Future BRH - Annual Brochure 2020

ANNUAL REPORT 2020

Grant Ref: EP/S01778X/1

CONTACT US

@FutureBRH futurebrh.com +44 (0)161 306 5122 info@futurebrh.com linkedin.com/company/future-biomanufacturing-research-hub Future BRH Manchester Institute of Biotechnology The University of Manchester 131 Princess Street Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.

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CONTENTS FOREWORD

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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THE HUB VISION

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+ SHAPING THE FUTURE OF BIOMANUFACTURING

RESEARCH PARTNERS

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SCIENTIFIC FOCUS

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+ GRAND CHALLENGE 1 + GRAND CHALLENGE 2 + RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS

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+ CASE STUDIES

IMPACT

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THE HUB IN NUMBERS

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AWARDS

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THE TEAM

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+ MANAGEMENT TEAM + RESEARCH TEAM

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FUTURE BIOMANUFACTURING RESEARCH HUB

HARNESSING UK STRENGTHS IN BIOMANUFACTURING

PHARMACEUTICALS

VALUE-ADDED CHEMICALS

ENGINEERING MATERIALS

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ADVANCED BIOFUELS

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FOREWORD This has been an exciting first year for the Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub (Future BRH) following its launch event in June 2019 and the progress made in early research programmes.

In partnership with industry, the Hub was tasked with accelerating the translation of scalable biomanufacturing processes for value-added chemicals, engineering materials, fuels and pharmaceuticals.

Two Grand Challenge areas have been identified: i) the accelerated development and integration of biocatalyst engineering ii) realising the value of industrial biotechnology at scale.

In Year 1, Future BRH established a nationwide Hub and Spokes operating model, bringing together some of the leading UK Centres (The University of Manchester, Imperial College London, University College London, University of Nottingham, the UK Catalysis Hub, Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBiolC) and the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI)) with expertise in chemicals biomanufacturing, and has implemented innovative research programmes with industry partners.

THE HUB IS ACCELERATING THE DELIVERY OF CHEMICALS BIOMANUFACTURING IN THE UK

Future BRH has recruited a team of Research Fellows (The University of Manchester and University College London) working across the Grand Challenge areas and supporting Platform Technologies.

The Hub has secured major capital investments for laboratory automation to support research programmes in the Grand Challenge 1 theme.

Despite the difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Future BRH has initiated many industry and policy engagement activities. These are shaping research programmes and activities with stakeholders with a view to accelerating the delivery of chemicals biomanufacturing in the UK. We look forward to working with you and hope to see you at Future BRH events in the coming year.

PROFESSOR NIGEL SCRUTTON FRS FUTURE BRH DIRECTOR

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

HARNESSING UK STRENGTHS IN BIOMANUFACTURING The Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub (Future BRH) aims to drive efficient, sustainable and innovative bio-based manufacturing in four key sectors – Pharmaceuticals; Value-added Chemicals; Engineering Materials; Advanced Biofuels.

By developing new underpinning technologies based on industrial biotechnology (IB) the Future BRH is accelerating the delivery of economically attractive, robust and scalable biomanufacturing processes to meet societal and commercial demand through industrial partnerships and co-created research programmes. In Year 1 a key focus has been on recruitment and set-up of the Hub based at The University of Manchester (UoM) and developing communication and early research programmes with Spokes at Imperial College London, University College London, University of Nottingham, the UK Catalysis Hub, IBioIC and CPI. Connecting Hub and Spoke strengths in interdisciplinary IB discovery science with industry will stimulate innovative and sustainable biomanufacturing capabilities, positioning the UK at the vanguard of economic Clean Growth.

The Future BRH has recruited an expert team of Research Fellows, laboratories have been established and a broad portfolio of early win research projects are tackling the core Grand Challenges of accelerated biocatalyst engineering for biomanufacturing and realising the value of industrial biotechnology at scale. Alongside these Grand Challenges are a number of Platform Research programmes to develop high throughput biocatalyst engineering (Platform 1) and analytical screening (Platform 2), continuous flow biocatalysis (Platform 3), industrial host strain engineering (Platform 4) and integrated, continuous processes for large scale chemicals manufacture (Platform 5).

