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A group of researchers chat in front of a poster board

Thank you to everyone who joined our first annual symposium!

14 July 2025

A massive thank you to everyone who joined us on Monday 7 June 2025 for our first annual symposium. It was great to see many familiar faces, as well as some new ones, and to celebrate the thriving Engineering Biology community in Cambridge. Take a look at our round-up from the event.

Horizon Europe Explained: Opportunities for Engineering Biology

10 July 2025

Not sure how you can benefit from Horizon Europe? Here’s a quick run-down of the programme and current open calls relevant to Engineering Biology.

Cambridge researchers awarded £7.5 million to build programmable plants

10 June 2025

Two groups involving researchers from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Plant Sciences are among nine teams to have been awarded funding today from the UK’s Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA)’s Synthetic Plants programme.

Photo of the EngBio Forum overlaid with five hexagons containing logos. The logos are: a clock, a tick box, a lightblub with a pencil inside, a puzzle with four pieces and two speech bubbles.

How to make a sustainable bioeconomy: key takeaways from the EngBio Forum

21 May 2025

Dr Stephanie Norwood sums up her key takeaways from the recent EngBio Forum on Sustainable Bioproduction.

Illustration of AI-biological security. A head with an electronic circuit pattern radiating from it and a circle with a closed padlock in the centre.

Understanding AI-Enabled Biological Threats: Hype, Hazard, and Governance

15 April 2025

The intersection of AI and engineering biology offers a unique opportunity to address pressing societal issues, but also poses a potential threat to global biosecurity. Is AI lowering barriers to biological weapons development? What are the risks and how likely are they to emerge? Can AI be used as a tool to aid biosecurity as well as threaten it? Researchers from the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk discuss.

Top down photo of a doctor's desk with a set of hands typing on a computer

Synthetic Data in Medical Research: What, Why and How?

14 April 2025

What is synthetic data, why is it being used in biomedical research and how can it be used to advance scientific discovery in a responsible way? A recent article by Cambridge researchers urges policy-makers to consider how synthetic data should be regulated.

Illustrative design with the 3D rendered structure of an antibody, IgG, tessellated three times.

Designing Better Antibodies with AI

8 April 2025

AI is helping design the next generation of therapeutics. Hear from Royal Society University Research Fellow Dr. Pietro Sormanni about how his lab is using AI and machine learning techniques to improve antibody design for medicine and diagnostics.

Cellular Machines: How are Cambridge Researchers Engineering Cells for a Better Future?

12 March 2025

Our bodies, and all living things, are made up of cells. These tiny natural machines can do amazing things - they can make new molecules, sense the world around them and even transform energy into useful fuels! Scientists at the University of Cambridge study cells to understand how they work. They can also engineer cells to do new and useful things. Find out how Cambridge researchers are engineering cells for a better future.

CT scan of a harbour porpoise brain overlayed with a false colour Monte Carlo simulation showing the different light absorbtion by diffrenet tissues in the skull.

Group Spotlight: Pub and Papers

12 March 2025

Hear from postdocs Deepshikha Acharya and Liam Collins-Jones about Pub and Papers, a monthly journal club exploring recent papers in the field of non-invasive neuroimaging.

A young woman stands in front of a screen showing a strand of DNA, she is having an informal discussion with a group of people sat in front of her.

Engineering Biology and the Public: Navigating Engagement and Trust

17 February 2025

Dr Richard Milne, Head of Research and Dialogue at Wellcome Connecting Science, shares with us his thoughts on engineering biology and the importance of engaging the public in meaningful conversations, undertaking two-way dialogues and building trust in technology.

Thank you to everyone who joined our first annual symposium!

Horizon Europe Explained: Opportunities for Engineering Biology

Cambridge researchers awarded £7.5 million to build programmable plants

How to make a sustainable bioeconomy: key takeaways from the EngBio Forum

Understanding AI-Enabled Biological Threats: Hype, Hazard, and Governance

Synthetic Data in Medical Research: What, Why and How?

Designing Better Antibodies with AI

Cellular Machines: How are Cambridge Researchers Engineering Cells for a Better Future?

Group Spotlight: Pub and Papers

Engineering Biology and the Public: Navigating Engagement and Trust

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