Generative Biology Institute

Biology naturally performs a spectacular array of functions.

However, we don’t yet have the ability to reliably engineer biology. To unlock its full potential, there are two essential challenges to overcome. We must be able to write in the natural language of biology, and we must understand which DNA sequences will generate biological systems that perform the desired functions.

At GBI, we will develop the foundational technologies to overcome the challenges in engineering biology and apply our advances to address the global challenges encapsulated in EIT’s humane endeavours. GBI will have sustained and substantial funding to support the unique scale and ambition of its ground-breaking vision for engineering biology, and to enable it to tackle some of society’s greatest challenges.

GBI will commence operations in 2025. The team will work from a purpose-made facility in the Oxford Science Park, which is currently under construction. Once complete, this state-of-the-art facility will include more than 400,000 sq ft of research laboratory and office space. At capacity, GBI will be home to at least 30 investigator-led research groups and more than 450 research staff.

Research at GBI will be supported by Technology Hubs that democratize access to complex technologies and associated expertise across the institute, with initial hubs encompassing: mass-spectrometry, flow cytometry, imaging, sequencing, and automation. GBI also has substantial compute resources, with teams dedicated to Scientific Computing, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, and Machine learning engineering, to enable and accelerate research.

The environment at GBI allows researchers to undertake ambitious, long-term, collaborative research and we actively support and encourage collaboration with the other Institutes and labs at EIT, including the AI and Robotics Institute, Plant Biology Institute, Materials and Devices for Life Sciences Institute.

GBI will be hiring a large faculty of world-leading researchers, across areas including: synthetic biology, computational biology and AI, microbial, plant and human cell biology, genomics, robotics and automation and nucleic acids chemistry.

In partnership with the University of Oxford, we are establishing a new Doctoral Training Programme (DTP) in Generative Biology, supported by an award from EIT. The DTP is a fully funded doctoral degree and is open to UK and overseas candidates. Any candidate interested in participating in the DTP as an Ellison Scholar can apply for the Ellison Scholar funding here and will need to simultaneously apply to the University of Oxford for a place on the DTP.

To contact GBI, please email gbi@eit.org