As a biomanufacturing accelerator, Future BRH is coordinating UK academic, HVM catapult, and industrial capabilities to enable the complete biomanufacturing innovation pipeline to deliver economic, robust and scalable bioprocesses to meet societal and commercial demand.

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THE HUB VISION Industrial biotechnology (IB) is entering a golden age of opportunity. Technological and scientific advances in biotechnology have revolutionised our ability to synthesise molecules of choice, giving access to novel chemistries that enable tuneable selectivity and the use of benign reaction conditions. These developments can now be coupled to advances in the industrialisation of biology to generate innovative manufacturing routes, supported by high throughput and real-time analytics, process automation, artificial intelligence and data-driven science.

By harnessing the power of biology through innovative IB, the Future BRH is aiming to support the development of safer, cleaner and greener manufacturing supply chains, and processes that support the emergence of the bioeconomy that will place the UK at the forefront of global economic Clean Growth in key manufacturing sectors: • • • •

Pharmaceuticals; Value-added chemicals; Engineering materials; Advanced Biofuels

The strategy of the Future BRH is to address the entire manufacturing lifecycle, by considering aspects such as scale-up, process intensification, continuous manufacturing, and integrated and whole-process modelling. To achieve this the Hub is working to deliver new biocatalysts, robust industrial hosts and novel production technologies that will enable rapid transition from proof-of-concept to manufacturing at scale.

The emphasis is on predictable deployment of sustainable and innovative biomanufacturing technologies through integrated technology development at all scales of production, harnessing UK-wide world-leading research expertise (particularly across the Hub and Spokes) and frontier science and technology, including data-driven Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches, automation and new technologies emerging from the 'engineering of biology'.

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RESEARCH PARTNERS

LINKING DISCOVERY SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, INNOVATION AND INDUSTRY TO ADVANCE UK BIOMANUFACTURING ACADEMIC PARTNERS Synthetic Biology (SYNBIOCHEM) Biocatalysis, Analytics, Automation, AI

Biocatalysis and Biotransformation Integrated Bio- and Chemocatalysis

Biochemical Engineering, High Throughput Bioprocess Development

Techno-Economics, Life Cycle Analysis, Process Design, Reaction Efficiencies

Synthetic Biology, Engineering Biology for Biomanufacturing

The Future BRH is taking a leadership role within the national industrial biotechnology research and innovation landscape by partnering across the UK’s leading Centres with complementary expertise in the IB biomanufacturing space.

Future BRH has its Hub at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology at The University of Manchester, with academic research spokes at Imperial College London, University College London, University of Nottingham and the UK Catalysis Hub.

INNOVATION CENTRES AND LARGE SCALE FACILITIES Innovation and Knowledge Centre for Synthetic Biology, Accelerating Technology Commercialisation De-risking Scale-up. Driving Industry-Academic Interactions in IB. Training for a Skilled Workforce Leading UK Technology Innovation Centre, Supply Chains and Scale-up for Full-scale production Processes

By partnering with Innovation Centres and scale-up facilities, the Future BRH aims to bridge the gap between academic innovation and commercialisation, to understand the risks and strategies needed to support industrialisation of biomanufacturing at full scale production.

PARTNERING BEST WITH BEST

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SCIENTIFIC FOCUS

GRAND CHALLENGE 1 (GC1): ACCELERATED DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION OF BIOCATALYST ENGINEERING The impact of industrial biotechnology on many industrial processes is currently limited by the rate of protein engineering. It simply takes too long to optimise enzymes for their widespread use in manufacturing supply chains.

The goal of GC1 is to engineer biocatalysts up to an order of magnitude faster than the current industrial timeframe.

