Development of internationally accepted standards in synthetic biology is essential for the advancement of the field, to ensure interoperability of infrastructure, reliable exchange of data and materials, and the facile operation of commerce across supply chains that currently exist throughout US, Europe, and Asia. US involvement in such endeavors is also essential to maintain US competitiveness in the field as an active area of research. This award supports four teams of US-based researchers, whose expertise covers the breadth of US interests in synthetic biology, to participate in a series of workshops that are part of the European Commission (EC) funded Coordination Support Action (CSA) focused on the development and dissemination of standards in synthetic biology (BIOROBOOST).
Most research in biology and bioengineering remains ad hoc and idiosyncratic, with results taking the form of natural language-encoded claims and conclusions. Synthetic biology promises to further transition research with living matter from "reusable concepts" to "reusable reality," both in terms of biological measurements and functional biomaterials. But, doing so requires focused research and coordination of effort across areas of diverse expertise, and within a context of competing interests and divergent incentives. Success requires careful consideration of cultural and ethical aspects of research involving biological materials as well as facile integration of computational and administrative tools that reduce or eliminate transaction costs, hence the importance of the development of international standards. This award supports four teams of US-based scientists to participate in a series of BIOROBOOST workshops that are held in Europe. The workshops focus on overcoming the cultural and technical hurdles of the development of standards in synthetic biology.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
