SynbiCITE is the UK's national Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) for the adoption and use of synthetic biology by industry.[1] It also helps to incubate new businesses by providing them with space and accelerator programs, including funding, training and mentoring.

SynbiCITE
Formation2013 (2013)
TypeBusiness Incubator
PurposeSupporting synthetic biology in industry
HeadquartersImperial College London
AffiliationsInnovate UK, EPSRC, BBSRC
WebsiteSynbiCITE.com

History

edit

SynbiCITE was created in 2013 after a UK-wide competition to find the most suitable host university with the best strategic plan.[2] Initially funded by the government and other partners for five years, the organization was intended to become self-sustaining by 2018.[3][4] In April 2016, SynbiCITE opened the Synthetic Biology Foundry, a Research Councils UK-funded facility providing remote gene design, construction, and validation services using laboratory robotics. Based on a similar facility at MIT, it is the first commercial facility in the United Kingdom using laboratory automation to provide on-demand services specifically for synthetic biology.[5][6]

In 2019, the DNA Foundry opened at Imperial College London's White City Campus.[7] Its goal is to enable businesses to outsource DNA manufacture, design, and testing and accelerate the development of DNA-based technologies in the UK. SynbiCITE also supported the development of OpenCell, which provides affordable biotechnology labs using shipping containers in White City.[8]

Organisation

edit

SynbiCITE is headquartered at Imperial College London. It is funded by a public-private partnership between the EPSRC, BBSRC, and Innovate UK, as well as several industrial and private investors.[9] It is run and managed by a board consisting of two co-directors (Professor Richard Kitney and Professor Paul Freemont).

References

edit
  1. ^ "Innovation and knowledge centres – EPSRC website". epsrc.ukri.org.
  2. ^ "National hub to support synthetic biology extended with £5.5m funding commitment | Imperial News | Imperial College London". Imperial News. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  3. ^ "New Innovation and Knowledge Centre to drive UK's Synthetic Biology progress – EPSRC website".
  4. ^ "News in brief – 18 July 2013". 17 July 2013.
  5. ^ "The UK's First Robotic DNA Factory Has Opened in London".
  6. ^ "'DNA factory' opens at Imperial College London". Independent.co.uk. 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Behind-the-scenes @ London DNA Foundry, Imperial West White City". Friends of Imperial.
  8. ^ Ireland, Tom (25 August 2018). "Buildings made from fungi? Meet London's pop-up bio-lab innovators".
  9. ^ "UK's synthetic biology industry gets £10m boost – E & T Magazine".

51°29′58″N 0°10′32″W / 51.49944°N 0.17556°W / 51.49944; -0.17556