Engineering Biology

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Engineering Biology brings together synthetic biology and engineering to create novel biological systems that do not exist in nature. At the University of Glasgow, it acts as a powerful enabling technology across major research missions – from Beyond Net Zero and Planetary Health to transforming health and healthcare. 

Our researchers combine engineering principles with deep biological insight, much like early electronics pioneers did with circuits, to create new functions and new materials using living or artificial cells. Using cutting-edge microfluidic platforms and AI-assisted bioanalytical technologies, Glasgow supports accelerated Design-Build-Test-Learn cycles that enable the high-throughput refinement of biological constructs. These capabilities allow engineered cells and protocells to digest intractable waste streams, sequester carbon, generate new biomaterials for implants, or perform entirely new diagnostic and sensing functions. 

Engineering Biology also provides solutions to major global infrastructure challenges. Climate, energy and water crises demand technologies that are low-carbon, resilient and resource-efficient. Glasgow researchers apply engineering biology to address water scarcity, sanitation, food security, carbon sequestration and circular waste systems. This includes engineered microbial communities for bioremediation and carbon-neutral waste treatment, as well as minimal-cell and genetic code re-engineering platforms that can be tailored for environmental or industrial applications. These approaches support regions across the world – from the UK, where water utilities consume up to 5% of regional electricity, to low-income settings that require affordable, decentralised infrastructure. 

A bottom-up approach enables Glasgow scientists to build new pathways and functions from fundamental biological parts into protocell systems, opening innovative applications across diagnostics, energy, the environment and regenerative medicine. Living and artificial cells can be combined in co-cultures or artificial organ systems, supporting breakthroughs in therapeutics, tissue engineering and biomaterial design. 

Glasgow has a strong track record of pioneering engineering biology across environmental, infrastructural and biomedical domains. The University has cloned genes into existing organisms, reorganised genetic codes, developed minimal-cell platforms supporting plasmids and protein expression machinery, created bespoke microbial consortia and translated engineered systems into regenerative medicine prototypes. This portfolio has been supported through prestigious UKRI and EPSRC investments — including Frontier Engineering awards, Platform Grants and RAEng fellowships.  As a partner in the Engineering Biology Innovation Centre (EBIC), Glasgow contributes to a coordinated UK effort to develop world-leading engineering biology infrastructure and collaborative research programmes 

Our researchers have experience working across traditional boundaries – engineering, biology, chemistry, computing and environmental science — enabling Engineering Biology to function as a cross-cutting technology that accelerates discovery and innovation across the University. 

Related Areas: Advanced Biosensing Technology, Synthetic Biology, Environmental Engineering Biology, Biomanufacturing, Microbial Engineering, Sustainable Materials, Water and Waste Systems, Diagnostics, AI-Driven Bioanalytics, Regenerative Medicine.