The development of research facilities that integrate sophisticated instrumentation, complex workflow pipelines, automation and advanced computing are beyond the capabilities found in the laboratories of individual scientists. Most laboratories with these resources are privately owned and operated by pharmaceutical and biotech firms. Yet, these facilities, commonly called “biofoundries,” are increasingly critical for accelerating breakthroughs in biotechnology and biomanufacturing.
In May 2023, NSF addressed the shortage of open-access biofoundries by issuing the call, “BioFoundries to Enable Access to Infrastructure and Resources for Advancing Modern Biology and Biotechnology” (NSF 23-585). The call was designed to support the development of cutting-edge foundries open to industry and academic users from across the nation, focused on unlocking high-impact discoveries while training a robust workforce for our most advanced laboratories. The ExFAB team was in a unique position to respond to the need.
UCSB is home to Dr. Michelle O’Malley and Dr. David Valentine. Dr. O'Malley is a leading expert in extreme microbes, and has a long history of successfully establishing multi-disciplinary research facilities with national visibility. Dr. O’Malley had recently received a $9.85M grant through the Department of Defense to develop a pair of workflow systems with robotic assembly and analytical tools to enable automated synthetic biology, resulting in UCSB’s first fully automated system for the study of mammalian cells. Dr. Valentine is a nationally recognized expert in the interaction of microbes and chemicals, including the study of archaea, accelerated microbial evolution, and the application of microbial technology to address societal challenges. Dr. Valentine is also actively engaged in the communication of science through media to all stakeholders.
UCR brought Dr. Ian Wheeldon and Dr. Stajich. Dr. Wheeldon is an expert in yeast synthetic biology, unusual microbes, and high-throughput microbial phenotyping, genomics, and engineering expertise with deep ties to the state's agricultural sector. Dr. Stajich brings years of expertise in fungal biology and genomics. Both maintain deep ties to the state's agricultural sector.
Dr. Jamie Snyder from CPP brought additional experience with extreme microbes and the deep student talent pool of the California State University system. Dr. Snyder, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Co-Principal Investigator, is an expert in thermophilic archaea and archaeal viruses, with CPP's full support to develop a state-of-the-art facility for genotyping and phenotyping, the first of its type on campus, to benefit CSU faculty and students.
On September 1, 2024, UCSB, in collaboration with UC Riverside and Cal Poly Pomona, was awarded $22M to establish the NSF BioFoundry for Extreme and Exceptional Fungi, Archaea and Bacteria (ExFAB), the nation’s first biofoundry focused on the largely untapped and unexplored microorganisms that live in extreme and unusual environments.
With ExFAB’s ability to develop new high-throughput workflows and its one-of-a-kind, fully automated, environmentally-controlled chamber, ExFAB is poised to change how biology is discovered and engineered in microbes. Gene-to-gene function studies of extreme microbes in both anaerobic and aerobic environments is now possible. As a result, researchers from across the nation will be able to study every type of extremophile microorganism – ranging from gut fungi and bacteria from giant sulfur bacteria and even microbes existing in outer space.