120 million kr. for Synthetic Biology - 13.01.2009

UNIK Synthetic Biology is the title of a new multidisciplinary research initiative in which Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology participates along with three other departments from the University of Copenhagen. The research initiative has been granted 120 million. Kr. for the five-year period 2009-2013. Four UNIK research centres have been established in Denmark as part of the globalization strategy of the Danish Government.

 

The grant to UNIK Synthetic Biology enables the University of Copenhagen, as one of the first Universities in Europe, to launch a new world-class research, technology and education program on Synthetic Biology. This emerging area combines science and engineering to design and build biological systems with novel functions.

 

The scientific objective of the proposal is to develop insights, tools and technologies for preparing and characterizing bio-inspired systems with tailor-made functions. In nature, biological molecules work together in teams that are spatially organized to make the entire system more effective. The program focuses on understanding how such systems are organized and self-assemble to understand how new functionally active combinations of membrane proteins may be built ,  The focus of the UNIK Synthetic Biology research initiative is on membrane proteins because  membrane proteins are essential to most basic processes such as photosynthesis, synthesis of complex biopolymers and bio-active natural products, cellular signaling and transport and maintenance of electrochemical gradients across cell membranes. This focus in Synthetic Biology will provide the scientific basis for applications such as personal medicine, sustainable energy production, plants for the future, and molecular bioelectronics.

 

The ideas and description of the Synthetic Biology have primarily been developed by Thomas Bjørnholm from Nano-Science Center and Birger Lindberg Møller from Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology and the research initiative includes a number of strong and multidisciplinary research teams as required to launch a new and competitive field of research. The program will foster collaboration between researches within Chemistry & Nanoscience, Molecular Plant Biology, Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics.

Researchers with leading positions in Synthetic Biology:
Professor in Nano- & Materials Chemistry Thomas Bjørnholm, Nano-Science Center

Professor in Plant Biochemistry Birger Lindberg Møller, Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology/Plant Biochemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Life Sciences

Professor in Neuropharmacology Ulrik Gether, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology , Faculty of Health Sciences

Professor in Biophysics Kell Mortensen, Department of Basic Sciences and Environment/Biophysics, Faculty of Life Sciences