DOE funding supports new center for multi-scale synthetic biology
Summary
With the DOE grant by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Genomic Sciences Program (GSP), the research team will work to, •Interweave in vivo and in vitro approaches, developing new Synthetic Biology tools and Artificial Intelligence (AI) models, •Establish a predictive, system-level understanding of CO -utilizing biosystems to accelerate sustainable biomanufacturing, and •Engineer industrially relevant CO -utilizing biosystems that produce advanced and performance-advantaged fuels and chemical precursors. This is expected to help support new approaches to biomanufacturing by developing performance-advantaged alternatives to materials, fuels, and solvents today exclusively made from virgin fossil inputs. CEO Jennifer Holmgren recently spoke at the White House Summit on Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing, where she shared her vision for a post-pollution future. According to the DOE, "Alternative clean energy sources like bioenergy are playing a key role in reaching President Bidens goal of a net-zero carbon economy by 2050." U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a recent news release announcing the funding, "These projects will continue to advance the boundaries of biotechnology and support the emergence of a thriving U.S. bioeconomy that creates good-paying jobs and helps us meet our climate goals."