Read EBRC’s response to the National Defense Education Program’s RFI
Read EBRC’s response to the DoD’s Request for Information (RFI) on Biotechnology Education and Workforce Development. (August 2020)
Activation of Energy Metabolism through Growth Media Reformulation Enables a 24-Hour Workflow for Cell-Free Expression
Max Z. Levine, Byungcheol So, Alissa C. Mullin, Rob Fanter, Kayla Dillard, Katharine R. Watts, Michael R. La Frano, and Javin P. Oza. ACS Synthetic Biology.
You get what you screen for: on the value of fermentation characterization in high-throughput strain improvements in industrial settings
Maren Wehrs, Alexander de Beaumont-Felt, Alexi Goranov, Patrick Harrigan, Stefan de Kok, Sarah Lieder, Jim Vallandingham & Kristina Tyner. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology.
The Genetic Code Kit: An Open-Source Cell-Free Platform for Biochemical and Biotechnology Education
Layne C. Williams, Nicole E. Gregorio, Byungcheol So, Wesley Y. Kao, Alan L. Kiste, Pratish A. Patel, Katharine R. Watts and Javin P. Oza. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology.
Automated design of thousands of nonrepetitive parts for engineering stable genetic systems
Ayaan Hossain, Eriberto Lopez, Sean M. Halper, Daniel P. Cetnar, Alexander C. Reis, Devin Strickland, Eric Klavins & Howard M. Salis. Nature Biotechnology.
Open Postdoc Positions (2020)
EBRC and UC Berkeley are seeking postdoctoral scholars interested in science policy. Postdocs will leverage their previous training to work with EBRC programs and to conduct an individual research project in one of EBRC’s focus areas. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis with positions open in the last summer / early fall 2020.
Council Member Form
Principles of Synthetic Biology edX Course
A free, online course on the basics of synthetic biology with a focus on programming genetic circuits.
Eric Lee
Eric recently received his PhD in Infectious Diseases and Immunity at the University of California, Berkeley. In graduate school, he studied isoprenoid metabolism in the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Outside of the lab, he was an active member of the Science Policy Group at Berkeley and was involved with science advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels, most notably by working with Assemblymember Bill Quirk to propose California Assembly Bill 1178, which aimed to increase labeling standards for over-the-counter probiotic supplements. In his spare time, he enjoys windsurfing at the Berkeley marina. He will primarily be working with the EBRC Roadmapping Working Group.
Becky Mackelprang
Becky Mackelprang is the Director for Security Programs at the Engineering Biology Research Consortium. She leads EBRC’s Security Focus Area, bringing stakeholders across academia, industry, and government together to integrate security awareness into the policy and practice of engineering biology. Becky leads the development of commentary and recommendations on issues such as screening by synthetic DNA providers and the security implications at the intersection of artificial intelligence and engineering biology. She has implemented strategies to incorporate security into researcher education and training. Becky is committed to supporting an engineering biology research and development ecosystem that maximizes societal benefit while using a multi-faceted approach to support safe, secure, and productive innovation. Previously, Becky was an EBRC Science Policy Postdoctoral Scholar, an AAAS Mass Media Fellow, a science communication postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley, and received her Ph.D. in Plant Biology from UC Berkeley.
ABPDU
Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Emeryville, California
Company size: 20
Est. number of positions: 1
Opportunity for remote/virtual internship in 2023: No, in-person only
WEF Blog on Biofoundries
Check out the World Economic Forum blog post by Natalie Curach, Paul Freement, Sang Yup Lee, and Doug Friedman: How scientists are turning living cells into the tiny factories of the future.
Kathryn Brink
I am characterizing peptide interactions with a virulence-associated bacterial sensor (two-component system) from Salmonella Typhimurium, with the goal of identifying therapeutically-relevant antimicrobial peptides. As part of this work, I generate peptide libraries and then use fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and Illumina next-generation sequencing (NGS) to perform high-throughput screening for peptide activity. I analyze the data obtained from these screens using custom Python scripts (using pandas, scipy, BioPython, and regular expressions).
I am also interested in the biosecurity aspects of synthetic biology and currently (as of August 2019) serve as the EBRC Student and Postdoc Association (SPA) liaison to the EBRC Biosecurity Working Group.
Check out our new “Synthetic Biology Media Resources” page
… and subscribe to EBRC’s YouTube channel to watch more than 170 videos about synthetic biology!
Curriculum Modules
This initiative aims to build on existing resources to produce valuable teaching materials for course instructors and assistants. EBRC is supporting work to create and build up-to-date, agile and adaptable curriculum modules for teaching engineering biology – including dynamic classwork, lab protocols, data analysis and homework, reading and recitation, and quiz and exam materials.
K-12 Standards and Curriculum
The Education Working Group aims to develop and update Kindergarten through High School education standards and curricula for the teaching of concepts of engineering/synthetic biology. The Working Group is currently investigating existing standards and building relationships with educators to advance this initiative.
In development – more coming soon.
If you would like to engage with EBRC on this initiative, please contact education@ebrc.org
Expanding access to engineering biology – STEM outreach in high schools
EBRC SPA member Kathryn Brink authors a Nature Communities blog post about increasing engagement in STEM through outreach, providing a first-person perspective about bringing engineering biology to underserved communities.
Anne Meyer
The Meyer lab performs research targeted at re-engineering bacteria to synthesize bio-inspired materials with improved properties. This approach has the potential to replace traditional chemical approaches that require extreme environmental conditions, expensive equipment, and the generation of hazardous waste. As a first step we have targeted bacterial production of patterned artificial nacre, a biomineralized material lining seashells that combines high mechanical strength with high fracture toughness. Combination of our biological materials-producing systems with our newly developed 3D bacterial printers will allow the rapid and straight-forward production of spatially structured biomaterials.
BioBuilder Teacher Training Workshops
Attention all teachers: There are still open spots for BioBuilder’s three-day professional development workshops this summer! Tuition scholarships are available. See the BioBuilder Professional Development website for more info.
New publication from Jewett Lab
A new publication from Jessica Stark (Mike Jewett‘s lab at Northwestern Univ.) describes the use of cell-free synthetic biology in easy-to-use educational kits for teaching CRISPR and antibiotic resistance to high schools students. Check out the paper in ACS Synthetic Biology.