Developing a graduate training program in Synthetic Biology: SynBioCDT

Idil Cazimoglu; Alexander P S Darlington; Aurelija Grigonyte; Charlotte E G Hoskin; Juntai Liu; Robert Oppenheimer; Jesús A Siller-Farfán; Claire Grierson; Antonis Papachristodoulou

doi:10.1093/synbio/ysz006

Developing a graduate training program in Synthetic Biology: SynBioCDT

Synth Biol (Oxf). 2019 Jan 30;4(1):ysz006. doi: 10.1093/synbio/ysz006. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Idil Cazimoglu^{1

2}, Alexander P S Darlington^{2

3}, Aurelija Grigonyte^{2

4}, Charlotte E G Hoskin^{1

2}, Juntai Liu^{2

5}, Robert Oppenheimer^{2

6}, Jesús A Siller-Farfán^{2

7}, Claire Grierson^{2

8}, Antonis Papachristodoulou^{2

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK.
² EPSRC and BBSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Synthetic Biology, Doctoral Training Centre, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK.
³ School of Engineering, University of Warwick, Library Road, Coventry, UK.
⁴ School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Campus, Coventry, UK.
⁵ School of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, Biomedical Sciences Building, University Walk, Bristol, UK.
⁶ Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, UK.
⁷ Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, UK.
⁸ School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol Bristol Life Sciences Building, 24 Tyndall Ave, Bristol, UK.
⁹ Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford, UK.

Abstract

This article presents the experience of a team of students and academics in developing a post-graduate training program in the new field of Synthetic Biology. Our Centre for Doctoral Training in Synthetic Biology (SynBioCDT) is an initiative funded by the United Kingdom's Research Councils of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPSRC), and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences (BBSRC). SynBioCDT is a collaboration between the Universities of Oxford, Bristol and Warwick, and has been successfully running since 2014, training 78 students in this field. In this work, we discuss the organization of the taught, research and career development training. We also address the challenges faced when offering an interdisciplinary program. The article concludes with future directions to continue the development of the SynBioCDT.

Keywords: Synthetic Biology; graduate education.