PLATFORM 1 (P1): HIGH THROUGHPUT BIOCATALYST ENGINEERING Each biomanufacturing process requires enzymes that are optimised for that specific application (e.g. reaction catalysed, catalytic efficiency, enzyme stability, etc). P1 is focused on the front end of an automated Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle for directed evolution (DE) to enable rapid enzyme optimisation. Intelligent methods for designing controlled variant libraries are being developed to overcome current limitations of DE on combining mutations and applied to automated library build methods. The aim is to rapidly engineer enzyme variants that fit these criteria by combining rational in silico design and DE into a fully automated data-driven process.

The resulting large sequence-activity datasets can then be used to create models capable of predicting enzyme function directly from amino acid sequences using machine learning approaches. This will greatly enhance our understanding of enzyme sequence-activity relationships, ultimately providing better predictability for design, and thereby reducing the lead-time for identification of optimised enzyme variants.

Automated DE platforms, which combine smart library creation with HTP analytical screening in P2 and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), will provide the enabling technologies to fully realise the potential of enzymes in biomanufacturing. Initial target enzymes used to establish workflows and develop the automated pipelines, have a wide range of potential applications in the pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, materials, and biofuel industries.

PLATFORM 2 (P2): HIGH THROUGHPUT ANALYTICAL SCREENING P2 aims to develop fast reliable advanced spectroscopic assays for different enzyme classes, focussing on mass spectrometry (MS) as a label-free technology to accurately measure biological processes and reaction profiles.

Direct on-colony screening and sample-chip analysis are supporting rapid biocatalyst delivery (GC1), and pico-droplet based ion mobility MS aims to allow analysis of single live cells to screen combinatorial libraries for industrial strains (GC2).

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SCIENTIFIC FOCUS

GRAND CHALLENGE 2 (GC2): REALISING THE VALUE OF INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY AT SCALE The aim of GC2 is to change the economic reality of scaling-up bio-based processes by addressing the entire manufacturing lifecycle, considering aspects such as process intensification, continuous manufacturing, and whole-process modelling.

PLATFORM 3 (P3): CONTINUOUS FLOW BIOCATALYSIS AND IMMOBILISATION Modular continuous flow reactor systems using immobilised enzymes in packed bed reactors are being developed to exploit the inherent chemical orthogonality of biocatalysis in biomanufacturing. P3 is incorporating biocatalytic retrosynthesis and enzyme engineering in collaboration with industrial partners leading on enzyme production, immobilisation and flow reactor design.

Initial projects explore how different immobilisation methods could enhance the properties of biocatalysts and how these can be scaled up, primarily in continuous flow but also as recoverable batch catalysts. New immobilisation methods that could challenge established protocols are being investigated, focussing on utilising cheap and renewable feedstocks as immobilisation scaffolds.

PLATFORM 4 (P4): INDUSTRIAL HOST ENGINEERING The future of biomanufacturing will depend on the successful development of robust industrial host strains able to utilise multiple feedstocks and tolerate non-sterile conditions. An early focus is developing a Design-Build-Test-Learn platform for Halomonas bluephagenesis production of platform chemicals in collaboration with the SYNBIOCHEM Centre.

A deeper understanding of this strain at a systems level is being developed through the combined study of its genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics under different conditions. A combination of approaches based on in silico methods, automated Ligase Cycling Reaction (LCR), and advanced genome editing (e.g. CRISPR methods and chromosomal integration) are being utilised to improve prototyping in cell strains and develop these for scale-up process conditions.

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SCIENTIFIC FOCUS PLATFORM 5 (P5): SCALED BATCH AND FLOW FERMENTATION P5 is focused on developing integrated, continuous processes for large-scale chemicals manufacture. Innovative bioprocesses at various scales coupled with robust downstream processes are being developed to allow efficient recovery of final products, to guide optimisation and inform techno-economic comparisons with incumbent processes (where relevant). Next generation bioreactors with integrated analysis will also be developed to allow real-time monitoring, feedback control and robust scale up of reactions.

The global market is shifting towards a circular and more sustainable economy. Legislation restricting single-use plastics and the promotion of bio-based products has accelerated the adoption of industrial bio-manufacturing processes as alternatives to the petrochemical industry.

