Molecular biologist Michele Fabris has been awarded one of the first CSIRO fellowships aimed at boosting Australian research capacity in synthetic biology.
Dr Fabris, a research associate in the UTS Climate Change Cluster (C3), will use the fellowship to work with a species of photosynthetic microalgae, or phytoplankton, to test whether it can be modified to carry out specific functions, such as the production of pharmaceutical products.
The use of modified cells as “biofactories” to produce useful products such as pharmaceuticals and fuels is one application being explored in synthetic biology. Scientists have traditionally used bacteria and yeast cells for these purposes but in using algal cells Dr Fabris will be better able to exploit useful traits such as photosynthesis and peculiar metabolism.
Read the full story in the UTS Newsroom.