As part of the visit, the team had the opportunity to visit various academic commercial facilities across the UK and France, including the University of Edinburgh, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Imperial College London, and Sorbonne University, to name a few. Researchers and professional staff on the delegation gained insights into world-leading infrastructure, policies, and support structures in the synthetic biology space.
Speaking about the visit, Neb Svrzikapa, Associate Director, Research Developments and Partnerships at Victoria University of Wellington, said “This visit was a great opportunity to meet with leading synthetic-biology researchers, and to understand how other organisations manage their infrastructure and other support systems. We also have a better understanding of the international platform we can tap into, including funding channels like Horizon Europe. Based on the conversations we’ve and with potential collaborators, I believe there are many opportunities for us to further consolidate our culture of research excellence.”
Professor Emily Parker, who co-led the delegation with Dr Alec Foster (New Zealand Institute for Bioeconomy Science Limited), is a Professor of Chemical Biology in the Ferrier Research Institute and Science Advisor to MBIE. At the University, she leads a team that specialises in harnessing the power of nature to efficiently produce complex bioactive molecules to advance drug and agrichemical discovery. Professor Parker also co-founded Bontia Bio, a start-up in partnership with Sprout Agritech LTD, New Zealand's leading agritech and foodtech accelerator and investor specialising in transformational technologies with real-world applications.
“This trip forged important new connections with world-class research organisations at the cutting edge of synthetic biology. There are exciting technology advancements taking place and it was great to share the ambitions of New Zealand in this area with researchers at the forefront of these fields”
The delegation, which included researchers from our University, the universities of Auckland and Canterbury, as well as representatives from the Bioeconomy Science Institute, and MBIE was also hosted by the New Zealand embassies in the Netherlands and Paris, creating further opportunities to explore new partnerships with leading European institutions.
The University is closely associated with Synthetic Biology Australasia 2025, an international conference that will be held in New Zealand for the first time and aimed at showcasing the country’s research in the field.
Learn more about the research undertaken by Professor Parker and her team.