Downstream processing (DSP) often accounts for up to 70% of process costs so identifying efficient, cost-effective methods for isolation of targets is crucial. Using scale-down bioreactor models in parallel to bio-production allows for bespoke engineering to integrate DSP with fermentation, thus informing the next generation of bioreactors featuring real-time monitoring and optimal product recovery. DSP development also enables early techno-economic analysis of the entire bioprocess life cycle, identifying bottle-necks which feeds back to our bio-process development, this is intrinsic to the platform’s success.

This holistic approach of targeting the entire bio-process lifecycle will allow us to succeed where other biomanufacturing processes have been hampered by low productivities, low product concentrations and usually ad hoc and inefficient DSP.

RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH & INNOVATION The Future BRH scientific research portfolio is complemented by Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) work (in partnership with the SYNBIOCHEM Centre) that considers and anticipates possible environmental and societal impacts of biomanufacturing.

This area includes deliberation of ethical, societal, regulatory and policy issues, and research on sustainable industrial systems and collaborative development with stakeholders (business, regulatory, policy and non-government organisations).

Programmes of work also include constructive sustainability assessments and socio-techno economic analysis of target compounds.

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INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS The Future BRH funding proposal was supported by over 40 industrial partners from a range of different manufacturing sectors. Their input was crucial in shaping the scope of the Grand Challenge and Platform Research areas. There are two levels of industrial engagement:

CORE PARTNERS Core Partners are companies who are financially contributing to the Future BRH, with both cash and in-kind contributions. In return these Core Partners receive a range of benefits, including: • A seat on an Industrial Board to shape Future BRH research • Early sight of the outputs of the Grand Challenge and Platform research programmes • Access to platform technologies, equipment and scale-up facilities • Knowledge Exchange opportunities • Confidential research projects To facilitate these interactions, a Core Partner Agreement allows research outputs to be shared with the Industry Board in confidence. This research is predominantly non-competitive in nature and of interest to multiple sectors. Core Partners can suggest so called ‘Community Projects’ that might benefit the wider biomanufacturing community. More commercially-sensitive research is via Confidential Projects.

Founding Core Partners (at application): Allergan, Almac, Arcinova, Biocatalysts, Biopropane consortium (4 SMEs), BP, Britest, Calysta, CoEBio3 consortium (8 companies), Croda, Dstl, EnginZyme, GSK, Ingenza, Johnson Matthey, Prozomix, Quorn, Shell, Singer, Sphere Fluidics, Unilever.

ASSOCIATE PARTNERS Associate Partners benefit from free of cost networking that is primarily focused on scientific dissemination. The aim is to promote biotechnology to companies who are keen to learn more about biomanufacturing, or are otherwise engaged in collaboration with the Future BRH Hub and Spokes.

Engagement is through direct communication (i.e. regular newsletters), invitation to the annual conference, and free access to knowledge exchange events. Where appropriate, engagement might be though the writing of brief landscaping reports to signpost alternative biomanufacturing approaches. The aspiration is that members at this level will become Core Partners in due course.

“THE FUTURE BRH IS COMMITTED TO WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH OUR INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS TO UNLEASH THE POTENTIAL OF SUSTAINABLE BIOMANUFACTURING” Dr. Kirk Malone - Director of Commercialisation

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CASE STUDIES CASE STUDY: SHELL NOVEL (DE)CARBOXYLATION CATALYSTS TO DRIVE THE CO2 BIOECONOMY Shell has worked for many years with the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB) in the area of biocatalytic transformations, especially in the area of fuels and chemicals manufacture. This has involved collaborations with MIB Centres of Excellence including SYNBIOCHEM, the Centre of Excellence in Biocatalysis, Biotransformations and Biocatalytic Manufacture (CoEBio3) and the MIB Molecular Enzymology Group. Most programmes have focussed on biocatalyst discovery and engineering, and a prominent example has been the discovery of a new class of enzyme based on a novel cofactor (prenylated flavins) involved in the CO2 bioeconomy.

