Category: Bristol BioDesign News

Bristol BioDesign News

Biosciences and AI merge with launch of new UKRI Network

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Bringing artificial intelligence (AI) and biosciences together to tackle major societal challenges is the aim of a new five-year £1.6m project involving the University of Bristol and several other UK universities.

The Artificial Intelligence in the Biosciences (AIBIO-UK) network will aim to connect leading AI and core bioscience researchers to unravel biological fundamentals. The ultimate aim of this network is to enhance AI capabilities within the biosciences and be the central point for resources at the interface between AI and the biosciences, placing a strong emphasis on responsible research and innovation and the ethics of AI.

Funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, AIBIO-UK will provide bio-scientists with practical skills and knowledge in AI to benefit their research, while equipping AI researchers with knowledge of the main challenges facing the biosciences. AIBIO-UK will develop new interdisciplinary ways of working via pilot project funding, and develop Grand Challenges of AI in bioscience.

It aims to:

  • Create a stronger community profile for AI in the biosciences in the UK
  • Facilitate networking, knowledge exchange and the formation of new collaborations
  • Support greater awareness, education and training relating to AI within the bioscience community

Dr Lucia Marucci from the School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, and Co-Director of the Bristol BioDesign Institute, is leading Bristol’s contribution to this project. She said: “AI systems are used in wide-ranging applications, from self-driving cars to language translation.

“Recent AI applications to the biosciences have been promising but efforts have been sparse and uncoordinated, and limited to groups or companies with specific expertise.

“The network vision is to bring together AI and core bioscience researchers to address huge societal challenges we face.”

The network, led by the University of Nottingham, includes University of Bristol, Quadram Institute Bioscience, the University of Manchester, University of Aberdeen, King’s College London and Aberystwyth University.

The management team is planning a series of community-created events over the next five years to help raise awareness across the UK biosciences community of exciting, cutting-edge AI development, the opportunities it presents for research collaboration, as well as its challenges.

 A launch event will be held on 11 January next year in Birmingham.

(This news story was originally published by the University of Bristol)

£10.5 million investment to revolutionise future vaccine manufacture

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Members of the project team pose on the steps on Wills Building at University of Bristol.
Future Vaccines Manufacturing Research (FVMR) Hub UK Visit, University of Bristol

A new collaborative initiative between UK universities and countries worldwide to share cutting-edge vaccine technology to prevent future global outbreaks of infectious diseases has been awarded £10.5 million from the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The funding will support the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub (FVMR Hub), set up originally in 2017 by Imperial College London with University of Bristol as a partner, to continue operations for a further five years, until 2029.

As part of this partnership, world-leading vaccine scientists at Bristol are working with one of Vietnam’s major vaccine manufacturers, Vabiotech, to share their expertise in using a powerful recombinant production technology which relies on a synthetic baculovirus used as a production tool.  The technology, pioneered at Bristol, is uniquely suited for producing next-generation vaccines in large quantities in insect cells that can be easily cultured at low cost in Vietnam.

To mark the funding announcement, and to kick-off Vaccine Hub operations, University of Bristol researchers welcomed representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, the CEO and research team of Vabiotech, and leading vaccine scientists and Hub partners from Imperial College London with a reception in the Wills Memorial Building. The visit included a tour of Bristol’s high-tech facilities, including robotics laboratories, the cryogenic electron microscopy facility, and the new biosafety level 3 virology laboratories, all of which were established during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bristol FVMR Hub lead Professor Imre Berger, Director of the Max Planck-Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology and Co-Director of the Bristol BioDesign Institute, said: “Our partner Vabiotech is particularly interested in using the technology we developed in Bristol to produce vaccines to combat rabies and avian flu, both major challenges in Vietnam. We saw just a few years ago how quickly avian flu, which began in Vietnam, developed into a global threat for humans around the world. Together with Vabiotech, we will put cutting-edge technology in place to afford cost-effective protection.

Professor Agnes Nairn, Pro Prof Agnes Nairn accepts framed embroidered picture from Dr Do Tuan Dat of Vabiotech Vice Chancellor (Global Engagement) at the University of Bristol said: “As a university, we are committed to building research partnerships that help make a positive health impact on populations around the world, of which this initiative is set to do. We are delighted by this new funding for the Vaccine Hub which will see our efforts continue in fighting infectious diseases that have the potential to affect us all.”

Professor Robin Shattock, Chair in Mucosal Infection and Immunity at Imperial College London and Lead Investigator of the Hub said: “Through the establishment of the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Hub we are looking to exploit the next wave of biotechnology innovation to rapidly respond to emerging outbreaks and empower countries most at risk to infections to meet their local vaccine needs.”

