Synthetic Biology Moonshot
MITRE is bringing systems engineering to the practice of synthetic biology.
MITRE’s Synthetic Biology Moonshot team is re-engineering the synthetic biology workflow into a network called “BioNet” to facilitate increased collaboration and innovation within the field.
We’re also convening the BioNet Alliance—connecting government, industry, and academia—to help shape the ecosystem and establish stewardship and governance. BioNet will operate as a trusted global ecosystem in which design, development, refinement, and deployment of synthetic biology projects are transformed by the “network effect” of a marketplace of organizations, capabilities, content, and latent creativity.
BIONET: A NETWORKED SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY ECOSYSTEM
Led by MITRE Fellow Marc Salit, Ph.D., the team brings together MITRE’s expertise across biology, engineering, software, and security.
The BioNet synthetic biology ecosystem will increase resiliency, foster innovation, democratize access, and encourage contributions from diverse organization types with distinct expertise, geography, and culture. A successful BioNet will empower more individuals and organizations to use biology as their technology of choice.
BioNet Partners
The moonshot team is working closely with several partners in the SynBio industry to ensure BioNet can be used by all.
- Harvard Medical School’s Silver Lab and Synthetic Biology HIVE are prototyping and evaluating the BioNet model on research to develop biosensors
- Stanford University Bioengineering Department is developing and integrating security, privacy, and open science principles for the BioNet
- BacStitch DNA is prototyping the tools needed to integrate services on the BioNet
- Tyrala Consulting LLC is developing prototype applications in protein engineering and establishing workflows for testing and evaluating BioNet
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About MITRE Moonshots
MITRE Moonshots are high-risk, potentially disruptive research endeavors that require significant investment but can produce significant returns to the nation. Moonshots seek to fundamentally alter the nation’s technical capabilities and approaches to complex problems. We combine diverse expertise, perspectives, and resources by connecting partners in government, industry, academia, and other mission-driven organizations.