European Synthetic Cell Initiative
@syncelleu.bsky.social
Network of excellent European research institutions that have joined forces to collaborate on synthetic cell research and accelerate its translation into technology
One postdoctoral opportunity within the Elani Lab - Imperial College - UK The group is hiring a postdoc to work on an ARIA-funded project to engineer new ways of reprogramming mitochondria using bacteriophages. More info: edu.nl/kvyjr
Description
Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...
edu.nl
2 postdoctoral opportunities within the Huck Group -Netherlands They are part of the European PROPEL consortium, which aims to develop an "integrated, cost-efficient, and scalable pipeline for the production of protein-based materials and biocatalysts using synthetic cells" More info: edu.nl/bwabr
PROPEL: Protein production in fully sustainable syncells for biomaterials manufacturing and waste upcycling - IMDEA ENERGÍA | Wilhelm Huck
***Job alert: vacancies for two postdoctoral researchers*** These positions are part of a European consortium PROPEL which aims to revolutionize sustainable bio-manufacturing through the creation of t...
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Scientific publication The authors present a minimal platform that can reproduce the key features of biological morphogenesis through reversible shape morphing and topology transitions This system involves only oil droplets immersed in a solvent and an amphiphilic triblock copolymer edu.nl/kgcnc
Morphogenic colloids - Nature Communications
Morphogenesis is a dynamic process central to life, in which structure and compartmentalization arise to produce functional architectures but replicating such transformations synthetically remains cha...
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Scientific publication Navigating Lipid Nanostructure Design Space Through Continuous Microfluidic Automation The authors described and characterised an automated microfluidic platform for rapid screening of lipid nanoparticles. edu.nl/nuedv
Navigating Lipid Nanostructure Design Space Through Continuous Microfluidic Automation
LipidXplorer is a novel microfluidic platform which enables rapid navigation of lipid particle design space for high-resolution phase mapping, lipid nanoparticle optimization, membrane biophysics, an....
edu.nl
Career opportunity in Germany SynthImmune, together with the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH) and the Faculty of Biosciences are looking for a Junior Group‑Leader to head a new research group in Bottom‑Up Synthetic Biology. edu.nl/jkkay #SynCell #SyntheticCell
Junior Research Group Leader in “Bottom-Up Synthetic Biology” (f/m/d) - SynthImmune
The Cluster of Excellence SynthImmune, the Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University (ZMBH), and the Faculty of Biosciences invite applications
edu.nl
Pre‑Registration Open for Master's in Synthetic Biology (#MISB, @csic.es-UIMP) – VI Edition (2026–2028) Second Call: until September 11 More info 🔗https://mastersynbio.csic.es/ Pre‑registration form 🔗https://www.uimp.es/postgrado/estudios/fichaestudio.php?plan=P04H&any=2026-27&verasi=N&lan=es
☀️ #ComeInCell Interdisciplinary Lecture Series is taking a short summer break. We're back on September 14 at 16:00 CET: "Membrane Models" block lecture by Prof. Petra Schwille. All recordings are uploaded to our YouTube channel. More details in the comments 👇 #HorizonEurope #MSCA
SYNMAC (CSIC Hub in Engineering Synthetic Biological Matter) is a multidisciplinary strategic initiative in research, advanced training, and innovation funded by @csic.es under the 2025 CONEXIONES-CSIC. Our researcher, German Rivas, coordinates the project together with Irene Otero-Muras (I2sys2bio)
Here's recording of a zoom talk on synthetic cells and our research towards that, that I gave yesterday in the 'Build-a-Cell' online seminars: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPOC...
Build-a-Cell seminar Cees Dekker: EVOLF bottom up approach to building synthetic cell & our research
Build-a-Cell seminar presented by Cees Dekker from Delft University of Technology EVOLF: a bottom up approach to building a synthetic cell, and our recent research therein This is recording of live…
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Career opportunity at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France They are looking for an experienced researcher with a strong background in synthetic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and who can take a leadership role in chemistry applied to the life sciences and health
Ariane Briegel@arianebriegel.bsky.social · last mo.New scientific publication in PNAS: "Improving cell-free metabolism through direct integration of artificial respiratory chains" The researchers built tailored artificial respiratory chains from the bottom up, designed to mimic and enhance the properties of cellular respiration. edu.nl/dww3x
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Latest #CDlab paper: a review entitled 'Devising a divisome for synthetic cells' in Nature Reviews Chemistry www.nature.com/articles/s41... Here, 1st authors Joris Dommisse and Rafael Lira review current strategies to mimic division: symmetry breaking, constriction and abscission. Enjoy the read!
