BBC Future
Francis Hassard, Cranfield University, discusses the bacteria commonly found in shower heads, if they should be a cause for concern and what you can do to mitigate any potential risks.
Registration Open
Register now for our Webinar – Microbial Engineering: Tools & Genetic Modification Techniques…
Post-conference round up
July 2025 saw the launch of our inaugural Early Career Researcher conference – Engineering Biology for Environmental Sustainability (EBES2025).
A Successful
SymposiumGlobal Experts Converge at Oxford for ISM2S 2025: Microfluidics Advancing Health and Environmental Solutions. The 2nd International Symposium…
Seedcorn Fund – Applications Open!
EBIC’s Seed Corn Fund, made possible by a funding injection from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will accelerate the commercialisation of new engineering…
International Women
in Engineering 2025This is the 12th year of celebrating International Women in Engineering Day (#INWED25), brought about by Women’s Engineering Society. This year the theme is #TogetherWeEngineer with a focus on giving women engineers a spotlight and raising their profile, as women are under-represented in engineering. In fact, according to figures in 2021, only 16.5% of engineers in the UK are women.
Watch PFAS workshops
We were delighted to host such a successful one-day workshop at Cranfield bringing together researchers, early-career scientists, and industry stakeholders to share the latest advances in PFAS detection, degradation, and biotechnological solutions. The event, supported by the Environmental Biotechnoly Network (EBNet) and the Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC), (more…)
EBIC Launch our Podcast – EnvBio Tech
Are you fascinated by the world of engineering biology? Eager to discover how EBIC is leveraging this innovative field to enhance our environment? Tune in to our quarterly podcast, where we share exciting insights and host inspiring guests from the world of engineering biology and beyond.
Episode one features Professor Ronan McCarthy & Lyuboslava Harkova, both of Brunel University London, to discuss their fascinating work utilising biofilms and bacteria to breakdown plastic – just in time for this years #worldenvironmentday which for 2025 focuses on ending plastic pollution globally – watch now to see how EBIC are doing our part!
UKRI Engineering Biology Mission Hubs showcase
We were delighted to be invited by UKRI to participate in their first, in a series of 6, webinar – Engineering Biology Mission Hubs Showcase. The webinar was a great opportunity to discuss how EBIC are utilising engineering biology to create a sustainable environment – from bioremediation, to biosensors and waste & wastewater management, as well as our public engagement and management strategy.
Report on the Governance of Engineering Biology
This report focuses on the governance of engineering biology and helps to highlight the innovation and potential in the field, including a new bio-economy. The report makes 6 key recommendations to the government, including governing engineering biology products by their properties, not the originating technologies and encouraging a formal commitment to responsible innovation.
EBIC Early Career Conference
Are you a UK-based Early Career Researcher (ECR) working in Engineering Biology and Environmental Biotechnology? Join us at EBIC ECR25 on 8-9 July 2025 at Edinburgh! Offering a valuable platform to contextualize your research, engage in discussions, improve your communication skills, and connect with like-minded professionals. Our first ECR conference on Engineering Biology for Environmental Sustainability will explore all facets of Engineering Biology and Environmental Biotechnology, so you’re sure to discover something new from our cross-disciplinary community.
EBIC’s Prof McCarthy Featured in Nature’s ‘Technologies to Watch’
Here at EBIC we are delighted that our own Professor Ronan McCarthy’s work has been included in Nature’s seventh annual round-up of exciting innovations to watch in 2025.
Ronan, and his team at Brunel, are utilising microbes in the bioremediation of plastics. They are coaxing plastic-degrading bacteria to form dense biofilms on the surface of plastic fragments, allowing the bacteria to secrete enzymes onto the target plastics, without being washed away.
Genetically modified organisms to revolutionise water treatment
Prof. Coulon explores the use of synthetic biology to remove pollutants more efficiently & sustainably, whilst also delving into both challenges to adoption and the importance of biosecurity.
The article also explores our work here at EBIC: establishing the necessary testing and biosecurity frameworks to enable the deployment of pollution-targeting microbes within the national water and wastewater systems, as well as establishing a ‘closed loop’ system for testing at a larger scale in a real-world environment.
EBIC’s Professor Louise Horsfall Project Lead
The project is intended to review current Scottish engineering biology expertise and collaborations and provide recommendations to highlight the future opportunities. The project will also seek to set out the actions that should be progressed in order to position Scotland to maximise the emerging economic opportunities, including setting out where the respective ownership of relevant actions best sit.
The first edition of the EBIC Newsletter is here!
We here at EBIC are very excited to announce the launch of our newsletter! Our quarterly newsletter is packed with exciting updates on our work, SynBio & Engineering Biology related news-stories, events and much more! You can sign up to join our mailing list from the link below.
Engineering Biology Public Trust Survey Findings
In 2023 the UK Government formed the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), with a mission to make the UK a science superpower. Engineering Biology is one of the critical technologies proposed to make this aim a reality.
As part of this mission the National Vision for Engineering Biology was created. Within this Vision the DSIT committed to developing robust insights into public attitudes towards engineering biology, and thus commissioned Deltapoll to conduct a survey on public perceptions of engineering biology.
Trusted partners