Dr Dat, CEO and Senior Advisor at Vabiotech, said: “Never has it been more important to work together to help prevent and fight the spread of infectious diseases. The new cost-effective vaccine technology, pioneered at Bristol and shared with Vabiotech, is one example which will help many in our country and, ultimately, also others, who will access these vaccines.”

The hubs were announced by Minister for Health and Secondary Care Will Quince. He said: “I’m thrilled that the UK is building on its strong working relationship with global researchers by funding these innovative vaccine hubs, which will support partners across Africa and South East Asia to improve vaccine manufacturing capability.

“These innovative partnerships between British universities and vaccine developers – with £33 million of UK aid funding – will ensure vaccines are accessible to everyone in need, and allow us to future-proof health systems both here and abroad by accelerating the availability of new vaccines for future pandemics.”

The meeting was also attended by University of Bristol’s Professor Jeremy Tavare, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean, Health and Life Sciences; Professor Liang-Fong Wong, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation; Professor Michele Barbour, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor  for Enterprise and Innovation; Professor Elek Molnar, International Director of the Faculty of Life Sciences; Professor Nigel Savery, Head of the School of Biochemistry; and Dr Kathleen Sedgley, Mr Wayne Powell and Ms Justyna Gol from the Bristol BioDesign Institute.

The initiative is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care as part of the UK Vaccine Network (UKVN), a UK Aid programme to develop vaccines for diseases with epidemic potential in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

(This news story was originally published by the University of Bristol)

Bristol soil study unearths microbe diversity discovery

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Human impacted soils tend to harbour different microbial communities to those areas less affected by human activities, a team of researchers working with Bristol school children have found.

Together, they studied the species of bacteria found in soils at two local schools, Merchants Academy and Brunel Academy, the Avon riverbank, Queens Square, Fenswood Farm and Ashton Court Deer Park.

The team found that human impacted soils still showed a large diversity between sites in terms of the microbes present and the study highlighted that other factors like the geochemical make-up of the soil and environmental factors also play a key role.

Lead author, Dr Matt Tarnowski explained: “One reason researchers are doing this is that many important biotechnologies like novel antibiotics are found in the soil. Building on this interest our multidisciplinary team from the University of Bristol investigated what the soils of Bristol contained in collaboration with local people to try and understand how discoveries in soils might be used in a fair and equitable way. The project started by working with local school children, who helped with the science.”

Dr Thomas Gorochowski, a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Associate Professor of Biological Engineering at the University of Bristol School of Biological Sciences, and co-author on the study added: “Surprisingly, there is a real lack of studies on soils from urban environments. We not only got the chance to sample some of these, but had a lot of fun doing so too. The children loved supporting us as citizen scientists and people of all ages were fascinated by the live DNA sequencing experiments we performed at festivals and community events across the city to see what the soils contained.”

The full University of Bristol press release is available here.

New BBI Innovation Training Programme

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Alewo Idoko-Akoh speaking at a BBI Innovation Training event.
Alewo Idoko-Akoh speaking at a BrisEngBio training event (photo: Charlie Proctor)

The Bristol BioDesign Institute is offering an Innovation Training Programme to early career researchers looking to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and deepen their understanding of translational opportunities and innovation.

Building on the success of the BrisEngBio Innovation Programme, participants will be provided with innovation training, mentoring and networking opportunities, and support to drive the translation of their research. 

The programme is primarily aimed at postdoctoral researchers, but others with a strong interest in innovation are also welcome to apply.  

Monthly training sessions, running over a six-month period, will cover topics such as:  

  • Introduction to Research Translation.  
  • What is Intellectual Property and how can I protect it? 
  • Developing impact from your research. 
  • Presenting my research to a non-expert audience. 
  • What is a start-up and how do start-up incubators work? 

In addition, participants will be matched with an industry-based mentor, to gain exposure to industry and to access the broader community and ecosystem. 

Participants are expected to attend all of the training days, as there will be an emphasis on cohort building and peer-to-peer learning.  

At the end of the programme, participants will have: 

  • learned new skills and knowledge, and developed an entrepreneurial mindset. 
  • an understanding of different ways to get involved in innovation and enterprise activity (also known as knowledge exchange). 
  • the ability to identify translational opportunities within their research. 

The sessions will be co-delivered with the DREI Research Commercialisation Team, Science Creates, Spin Up Science, and SetSquared.  