Soon there will be a Postdoctoral position available in the group at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social to work on creating #motile #synthetic #vesicles for intracellular delivery. Expertise in #SoftMatter and delivery systems are required. Feel free to get in touch or share this post.
New scientific publication: In this study, the authors sought to demonstrate that "liquid-liquid phase separation provides a route for the hierarchical organization of components within specific modules in protocell models, while simultaneously enabling tuneable functionalities” edu.nl/4vy4x
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Our review paper on Membrane-Associated Biomolecules for Synthetic Cell Signalling has just been published in #ChemBioChem! Led by Chelsea + Bingkun @uclchemistry.bsky.social, @sigsyncell.bsky.social, @chemistryeurope.bsky.social #chemsky 🧪 chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Membrane‐Associated Biomolecules for Synthetic Cell Signalling
Membrane-associated proteins and nucleic acids are transforming synthetic cell communication, unlocking applications in biosensing, therapeutics, and tissue engineering. This review explores how thes....
chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Missed our last lecture? Watch it on YouTube: youtu.be/JfkqxXPAkuY
Synthetic cell-based artificial tissues to study T cell activation
YouTube video by Max Planck School Matter to Life
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Max Planck School Matter to Life@mattertolife.bsky.social · 3mo ago📅 Save the date: The MtL Lecture Series continues on 17 June at 3 pm CEST with a talk by MtL Fellow and MtL alumnus Oskar Staufer from @leibnizinm.bsky.social, @uni-saarland.de and the Max Planck Bristol Center for Minimal Biology. 🙌 Register now on Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
My department @eth-dbiol.bsky.social at ETH Zurich is hiring for a tenured professor in mol cell bio and biochemistry (associate/full). The position is within the Institute of Biochemistry (www.bc.biol.ethz.ch) and it is fairly open within their scope of research. www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Professor of Molecular Cell Biology and Biochemistry - Zurich, Switzerland job with ETH Zurich | 12861386
The Department of Biology at ETH Zurich invites applications for the above-mentioned tenured professorship at the Institute of Biochemistry
nature.com
Check out our latest article, in which we present recent work by Naresh Yandrapalli, Tom Robinson, Reinhard Lipowsky and Tina Seemann on the production of asymmetric membranes (published in Nature Communications) edu.nl/7degt #SyntheticCell #SynCell
🔊Paper alert Short cationic peptides form reversible liquid-like condensates inside living cells with no genetic engineering needed. This is a step toward engineering life-like matter from scratch. @mpip-mainz.mpg.de pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Reversible Nucleolar Complex Coacervation by Short Cationic Peptides
Biomolecular condensates formed through liquid–liquid phase separation play central roles in intracellular organization and regulation. Replicating such dynamic compartmentalization using minimal synt...
pubs.acs.org
Our paper "Active-learning-guided optimization of cell-free systems for genome-wide transcriptomic profiling reveals progressive layers of regulation" is online in Nature Communications! Congrats Lea Wagner, very proud of this work! www.nature.com/articles/s41... #cellfree #AI #T7Phage #synbio
Active-learning-guided optimization of cell-free systems for genome-wide transcriptomic profiling reveals progressive layers of regulation - Nature Communications
Cell-free is a powerful platform to unravel biological complexity. Here, the authors used active learning to optimize buffer composition, boosting mRNA 20-fold, enabling cell-free transcriptomics and ...
nature.com
Job opportunity: Postdoctoral positions in Biomaterials, Synthetic Biology, and Mammalian Cell Engineering Tan Lab, University of California, Davis, USA The project aims to create new ways to control, preserve, and engineer mammalian cell function using engineered biomaterials. edu.nl/fvpnh
Job Opportunity: Postdoctoral Scholars in Biomaterials, Synthetic Biology, and Mammalian Cell Engineering
This position sits at the boundary of biomaterials, synthetic biology, and cell-based therapeutics. The work is fast-moving, and scholars will have access to a large translational team, industry-facin...
edu.nl
Scientific publication: Excitability and Oscillations of Active Droplets edu.nl/a9pr8 @boekhovenlab.bsky.social
Excitability and Oscillations of Active Droplets
In the field of biomolecular condensates and synthetic systems, it is an open question whether liquid droplets can undergo self-sustained oscillations of formation and dissolution. To unravel the mini...
edu.nl
Congratulations to Wilhelm Huck & @waltherlab.bsky.social who have been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant! Andreas's project: Protoecologies between Artificial Cells and Mammalian Cells edu.nl/mhwv9 Wilhelm's project: Reservoir computing in living and synthetic enzymatic reaction networks edu.nl/hcpme
👏👏👏Congratulations to SFB 1551 group leaders Edward Lemke @lemkelab.bsky.social and Andreas Walther @waltherlab.bsky.social at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) @unimainz.bsky.social @imbmainz.bsky.social on being awarded prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grants.
Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz@unimainz.bsky.social · 2mo ago#ERCAdG für zwei Forschende der #UniMainz: Biophysiker Edward Lemke und Chemiker Andreas Walther erhalten Förderung in Millionenhöhe von der EU 👉 presse.uni-mainz.de/erc-advanced-… #ERCAdvancedGrant #Biophysik #Biomaterialien @imbmainz.bsky.social #ERC @erc.europa.eu @waltherlab.bsky.social
Other publications we’ve recently spotted: Cosurfactant-Induced Disorder in Polymersome Membrane Enhances Diffusion of Cargo Molecules edu.nl/ywb9r Oppositely Charged Single Enzyme Nanogels Form Versatile Coacervates for Efficient Enzyme Cascade Catalysis edu.nl/b4yxe
Recent publications: Programming Nonlinear Interfacial Mechanics of Synthetic Cells: Lipid Geometry and DNA Nanostructures edu.nl/gbpfa Formation of assembloids by DNA-mediated synthetic cell self-assembly edu.nl/kamne
Publication Energy regeneration in CFPS systems is challenging. The article shows that phosphoserine is a promising energy source for E. coli lysate-based CFPS systems. It also validated the use of these optimised CFPS compositions within bilayer lipid vesicles edu.nl/3qjde #SyntheticCell #SynCell
Phosphoserine as an Alternative Energy Source for E. coli Cell-Free Protein Synthesis with Increased Yield and Prolonged Activity
Energy-supplying molecules are essential for biological processes, particularly for transcription and translation. Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) systems are powerful tools for in vitro protein production, offering flexibility for applications ranging from high-throughput protein screening to therapeutic protein production. However, energy regeneration in CFPS remains a key challenge, particularly for large-scale or resource-constrained settings. In this study, we introduce phosphoserine (PS) as a simple, cost-effective alternative secondary energy source, capable of partially or fully replacing 3-phosphoglycerate (PGA), the commonly used energy donor in E. coli lysate-based CFPS, whose availability is often limited. By supplementing CFPS reactions with PS, we demonstrate significant improvements in protein yield and cost-efficiency, achieving a 2-fold increase in protein production. Importantly, PS enhancement is maintained across lysate batches and protein targets. Furthermore, we offer affordable CFPS compositions that retain protein synthesis, making the system more accessible for resource-limited settings. Additionally, we show that higher PS concentrations, while reducing final protein yield, extend the reaction duration by more than 2-fold. Therefore, the incorporation of PS as an alternative energy donor enables a tunable modality for balancing protein yield, reaction longevity, and cost. Our data support a model in which PS enhances CFPS via the serine biosynthesis pathway by modulating flux between serine production and glycolysis to support ATP regeneration. Lastly, we validate the use of these optimized CFPS compositions within synthetic cells (SCs). This study establishes PS as a promising energy source for E. coli lysate-based CFPS systems, paving the way for enhanced and economical protein synthesis platforms tailored to diverse clinical, biotechnological, and industrial needs.
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Scientific publication by the Boekhoven Lab @boekhovenlab.bsky.social DNA affects the phenotype of fuel-dependent coacervate droplets edu.nl/9hjpg
DNA affects the phenotype of fuel-dependent coacervate droplets - Nature Communications
Synthetic cells mirror fundamental biological behaviors, like growth, metabolism, and mobility, but have lacked genotype-driven selection, which is essential for Darwinian evolution. Here, the authors...
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Last week was incredibly busy and exciting. We had the pleasure of receiving a visit from MEP @bartgroothuis.bsky.social at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, and of meeting Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva, during her visit to Leiden University in the Netherlands edu.nl/3t3hv
SynCellEU Meets MEP Groothuis and Commissioner Zaharieva
During these encounters, the initiative advocated for a funding instrument capable of accelerating synthetic cell research and technologies.
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