Building a community to engineer synthetic cells and organelles from the bottom-up

Abstract

Empowered by emerging concepts from physics, chemistry, and bioengineering, learning-by-building approaches have found increasing application in the life sciences. Particularly, they are directed to tackle the overarching goal of engineering cellular life from scratch. The SynCell2020/21 conference brought together a diverse group of researchers to share progress and chart the course of this field. Participants identified key steps to design, manipulate, and create cell-like entities, especially those with hierarchical organization and function. This article highlights achievements in the field, including areas where synthetic cells are having socioeconomic and technological impact. Guided by input from early-career researchers, we identify challenges and opportunities for basic science and technological applications of synthetic cells. A key conclusion is the need to build an integrated research community through enhanced communication, resource-sharing, and educational initiatives. Development of an international and interdisciplinary community will enable transformative outcomes and attract the brightest minds to contribute to the field.

Developing a Graduate Class on Synthetic Cells at a Minority Serving Institution: Lessons from the University of New Mexico

“…The assembly of particulate materials with cell-like functional characteristics (synthetic cells) from inanimate components is a current grand challenge in science and engineering that is being pursued worldwide. 1 Like traditional and emerging synthetic biology approaches, synthetic cells have potential to enable both basic research and the addressing of pressing societal problems in diverse endeavors, such as healthcare, environmental sustainability, energy production, food production and manufacturing. 2 This potential has been recognized by research funding agencies around the world, and several significant research consortia have emerged to tackle this grand challenge, including, for example, the NSF-funded Build-A-Cell Research Collaboration Network in the U.S., BaSyC Consortium in The Netherlands, and Max Planck Matter-to-Life School in Germany.…”

“…Because of the pandemic, the first in this symposium series, SynCell2020, which was originally planned as a somewhat exclusive (limited to 150 registrants) activity, was held as a virtual conference, with over 700 participants from across 6 continents. 1 Subsequent SynCell conferences during the pandemic were virtual (SynCell2021) or had significant virtual components (Syn-Cell2022, SynCell2023). These virtual offerings as well as regular webinars that have been offered by the Build-A-Cell Network seminars by some of the world's leading researchers in synthetic cell technology.…”