on synbio parts. Plans made for future related research activities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://whova.com/web/biolo_202107/ |
| Description | KG presented a talk at the 10th International CeBiTec Research Conference: Prospects and challenges for the development of algal biotechnology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | KG gave a presentation entitled "Synthetic biology for the controlled production of high-value compounds in Phaeodactylum tricornutum." The conference took place att the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF), Bielefeld University, Germany. Due to COVID restrictions the number of participants was restricted. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.cebitec.uni-bielefeld.de/events/conferences/575-algal-biotech-202 |
| Description | Katrin Geisler and Payam Mehrshahi - Lead lecturers for a workshop titled "Expressing transgenes in Chlamydomonas and Phaeodactylum - a guide to commonly used methods for transformation of their nuclear genomes" |
| 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 | Workshop titled "Expressing transgenes in Chlamydomonas and Phaeodactylum - a guide to commonly used methods for transformation of their nuclear genomes" was held on 10th - 11th December. Funding was secured from EIT-Food and AlgaeUK that enabled travel grants to be awarded to delegates from the UK, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Philippines, Brazil, Ghana, and cover their administration and catering costs. The aim of the workshop was to provide hands-on training in use and application of the latest technologies and methodologies for transformation and engineering of the microalgae Chlamydomonas and Phaeodactylum. The format included a daily programme of presentations at the Department of Plant Sciences teaching laboratory introducing delegates to different algal transformation methods, theory of techniques, standard operating procedures and best practices that result in successful transformation of these algae. The delegates were also introduced to the basics of advanced DNA assembly and cloning strategies. During the hands-on sessions delegates had the opportunity to handle, study under the microscope and prepare microalgae before transforming them with transgenes. The programme provided a great opportunity for postgraduate, postdoctorate and researchers to gain training in algal transformation techniques. We expect to run the course again in 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://data.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/PlantMet/index.php/workshop-on-expressing-transgenes-in-chlamydomona... |
| Description | Keynote presentation to AlgaEurope 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | AGS gave a keynote address to AlgaEurope 2022, the major conference for the algal biotech sector in Europe |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://algaeurope.org/ |
| Description | Lead lecturer for a workshop titled "Expressing transgenes in Chlamydomonas and Phaeodactylum - a guide to commonly used methods for transformation of their nuclear genomes" |
| 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 | Workshop titled "Expressing transgenes in Chlamydomonas and Phaeodactylum - a guide to commonly used methods for transformation of their nuclear genomes" was held on 10th - 11th December. Funding was secured from EIT-Food and AlgaeUK that enabled travel grants to be awarded to delegates from the UK, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Philippines, Brazil, Ghana, and cover their administration and catering costs. The aim of the workshop was to provide hands-on training in use and application of the latest technologies and methodologies for transformation and engineering of the microalgae Chlamydomonas and Phaeodactylum. The format included a daily programme of presentations at the Department of Plant Sciences teaching laboratory introducing delegates to different algal transformation methods, theory of techniques, standard operating procedures and best practices that result in successful transformation of these algae. The delegates were also introduced to the basics of advanced DNA assembly and cloning strategies. During the hands-on sessions delegates had the opportunity to handle, study under the microscope and prepare microalgae before transforming them with transgenes. The programme provided a great opportunity for postgraduate, postdoctorate and researchers to gain training in algal transformation techniques. We expect to run the course again in 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://data.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/PlantMet/index.php/workshop-on-expressing-transgenes-in-chlamydomona... |
| Description | Lecturer at the Lisbon Microalgae Biotechnology Advanced Course |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Gave a lecture titled "ENGINEERING MICROALGAE FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY" to course participants who were from international academic institution and industries. The talk helped the audience grasp the current technologies available for engineering of microalgae, the problems with current technologies and how these can be overcome. Questions from the audience helped to expand the topic being covered by my talk (e.g. discussion of current acceptance of GM algae across Europe and Globally). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.limbac.com/ |