Early work established the structures and mechanisms of enzymes in this class. Subsequently, these enzymes have been exploited in a number of biocatalytic cascades to provide novel routes to fine and speciality chemicals and monomers for materials biosynthesis. Shell is now working with the Future BRH to implement high throughput biocatalyst engineering and screening (Grand Challenge 1, Platform 1 and Platform 2) and the bioengineering of microbial industrial strains (Grand Challenge 2, Platform 4 and Platform 5) to realise the biomanufacturing potential of these systems at industrial scale. Taken together this work will demonstrate how collaborative industrial projects can run from fundamental biochemical discovery through to viable industrial processes all within the context of the MIB.

CASE STUDY: C3 BIOTECH FUELS FROM BIOLOGY C3 Bio-Technologies Ltd (C3 BIOTECH) is using emergent technologies such as synthetic biology to design new routes to the bio-production of fuels. The company works across biomanufacturing and distribution supply chains to deliver next-generation fuels that are sustainable, renewable and cost effective. C3 BIOTECH has developed proprietary technologies for the production of bio-ethanol (from carbon dioxide), liquefied petroleum gas (from waste materials) and precursors of aviation fuel components. C3 BIOTECH is working with the Future BRH to develop economic scaled production platforms for these products.

Future BRH is supporting the commercialisation of fuels in the C3 BIOTECH portfolio in the area of techno-economics analysis and assessments of environmental impacts. These analyses are then feeding into industry sponsored programmes in which laboratory processes are being scaled at pilot and demonstrator levels. Future BRH is also advising on microbial strain bioengineering to support these programmes.

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CASE STUDIES CASE STUDY: BP BIOMANUFACTURING OF ORGANIC ACIDS, AND OTHER SUSTAINABLE CHEMICALS Biorefineries offer the potential to provide petrochemical replacement products by using biotechnology to produce value-added chemicals from renewable feedstocks.

However, biomass conversion processes are often hampered by high costs of product purification and recovery, which can be as high as 50%-80% of the total process cost.

One example of valuable commodity chemicals able to be produced through biomanufacturing processes are organic acids, however their production can be expensive as the process often requires neutral pH to ensure optimal performance of the fermentation microorganisms. As the organic acids are produced, the pH decreases requiring base addition to control pH, resulting in salt formation and adding cost to product recovery.

In an attempt to overcome these problems, scientists at the BP Biosciences Center (San Diego, USA) and the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology are collaborating on a BBSRC funded project to investigate novel yeast microorganisms able to thrive in low pH conditions. The research will initially focus on characterising known yeasts at a molecular level, with follow on research exploring how novel hybrids could produce organic acids at higher yields, without the need of pH control. BP have also joined the Future BRH to further investigate the biomanufacturing of organic acids, and other sustainable chemicals. Through combining the efforts of the Biosciences Center and the Future BRH the goal is to unlock the potential of biotechnology to accelerate chemicals manufacturing into a lower carbon future.

CASE STUDY: DSTL SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY FOR ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS In recent years, the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has supported several research projects with the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology with the goal of developing exploitable innovative technologies to further advance the UK’s strategic defence and security interests. Capitalising on Manchester’s world-leading multidisciplinary research capabilities in synthetic biology, advanced materials and biomanufacturing, these projects have included: • Synthetic spider-silk fibres and biomimetic fibre spinning for wearable personal protection • Transparent protein-based adhesives for use in ballistic glass • Porous silk/activated-carbon fibres for protection against chemical warfare agents • Production of strategically significant material precursors (e.g., Kevlar® and other aramids) from engineered microorganisms • Graphene-aramid composite fibres for wearable personal protection • Active camouflage materials based on synthetic proteins derived from cephalopods Under its Engineering Materials theme, Future BRH is advancing these projects though its platform capabilities including biocatalyst engineering (Platform 1) and industrial host strain engineering (Platform 4). To advance these projects, the Future BRH is working with the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, Dstl and other industry partners, using technologies at the interface with synthetic biology and advanced materials.

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IMPACT The Future BRH’s vision unites an interdisciplinary team of world experts from leading academic research institutes and Innovation Spokes to address major biomanufacturing challenges.

