The Synthetic Biology Podcast The University of Edinburgh

In this episode, I talk to Dr Rennos Fragkoudis, Manager of the Edinburgh Genome Foundry - a research facility specialised in the assembly of DNA constructs. These are artificially constructed fragments of DNA that can be 'transplanted' into a target cell or tissue. These constructs contain a gene sequence of interest that can then be expressed in the host. Rennos explains how he, his team and some very impressive robots are involved in a diverse range of research projects from producing viral vectors for gene therapy to yeast based production of high value chemicals for healthcare products…    

In this episode we talk to Prof Jane Calvert and Dr Rob Smith who work in the department of Science, Technology and Innovation Studies, also known as STS. Jane and Rob talk about the Crossing Kingdoms project, which is part of their work in the Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology, but we also cover Jane's work on synthetic yeast, funded by the BBSRC, and Rob's work on gene drives, funded by the British Academy. We chat about the social, political and ethical dimensions of synthetic biology research and discuss the fundamental value of interdisciplinary collaboration.

In this episode, we are joined by Dr Elise Cachat, a lecturer in synthetic biology at the University of Edinburgh. We chat about her research and how it can help us to understand the role of immune cells called macrophages in the progression of cancer. We also hear a little bit about an interesting fusion project. 

In this episode, Tilo Kunath, a reader in Regenerative Neurobiology at the Institute for Stem Cell Research and Centre for Regenerative Medicine talks to us about his work on Parkinson’s Disease, a progressive neurological condition, and how synthetic biology is helping us to understand and treat this disease.