| Description | Oxford Uni BioSoc talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Talk at student-run science society entitled "Synthetic biology approaches to developing algal biotechnology platforms" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | PHYCONET (BBSRC NIBB) Meeting: "UK Microalgal biotechnology, creating a unified vision" Cambridge February 2018 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | A workshop of academia, funders, policy makers and industry, aimed at identifying ways to augment and support the UK microalgal business. As a result of the meeting, we made links with several companies and have obtained two Business Interaction Vouchers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://www.phyconet.org.uk/document_category/uk-microalgal-biotechnology-creating-a-unified-vision |
| Description | PM presented a talk at the EIT-Food event "Through the keyhole" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | PM, LA, EH gave joint talk about acitivities in the Algal Innovation Centre. The presentation was titled "Through the Keyhole Algal Innovation Centre" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk/events/through-laboratory-keyhole |
| Description | PM presented a talk at the Global Food Security Forum, University of Cambridge titled "Algae: Food for the future kitchen" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | PM gave a presentation titled "Algae: Food for the future kitchen" and introduced what algae are, and how microalgae can/are being used in food. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/education/graduate-study/master-of-studies-in-sustainability-leadership |
| Description | PM presented a talk for the University of Cambridge Master of Studies in Sustainability Leadership Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | PM gave a presentation titled "Algal solutions for a sustainable future" introduced research from the Algal Innovation Centre that is leading to sutainable practices in the microalgal sector and which is of interest to industries in this sector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/education/graduate-study/master-of-studies-in-sustainability-leadership |
| Description | PM presented at the IBioIC, AlgaeUK and BBNET Marine Biomass event and was a facilitator for the discussion forum on "Biomass Opportunities and Market Needs" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | PM gave a presentation titled "Algae research at the Algal Innovation Centre - University of Cambridge" and was a facilitator for the discussion forum on "Biomass Opportunities and Market Needs" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.ibioic.com/events-database/marine-biomass-event |
| Description | Phyconet (BBSRC NIBB) Annual Meeting, Plenary speaker |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The talk was aimed at showing that the potential exploitation of algae for industrial purposes needs to be underpinned by fundamental biological understanding. Several industrial colleagues agreed, saying they recognise the need for better algal taxonomy and physiology to support their activities and ensure their IP can be protected. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.phyconet.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/PAC17_programme.pdf |
| Description | Pint of Science |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented a talk on the potential uses of algae for bioenergy production as part of the Pint of Science festival in Cambridge, where scientists engage with people having a drink in a local pub. This takes place in London, Cambridge, Bristol and other university towns each year. As result of my talk and questions afterwards, although most people were not aware initially what algae were, nor how they could be used to generate energy, their opinions became more positive and optimistic towards biofuels generally. Pint of Science was awarded "Points of Light" by the Prime Minister David Cameron in November 2015 and the founders were interviewed about it on London Live TV. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014,2015 |
| URL | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pint_of_Science |
| Description | Presentation at Phyconet NIBB annual meeting - Thinking outside the flask - the Algal Innovation Centre in Cambridge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | It was a networking meeting between academia and industry. As a result we have initiated collaboration with colleagues in an SME in Spain and are providing biological material to a UK SME |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Presentations at AlgaEurope 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Several posters were presented highlighting our research and R&D activities to the major conference for the algal biotech sector in Europe |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://algaeurope.org/ |
| Description | SRA Payam Mehrshahi and Dr Lorraine Archer presented via a video walk-through the Algal Innovation Centre for the EIT food workshop ALGAL BIOTECHNOLOGY 2020 - TECHNIQUES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE BIOECONOMY |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Due to Covid-19 restrictions the EIT Food Professional Development course was redesigned so that 3x 2day courses were combined and presented online once over a two-day course. As the lead organisation, the University of Cambridge team (Payam Mehrshahi, Matthew Davey, Lorraine Archer) produced daily programme of lecture/seminars that brought together leading international experts to introduce the theory of techniques, SOPs best practice and live demonstration of equipment and facilities. The course offered insights and examples from an industrial and entrepreneurial perspective, that helped the participants to start or improve their own algal-based business. The video walk-through of the Algal Innovation Centre at the University of Cambridge was designed by Payam and Lorraine to reflect the wide range of research involving algae that is carried out in the university and in this facility. The 30 minute video was followed by a 45 minute Q&A session during which participants asked about technical aspects of equipment, consumables, algae strains, culturing conditions and trouble shooting advice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.eitfood.eu/media/documents/ALGAL_BIOTECH_DRAFT_TRAINING_COURSE_2020_FINAL_v10.pdf |