The delivery of transformative bio-based manufacturing solutions will support the UK Industrial Strategy for sustainable growth of a world leading UK bio-economy and development of a low-carbon, low waste, circular economy with societal benefits.

Major impacts that the Future BRH aims to achieve include:

� NEW KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNICAL INNOVATION By connecting the UK's leading research centres with real world industrial challenges, the Future BRH is accelerating delivery of economically attractive, robust and scalable biomanufacturing processes to meet societal and commercial demand.

� ECONOMIC BENEFITS The Future BRH is connecting academic discoveries with the industrial challenges of scale-up and integration to drive commercial viability. As a result the Future BRH will catalyse the industrialisation of biology to disrupt manufacturing bottlenecks, deliver broader applications and provide the required step-change in biomanufacturing capabilities. This will drive sustainable and clean manufacturing that will build a high value bioeconomy.

� SOCIETAL WELL-BEING A major impact of the Future BRH is to inspire and train the next generation of leaders in this field, address skill-gaps and re-skill the scientific and engineering workforce with a positive impact on UK high value jobs and investment.

During the first year Future BRH members have presented at the Northern Powerhouse Conference in Leeds and hosted several ministerial visits including the Launch of the Northern Industrial Strategy in June 2019.

The Future BRH has co-hosted a SynBiCITE 4-day More Business Acumen (MBA) course “Building a Synthetic Biology-rich Biotech Business from Scratch”, and hosted public engagement events to more than 900 members of the public.

Early workshops with industry highlighted perceived difficulties of working across disciplines and accessing new emerging technologies for novel manufacturing applications. Dedicated funds are supporting researcher secondments with academic/industrial partners to foster knowledge transfer and allow increased awareness and understanding of manufacturing supply chain challenges.

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HUB IN NUMBERS

173

94

PUBLICATIONS

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ATTENDEES AT FUTURE BRH LAUNCH EVENT FROM

71

DIFFERENT INSTITUTES AND COMPANIES

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND INVITED TALKS

900+ HOSTED VISITS BY

4

MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

PEOPLE ATTENDED FUTURE BRH PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EVENTS

31

PEOPLE WORKING ACROSS

6

INSTITUTES

£11.3M

OF RELATED RESEARCH FUNDING

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AWARDS THE QUEEN'S ANNIVERSARY PRIZE FOR HIGHER AND FURTHER EDUCATION

In 2019 the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB), where the Hub for the Future BRH is based, received The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, the most prestigious award in the sector.

The award recognises the MIB as “a leader in the UK’s strategic development of biotechnology and biomanufacturing, through innovative technologies in partnerships with industry”

TWO FUTURE BRH SCIENTISTS ELECTED AS FELLOWS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY In 2020 the Future BRH Director Prof Nigel Scrutton and Future BRH academic Prof Nicholas Turner were both elected as Fellows of the Royal Society.

The highly prestigious award is thanks to their pioneering contributions to scientific discovery in the field of industrial biotechnology.

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THE TEAM THE MANAGEMENT TEAM

PROFESSOR NIGEL SCRUTTON FUTURE BRH DIRECTOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Nigel is Professor of Enzymology and Biophysical Chemistry at The University of Manchester. He is internationally recognised as a leader in the fields of enzyme engineering, structure and mechanisms, and biomanufacturing using synthetic biology and biocatalytic approaches.

DR IAN ARCHER THE INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CENTRE (IBIOIC) Ian is Technical Director of IBiolC tasked with shaping IBioIC’s strategy and implementing their business plan. He is the technical link with IBioIC’s industrial membership and has a strong background in synthetic chemistry and process development.

PROFESSOR PERDITA BARRAN THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Perdita is Professor of Mass Spectrometry (MS) and Director of the Michael Barber Centre for Collaborative MS. She has considerable experience in novel MS approaches for chemical and biological problems, and HTP MS screening for biocatalyst discovery programmes.

