THE FLOWERS CONSORTIUM
Creating a UK Infrastructure for Synthetic Biology
The Flowers consortium is a bringing together of 5 UK universities (Imperial College, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Kings and Newcastle), who are amongst the international leaders in synthetic biology and already have very significant research programmes in synthetic biology.
The consortium will provide the critical mass and synergy necessary to make synthetic biology a well-characterised and usable tool for developing applications and products, and is working closely with its industrial partners to commercialise these applications.
Synthetic Biology can be defined as a field that “aims to design and engineer biologically based parts, novel devices and systems, as well as redesigning existing natural biological systems” (The Royal Academy of Engineering Synthetic Biology Inquiry Report. May 2009).
It is a rapidly developing field which, it is now recognised, will have major relevance to enhancing the UK’s industrial base.
The Consortium aims to provide knowledge hubs where firms in the field can share information and build strong networks and clusters.
Compatible with the work and aspirations of the international community.
Readily accessible by a wide range of users (both academic and industrial).