To apply: Please send a CV with covering note and ask your tutor or research supervisor to email a short recommendation to: Jenny Molloy Email: [email protected]
The new field of Synthetic Biology is based upon the adoption of (i) engineering principles of abstraction and modularity, (ii) computational tools from Systems Biology and (iii) new genetic engineering techniques and components - for the rational design and assembly of new biological systems. It is a practical subject, concerned with the construction of new living artifacts. The new interdisciplinary field is being propelled by the need for improved plant and microbial feedstocks, bioenergy sources, and new catalysts for bioprocessing. Synthetic Biology is seeing a rising tide of new scientific activities, research funding and commercial investment.
iGEM is an international undergraduate synthetic biology competition where student teams are given access to DNA parts from the Registry of Standard Biological Parts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The aim is to use these and other new parts to design and construct new biological systems and operate them in living cells. (see: http://igem.org). Cambridge provided the first team from the UK (see: http://www.synbio.cam.ac.uk). Since 2005, there has been wide interdisciplinary support for a University of Cambridge team in the iGEM competition. The competition provides a practical, laboratory based experience, with a focus on bottom-up design and assembly techniques, standardised biological components and cellular devices. This year sees the introduction of a new track for the engineering of plants in the competition. We are drawing together a team who can contribute in an interdisciplinary way to development of new DNA parts, quantitative methods and instrumentation for engineering of plant systems.