NSF ExFAB BioFoundry

Countless advances have occurred in synthetic biology, which has focused on microorganisms that are easy to grow, domesticate and proliferate under laboratory conditions. Yet, domesticated microbes are often devoid of the traits that we want to exploit most for biotechnology.  The most successful biological products in nature are built almost entirely by unusual microorganisms, many of which have unique growth habits and are unwieldy.  For biotechnology to advance, we need to tap into the previously un-accessed genetic diversity in nature’s extreme microbes.

The NSF BioFoundry for Extreme & Exceptional Fungi, Archaea and Bacteria is developing first-of-their-kind user platforms and equipment to enable the discovery, phenotyping and engineering of extreme microbes to harness their power and promise and enable the next generation of synthetic biology.

Through novel, state-of-the-art infrastructure and workflows, the NSF ExFAB BioFoundry will:

• Provide new technology solutions rooted in automation to unlock basic science understandings of extreme and exceptional microbes
• Democratize access to and training on these cutting-edge workflows and tools to inspire and elevate the next generation of skilled workforce leaders
• Create an innovation ecosystem to support translation of new discoveries and understanding into technologies that mitigate the effects of pollution and climate change.

The NSF ExFAB BioFoundry, led by the University of California, Santa Barbara, is a proud collaboration between the University of California’s Santa Barbara and Riverside campuses, and CalPoly Pomona.