For further information, please contact Kerstin Kinkelin.  

The BBI Innovation Programme is funded through a Harmonised EPSRC-ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Strategic Impact Award. 

Spinouts celebrate new investment

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Five University of Bristol spinout companies with links to the Bristol BioDesign Institute and BrisSynBio have announced over £4m in new investment and awards.

Halo Therapeutics secured a £1.5 million investment, led by the Development Bank of Wales alongside Science Angel Syndicate (SAS) members and the KBA Group, to begin clinical trials of an easy-to-use, cost-effective, home therapeutic treatment for SARS-CoV-2 (coronaviruses). Halo was founded by CEO Dr Daniel Fitzgerald, Prof Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel, and Prof Imre Berger following research conducted as part of BrisSynBio. Imre, a Co-Director of the BBI, said the antiviral spray: “stops the virus from entering and multiplying in the nasal epithelial cells, where it can then spread to the throat and then into the lungs. It is a potential game-changer in the treatment and prevention of coronaviruses, particularly with the emergence of new viruses.”

Scarlet Therapeutics, which is working on a new technology to develop red blood cells that carry additional proteins within them to provide therapeutic benefit which can reach all parts of the body, has received funding to progress the innovation. Founded by Prof Ash Toye and Prof Jan Frayne, Scarlet Therapeutics has raised seed funding from Science Creates Ventures and Meltwind to build a pipeline of novel therapies to treat patients with a wide range of diseases, particularly metabolic disorders.

Rosa Biotech has secured £415,000 in Seed+ investment to accelerate development of its pioneering bio-sensing technology, designed to enable cost effective screening of a range of life-threatening diseases with high accuracy at an early stage. Rosa is initially targeting “the early identification of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which, if left untreated can develop into steatohepatitis (NASH) leading to liver failure. The Western world has experienced a 100% increase in NASH cases during the last 30 years and this trend is expected to accelerate in the coming decades.”

Imophoron has announced a £2.4m extension to its seed funding round, following significant investment from Meiji Yasuda Future Innovation Fund L.P., managed by Global Brain. They join existing investors Octopus Ventures and Science Creates Ventures in the extension. Imophoron is developing novel, thermostable nanoparticle vaccines using its ADDomer™ platform.

CDotBio, which is cultivating novel carbon nanodot biotechnology for a new generation of efficient, productive, climate resilient crops, has been awarded £50,000 from the Blavatnik Prize for Innovation. The Prize “provides opportunities for start-ups, pre-registration teams, or individuals to launch a bespoke project that would support the commercialisation of their technologies or products”.

Celebrating PhD viva successes

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Congratulations to Veronica Greco, Dora Buzas and Jazz Ghataora for successfully completing their PhD vivas.

Jazz Ghataora’s PhD research focused on the development of bacterial biosensors for the purpose of monitoring environmental heavy metal pollution, using the host Bacillus subtilis as a chassis. This project required the design of synthetic gene circuits, novel engineered chimeric proteins and structure guided mutagenesis. His supervisors were Prof. Susanne Gebhard and Dr. Bianca Reeksting. Jazz, a Research Associate in the BioCompute Lab at University of Bristol, is currently researching next generation reporter tags for yeast platform strain development as part of the BrisEngBio project ‘Nanopore-based physiological monitoring of yeast for bioprocess optimisation’, led by BBI Co-Director Thomas Gorochowski, and University of Washington’s Jeff Nivala.

Dora Buzas‘ PhD focused on the ADDomer vaccine development platform and the engineering of high-affinity binders. The project involved the structural analysis of the Adenovirus Penton base protein-derived ADDobody and also other scaffold proteins from chimeric origins. Dora, a member of the ADDovenom research team and the Max Planck Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology, was supervised by Prof Imre Berger and Prof Christiane Berger-Schaffitzel.

Veronica Greco‘s PhD thesis title was: ‘Recombinase-based cellular memory: Methods for reading and reliable writing as steps towards real-world applications.’ She was supervised by Dr. Thomas Gorochowski and Professor Claire Grierson. Veronica is the Technology and Innovation Manager at CDotBio.

Bristol West MP visits School of Biochemistry

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In a University of Bristol lab, Jessica Cross holds her L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Rising Talent Program certificate, with Thangam Debbonaire stood to her left.
Thangam (right) with Jessica

The School of Biochemistry was delighted to host Thangam Debbonaire, Labour MP for Bristol West and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, on 9 June 2023.

Thangam’s visit was a follow up from Jessica Cross (EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellow) visiting the House of Commons when she was shortlisted for the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Rising Talent Program.