PROFESSOR ALEX CONRADIE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM Alex is Head of the Sustainable Process Technologies Group at the University of Nottingham. He specialises in upstream processing, where he has spearheaded the establishment of gas fermentation technology and systems biology capabilities.

PROFESSOR PAUL FREEMONT IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON Paul is Co-Director of the UK Innovation and Knowledge Centre (IKC) for Synthetic Biology SynbiCITE at Imperial College London. He has expertise in the development of Synthetic Biology platforms for healthcare and manufacturing.

DR ANTHONY GREEN THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Anthony is a lecturer in organic and biological chemistry at The University of Manchester. He leads a multidisciplinary research team with expertise in biocatalysis, directed evolution, enzyme design, organic synthesis and genetic code expansion.

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THE TEAM THE MANAGEMENT TEAM

PROFESSOR RICHARD KITNEY IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON Richard is Professor of Biomedical Systems Engineering and Co-Director/Co-Founder of the Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation at Imperial College London. He has published over 300 papers on synthetic biology, mathematical modelling and biomedical information systems.

PROFESSOR GARY LYE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON Gary is Head of the UCL Department of Biochemical Engineering, and has over 20 years of experience working on the design and scale-up of biocatalytic processes involving both enzymatic and fermentative bioconversions.

PROFESSOR PHILIP SHAPIRA THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Philip is Professor of Innovation Management and Policy at the Manchester Institute for Innovation Research. He is internationally recognised for research, engagement and policy leadership in science and technology, innovation management, and responsible innovation.

PROFESSOR NICOLAS SZITA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON Nicolas leads the Bioprocess Microfluidics Group at UCL and has expertise in microfluidic and continuous flow reactor technologies. He established a unique bioprocess microfluidics lab which has pioneered rapid prototyping techniques for microfluidic bioreactor technologies.

PROFESSOR ERIKO TAKANO THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Eriko is Professor of Synthetic Biology at The University of Manchester. She is internationally leading in sythentic biology of antibiotic production, with expertise in engineering secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathways and industrially relevant organisms.

PROFESSOR CONSTANTINOS THEODOROPOULOS THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Kostas is Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Systems Engineering at The University of Manchester. He has expertise in bioprocess synthesis, design and scale-up. He combines innovative experiments with multi-scale models of complex chemical/biochemical processes.

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THE TEAM THE MANAGEMENT TEAM

PROFESSOR NICHOLAS TURNER UK CATALYSIS HUB Nick leads the Biocatalysis and Biotransformations theme at the UK Catalysis Hub. He is an expert in the use of enzymes as biocatalysts for organic synthesis and biocatalytic manufacture, and is at the forefront of work on directed evolution of enzymes as applied biocatalysts.

KRIS WADROP CENTRE FOR PROCESS INNOVATION (CPI) Kris is Business Unit Director for Industrial Biotechnology and Biorefining at CPI. He is an experienced chemical engineer and Fellow of the IChemE, and has extensive experience in designing and managing chemical plants to complement his expertise in biorefining.

DR ROSALIND LE FEUVRE FUTURE BRH DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Ros is responsible for the operational and strategic management of the Hub. She has significant experience coordinating large collaborative research programmes and is also the Director of Operations for the SYNBIOCHEM Centre.

DR KIRK MALONE FUTURE BRH DIRECTOR OF COMMERCIALISATION, THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Kirk has extensive experience in university-business engagement, with a track record of securing collaborative R&D funding (over £55M). Within Future BRH his focus is to deliver impact through translational activities and co-creation of programmes with industry.

DR LOUISE WOODS FUTURE BRH PROJECT MANAGER, THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Louise provides professional management for all aspects of the Future BRH. She has significant experience of project managing research projects from a wide range of funders, and also has a background in research support across the biotechnology field.

LISA BEATTIE FUTURE BRH SENIOR PROJECT ADMINISTRATOR, THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER Lisa provides a pivotal role in the overall administration of the Future BRH and provides high level project support. She has previous experience of working on a number of multi-partner projects across a range of areas including biotechnology, materials science and public health.

