The Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology (CoESB) is a research centre that combines molecular biology, biotechnology, engineering, philosophy and ethics to design and build microbes that produce valuable products from agricultural and municipal waste. The Centre aims to use these microbes to seed a bio-based circular economy and leverage Australia's strengths in agriculture.[1]
The CoESB was awarded A$35 million in funding by the Australian Research Council,[2] A$1 million from the New South Wales Government[3] and A$13.1 million from partner organisations including Australian and international universities, public and private companies and government departments. As of December 2021 CoESB members have attracted A$23 million in additional funding from competitive grant schemes.[4][5][6]
The Centre held a virtual soft launch on 8 December 2020[7] and is planned to run for seven years (2020-2027).[2]
One start-up company, Samsara, has been spun out the Centre.[6][8] Samsara is an enviro-tech company using bacterial enzymes to recycle otherwise hard to recycle plastics.[9]
Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen from Macquarie University is Centre Director and Professor Aleksandra Filipovska from The University of Western Australia is Centre Deputy Director.[10] The CoESB headquarters are located at Macquarie University.
Collaborators and partners of the CoESB are[2][6]
The CoESB has engaged a Designer-in-Residence, Dr Jestin George, in 2021-2022 to run workshops for Centre members on the intersection of synthetic biology and design.[11] The Designer-in-Residence in conjunction with a Centre Associate Investigator, Dr Andrew Care, edit an Australian not-for-profit magazine SYNTHESIS.[12]
The aims and objectives of the CoESB are to "engineer synthetic microbes to create a new environmentally friendly and sustainable advanced biomanufacturing industry" and "build next generation microbial cell factories capable of biochemical transformations that are not possible using natural systems".[6]
The CoESB has three research themes:[13]
The Centre also has three research capabilities that underlie and support the research themes to maximise research impact:[13]
As at December 2021, the CoESB has 17 Chief Investigators, 18 Partner Investigators, 22 Associate Investigators, 43 postdoctoral research fellows and 82 higher degree research students conducting research.[6]
| Role | Name | Organisation |
|---|---|---|
| Director | Ian Paulsen | Macquarie University |
| Deputy Director | Aleksandra Filipovska | The University of Western Australia |
| Chief Operating Officer | J-L Heylen | Macquarie University |
| Chief Investigators | Brett Neilan | The University of Newcastle |
| Lars Nielsen | The University of Queensland | |
| Rachel Parker | The University of Queensland | |
| Michael Gillings | Macquarie University | |
| Lawrence Lee | The University of New South Wales | |
| Oliver Rackham | Curtin University | |
| Ian O'Hara | Queensland University of Technology | |
| Robert Speight | Queensland University of Technology | |
| Esteban Marcellin | The University of Queensland | |
| Kirill Alexandrov | Queensland University of Technology | |
| Nicki Packer | Macquarie University | |
| Wendy Rogers | Macquarie University | |
| Josh Wodak | Western Sydney University | |
| Colin Jackson | The Australian National University | |
| Brad Sherman | The University of Queensland |