The University of Manchester will build a national facility where researchers and industry staff can learn to engineer biological molecules—proteins, enzymes, and other biomolecules—for use in manufacturing. The UK currently relies on petrochemicals for many products, from plastics to pharmaceuticals. Engineering biomolecules offers a way to produce these materials using living systems instead, cutting carbon emissions and creating a circular bioeconomy. But the technology platforms needed—automated labs, AI-driven design tools, genomic sequencers—are complex and expensive. Many researchers lack access to them or the training to use them effectively. This hub will provide open access to those platforms and train technical staff from both academia and industry. It will offer workshops, online courses, and long-term placements, and will standardise protocols across the UK’s network of engineering biology centres. If successful, the hub will accelerate the transition from petrochemical-based manufacturing to sustainable biomanufacturing, making everyday products—from packaging to medicines—cheaper, greener, and more reliably produced. It will also build a skilled technical workforce capable of maintaining the UK’s lead in this field.
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It is essential to provide sustainable biomanufacturing processes that allow society to transition away from the use of petrochemical feedstocks and move towards a circular bioeconomy, meeting the demands of a low carbon, clean growth nation. 'Biomolecule Engineering' programmes are at the heart of this movement and require a highly interdisciplinary approach, working at the interface of biology, chemistry, automation and computation. Over the last 10 years the UK has been at the forefront of 'Biomolecule Engineering' research, facilitated by significant UKRI investment in the required infrastructure and research facilities. To support this ongoing investment, it is essential that all researchers from both academia and industry are able to openly access these technology platforms and gain state-of-the-art training from technical experts. This proposal therefore, unites a collaborative team of internationally recognised Research Technical Professionals with wide-ranging expertise in the area of 'Biomolecule Engineering' that span the fields of biology, chemistry, automation and computation to develop a national facility and technical training hub in 'Biomolecule Engineering'. This proposal builds on the world-class infrastructure and technical expertise in 'Biomolecule Engineering' research at the University of Manchester, which is the ideal environmnet to host the proposed world-leading 'national facility and technical training hub'. We will ensure all advances in 'Biomolecule Engineering' research, including developments in automation, AI, computational design, genomics, instrument technology and data management, are fully incorporated into the existing technology platforms to retain our state-of-the-art capabilities and expertise. The proposal also aims to upskill new and current technical staff to work across multiple technology platforms to build additional capacity, flexibility and expertise that will allow a series of protocols, pilot projects and training workflows to be rolled out nationally. Ultimately, we will provide open access to all technology platforms, together with the technical expertise, and will provide training opportunities for technical staff working across all areas of 'Biomolecule Engineering' research from academia and industry. This will be achieved via a combination of user workshops, bespoke training opportunities and placements, an online interactive training programme and direct training and long-term placements for apprentices. The proposed team will also fully engage with all current and upcoming 'Engineering Biology' centres and mission hubs to build national networks for training of existing technical staff and standardisation of protocols / training.
Colin Levy (Co-Investigator)Derren Heyes (Principal Investigator)Katherine Hollywood (Co-Investigator)Linus Johannissen (Co-Investigator)Mark Dunstan (Co-Investigator)Matthew Cliff (Co-Investigator)
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