The CSIRO BioFoundry team has doubled!
The CSIRO BioFoundry, a state-of-the-art facility specialising in high-volume design and build services for bioengineering, has just doubled staff numbers to meet the capacity required for current and future projects. Identified in the National Synthetic Biology Roadmap launched this year, the BioFoundry is a key facility to help Australia unlock emerging markets for synthetic biology applications in food, agriculture, environment, health and medicine.
Focused on microorganism bioengineering, high-throughput process development and automation, the BioFoundry follows the Design, Build, Test, Learn cycle. Our equipment and software allow us to perform high-throughput workflows including, combinatorial genetic design, DNA assembly, high-throughput strain build, phenotypic assays and data analysis.
Managed by Janet Reid, the BioFoundry team has recently expanded with 2 more technicians and a data engineer. Let’s meet them!
BioFoundry Technician – Dr Lisa Hartmann
With a PhD in molecular biology, Lisa Hartmann is now part of the BioFoundry technical team working on synthetic biology projects for industrial and academic clients.
Image: Dr Lisa Hartmann. Since joining the BioFoundry, I’ve really enjoyed learning how to use automation to do things that would not be practical by hand and avoiding those bottlenecks that frustrated me in the past.
BioFoundry Technician – Candice Jones
Candice Jones, a PhD Candidate in plant molecular biology and motivated by the clear potential of SynBio projects to improve the environment, joins the BioFoundry team as a Research Technician.
Image: Candice Jones. I’m excited to be supporting projects that work towards the goals of using science to create products or systems that will improve our world. I am learning so much every day here, I have been amazed by just how much can be achieved with the use of robotics in the lab.
BioFoundry Data Engineer – Adrian Marsh
An IT background in data-focused roles has led Adrian Marsh to the BioFoundry team. Adrian specialises in system integration and application support and is now responsible for systems operations of the BioFoundry information management systems and the support of data processing workflows.
Image: Adrian Marsh: I’m really enjoying learning about the all the lab processes and equipment and I am very keen to look at ways to improve the data flows and integrate the various systems.
The CSIRO BioFoundry’s recent projects include high-throughput multi-level combinatorial DNA construct assembly, ribosome binding site optimisation using machine learning and artificial intelligence, biosensor and enzyme optimisation studies, and cell-free protein expression.
For more information on working with the CSIRO BioFoundry – contact Facility Manager Janet Reid at SynBioFoundry@csiro.au