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THE TEAM THE RESEARCH TEAM

DR MARIJAN BAJIĆ RESEARCH FELLOW Marijan received his PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) in 2017.

His research in the Future BRH is focused on the development and characterisation of microreactors for continuous enzymatic synthesis.

DR ADOKIYE BEREPIKI RESEARCH FELLOW Adokiye is a strain engineer who has worked on a range of projects during six years of postdoctoral research, specialising in metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, recombinant protein production and fermentation.

DR YONG CHEN RESEARCH FELLOW Yong received a PhD in Biology from Tsinghua University (China) focused on pathway construction and mechanical properties of biodegradable polymers. His research interests are in synthetic pathway design, automation high throughput screening, and metabolic flux control.

DR SEBASTIAN COSGROVE RESEARCH FELLOW Sebastian received his PhD in Synthetic Organic Photochemistry from the University of Leeds.

During an EPSRC Doctoral Prize Fellowship he conducted research on oxidase enzymes. Within the Future BRH his research is focused on continuous flow for biocatalysis.

DR TOBIAS HEDISON RESEARCH FELLOW Tobias was awarded a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry from The University of Manchester in 2016.

Within the Future BRH he is is focused on the development of industrial biocatalysts and high throughput assays to study enzyme turnover.

DR NICOLE LEFERINK RESEARCH FELLOW Nicole obtained her PhD degree from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. She has experience in enzyme discovery, characterisation, and engineering, high-throughput screening, laboratory automation, and biomanufacturing using synthetic biology.

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THE TEAM THE RESEARCH TEAM DR AISLING NÍ CHEALLAIGH RESEARCH FELLOW Aisling is a synthetic organic chemist and well versed in process development and scale up of biologically active modules. Her research focuses on the incorporation of enzymatic processes into the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients and value added chemicals.

DR KARL PAYNE RESEARCH FELLOW Karl received a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Leeds. He has expertise in enzymes that play a role in bioremediation of pollutants or production of hydrocarbons for fuels/plastics.

His research focuses on structural enzymology, protein engineering and synthetic biology.

DR ITZIAR PENAFIEL RESEARCH FELLOW Itziar received her PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Alicante (Spain) in 2012. She is interested in the development of industrially interesting biotransformations under continuous flow, including multi-enzymatic cascades and enzyme immobilisation.

DR ALED ROBERTS RESEARCH FELLOW Aled received a PhD in Materials Chemistry jointly at the University of Liverpool and at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore. He has a broad academic background spanning chemistry, materials engineering and synthetic biology.

DR MATTHEW RUSSELL RESEARCH FELLOW Matthew is an analytical biochemist specialising in quantitative protein mass spectrometry. He has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. Within the Future BRH Matthew is focused on analytical methods to quantify enzyme expression in host strains.

DR CHENHAO SUN RESEARCH FELLOW Chenhao Sun received his MEng and PhD in Chemical Engineering with Biotechnology from The University of Manchester in 2017. He specialises in downstream process design and techno-economic analysis for early-stage fermentation processes.

VIRANGA TILAKARATNA SENIOR RESEARCH TECHNICIAN Viranga obtained a Masters in Biotechnology from the University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka). She supports the overall delivery of the Future BRH research programme and provides coordination of laboratory health and safety and procurement for the research team.

FUTURE BIOMANUFACTURING RESEARCH HUB | futurebrh.com | Annual Report 2020

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FUTURE BIOMANUFACTURING RESEARCH HUB

PHARMACEUTICALS

VALUE-ADDED CHEMICALS

ENGINEERING MATERIALS

ADVANCED BIOFUELS

HARNESSING UK STRENGTHS IN BIOMANUFACTURING

futurebrh.com

info@futurebrh.com

@FutureBRH

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+44 (0)161 306 5122

Future BRH • Manchester Institute of Biotechnology • The University of Manchester 131 Princess Street • Manchester • M1 7DN • UK

FUTURE BIOMANUFACTURING RESEARCH HUB | Annual Report 2020 | futurebrh.com

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