| Description | SRA Payam Mehrshahi presented a poster at the International Conference on Plant Synthetic Biology, Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The conference was organised by the Society of Biological Engineering and brought together scientists and engineers from universities, industry and government working in all aspects of plant synthetic biology, plant bioengineering and plant biotechnology. Payam presented research from the lab that concern the use of synthetic biology to develop tools for regulation of gene expression in microalgae. This poster was well received by those in attendance with multiple questions raised to discuss the technical aspects of the molecular tools generated by our research group. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.aiche.org/sbe/conferences/international-conference-on-plant-synthetic-biology-and-bioeng... |
| Description | SRA Payam Mehrshahi presented a talk at the University of Cambridge Global Food Security - Food for Thought - Coffee Break Talks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Payam's talk titled "Algae: towards a more nutritious and sustainable future kitchen" gave an overview of the research in our group and how we think algae is a solution to address deficiencies in food sustainability and nutrition. The 15 minute talk was followed by 45 minutes of Q&A. The audience was extremely diverse with all but one participant being from the algae for food sector. This diversity made for an excellent back and forth on how algae can gain greater foothold in our future kitchen. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.globalfood.cam.ac.uk/repres/food-thought-coffee-break-talks |
| Description | SRA Payam Mehrshahi presented at the EIT food workshop ALGAL BIOTECHNOLOGY 2020 - TECHNIQUES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE BIOECONOMY |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | In 2020 due to the COVID restrictions, the EIT Food professional development course ALGAL BIOTECHNOLOGY - TECHNIQUES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE BIOECONOMY was held as a hybrid course. This course was developed and led by colleagues at The University of Cambridge (UK), Matis (Iceland) and Fraunhofer (Germany). The course attendees were graduate, postgraduate and industry professionals who are interested in gaining exposure to the latest insight into technical, commercial and policy concepts that impact algal biotechnology. Payam's talk titled "Genetic Engineering Approaches For Algal Biotechnology" was followed by a Q&A session. The range of questions was testament to the diversity of interests and stage in career of those in attendance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.eitfood.eu/projects/algal-biotechnology-techniques-and-opportunities-for-the-sustainable... |
| Description | SRA Payam Mehrshahi presented poster at AlgaeEurope 2020 about the research and networking opportunities at the Algal Innovation Centre |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the event was held online in 2020. Around 250 researchers, industry and business partner with interests in algae biotechnology joined the four-day event. Payam presented an overview of research and expertise at the Algal Innovation Centre and indicated areas for networking and collaboration. The video recorded poster presentation was open to Q&A and attracted potential future collaborators. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://algaeurope.org/participants-information/?utm_campaign=2911&utm_source=enormail&utm_medium=em... |
| Description | Science on Saturday, part of SET week in Cambridge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We had a stand in the science tent outside Dept of Plant Sciences. We demonstrated what algae are, what we use for now and how they might be used in the future for energy production. There were activities such as viewing microalgae with microscopes, extracting different light-harvesting pigments, and observing algae phototaxis. Children could handcraft their own algae using pipe cleaners or take part in an interactive algae quiz to win prices. School asked for visit to talk to years 10-13. Established the material to mount a Royal Society Summer Science Exhibit |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2006,2007,2008,2015,2016 |
| Description | Science on Sundays |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Short talk and Q&A on the nature of algae and how their characteristics could be used for sustainable energy, water remediation, or other green tech solutions. Held in the Cambridge Botanic Garden, the audience were interested in plants, and so this was an opportunity to provide information on what algae are, and how they might be used in novel ways. The audience fed back that they felt much better informed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/Botanic/NewsItem.aspx?p=27&ix=196 |
| Description | The Life Scientific on BBC Radio 4 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili about my scientific career and interest in algae and vitamins. The programme "The Life Scientific" was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and was also available on BBC iPlayer and as a podcast. As a result I have had numerous contacts about possible scientific and industrial collaborations, as well as enquiries from the general public about the various topics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08bzl8y |