Thangam toured the labs of Mark Dodding and BBI Director Dek Woolfson, where group members demonstrated their experiments to visualise motor protein activity in vitro and inside cells.

Jessica and Thangam were joined by VC Evelyn Welch and researchers Laura O’Regan, Kate Kurgan, Bernadette Carroll, Rachel Curnock, Kirsty McMillan and Emma Jones for lunch. It was a welcome opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women in science and to address barriers for women following careers in STEM.

Jessica Cross shortlisted for ‘Women in Science Rising Talent’ award

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Shortlisted candidates, holding bunches of flowers, stand in a semi-circle with other guests.Congratulations to Dr Jessica Cross, an ESPRC Doctoral Prize Fellow working in the Dodding/Woolfson labs, for making the shortlist of the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Rising Talent Program, and being one of two highly commended applicants in the Physical Sciences category. Jessica visited 10 Downing Street, where she met George Freeman MP (Minister of State for Science, Research & Innovation), and has attended a training day for shortlisted candidates at the Royal Society, and a reception at the House of Commons.

Jess Cross stands next to pull up banner which carries her photo and a short biography.

Among the 170 attendees at the reception were MPs, academics and representatives from L’Oréal and UNESCO. These events have given Jessica and the others the chance to showcase their research, raise awareness of the important contribution of women in science, and discuss barriers for women in STEM and the need for policy change. 

Jessica said: “I am pleased and honoured to be recognised as a highly commended candidate by the L’Oreal UNESCO For Women in Science Program. It has been a fantastic opportunity to share our research and to network with inspiring women in science. This program is a good example of showcasing female talent in science and offering role models to the next generation of science leaders.”

JOB VACANCY: Research Associate, ADDovenom

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** Applications are now closed **

A post-doctoral position in Synthetic Biology and Protein Engineering is available in the Berger and Schaffitzel labs at the University of Bristol’s School of Biochemistry, the Max Planck Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology and the Bristol BioDesign Institute.

As part of the ADDovenom team, the post-holder will utilize state-of-the-art selection/evolution technology (Ribosome Display) to generate high-affinity binders (nanobodies and new scaffold proteins) that neutralise snake venom toxins. This project to develop new, safe and efficient antivenom to treat snakebites is an international collaboration with Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University of Liege, University of Aix-Marseille, and iBET.

Experience with protein expression and purification is essential. Experience with biochemical and biophysical analysis of proteins and RNA isolation and preparation, and/or current molecular biology methods is a plus.

Further details and how to apply
Research Associate

Closing date for both posts
28 February 2023

For informal enquiries
Please contact: Christiane Berger Schaffitzel

Review of 2022

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It has been another very busy year for the Bristol BioDesign Institute. It began with the launch of the Bristol Centre for Engineering Biology (BrisEngBio), which is funding eight proof of concept, and four discovery projects. A cohort of 12 PDRAs will be working on these projects, and will be offered a programme of training to develop their innovation skills. We have also welcomed Kerstin Kinkelin (Innovation Manager) and Wayne Powell (Administrator) to the core BBI team, to work closely with Kathleen Sedgley (Scientific Manager).

We have organised seven BBI seminars, the inaugural CuPiD network meeting in Alpbach, the annual meeting of the EU ADDovenom Consortium for the development of novel antivenoms, and have co-organised, attended and presented at many other conferences and workshops. BBI researchers have also published in the Nature journals, Science, JACS and more this year. Members of the BBI also contributed to the University of Bristol’s School of Chemistry being ranked 1st, Engineering 6th, and Biochemistry and Biological Sciences 8th in the UK in the 2021 REF Assessment.

For the BBI Management team, Dek Woolfson has been awarded a BBSRC sLoLa Grant with other synthetic biologists at the Universities of Edinburgh and Manchester, Imre Berger was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and helped Halo Therapeutics win an OBN Award, Lucia Marucci received a BBSRC Breakthrough Award, and Tom Gorochowski co-established a Turing Interest Group in ‘Data-centric biological design and engineering,’ which holds its first event in March 2023.

There’s been exciting new research around transfusions of lab grown red blood cells, a potential anti-cancer therapy using artificial protocells, a blood test to detect brain tumours, a DNA repair-kit, and the use of bacteria to mimic the complex structure and function of living cells, as well as developments in the understanding, and potential treatment, of SARS-CoV-2.

There will be much more to come throughout 2023, and we are looking forward to beginning the year with the BrisEngBio Annual meeting, and BrisEngBio Connect Partnership and Networking Event.