A new approach in synthetic biology

February 24, 2014

Launch of new EU-funded project on Signaling systems

SynSignal consortium meets in Lausanne

Cellular signaling systems are crucially important for a broad range of critical health and disease areas and high value industrial applications. Signaling systems are the target for more than half of the medicines marketed by the pharmaceutical industry, and form the main R&D area for the nutrition, flavour and fragrance industries. SynSignal is a multidisciplinary high-tech consortium working in synthetic biology's area of greatest untapped potential, delivering a synthetic biology toolbox and finished products custom designed for major present and future industrial applications of cellular signaling.

SynSignal particularly focuses on developing disruptive next generation high-throughput compatible synthetic biology research tools and technologies. These will be implemented for assembling synthetic signaling regulatory circuits, and to exploit them to recreate and modulate signaling pathways for health and disease, and for key industrial biotechnology applications.

A paramount and integral objective of the work plan is to address stringent quality control criteria for all parts of the project.

With its innovations, SynSignal contributes, develops and validates new synthetic biology tools and technologies. That will enable the generation of new knowledge, with a prime focus on its translation into practical economic applications. SynSignal aims at developing next generation products including new therapeutics to interfere with signaling errors that cause human pathologies including cancer, and diabetes. Additionally, SynSignal will develop novel delivery systems for modulating cell growth properties, custom engineered new cell lines for implantation, and next-generation screening platforms and next generation molecules with enhanced properties for the flavor, fragrance and health industries.

SynSignal actively supports the Commissions´ Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, in particular the “Innovation Union” flagship initiative. SynSignal aims to further the European Partnership for Researchers, across all intersectoral and international boundaries, to position Europe as a global leader in generating knowledge and added value in the 21st century.

On the 10th of January, all consortium partners from Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Spain and France came together at the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne to officially kick off the project’s activities.