CZI Implementation of Synthetic Biology Principles in Immunology

Funding is available to support two-year projects that apply synthetic biology to engineer immune cells for precise modulation and programmable control of immune responses.

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative invite applications for two-year research projects that leverage synthetic biology to advance the understanding and treatment of immune-related disorders. The initiative aims to enable programmable control of immune responses by designing and constructing novel biological systems that can precisely modulate temporally encoded cell-cell interactions, control gene expression in a state-specific manner, and record or respond to cellular experiences via programmable effector functions. The RFA seeks to support transformative research with the potential for breakthroughs in public health.

The RFA is open to interdisciplinary teams proposing innovative approaches to engineer immune cells using synthetic biology principles. Applications should focus on developing novel tools or strategies for precise, programmable modulation of immune responses, addressing unmet needs in the treatment of immune-related disorders. Collaboration across disciplines is encouraged to foster transformative technologies in immunology.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Engineering immune cells with enhanced specificity, functionality, and controllability, including improved sensing, homing, and effector capabilities.
• Designing and developing synthetic bio-circuits to direct cell behaviour, such as such as controlling immune cell tropism or tissue localization, regulating cell states (eg T cell exhaustion, self-tolerance, activation thresholds), and supporting in situ detection of complex, multi-ligand patterns.
• Constructing artificial or semi-synthetic immune systems for disease modelling, mechanistic discovery, and therapeutic screening.
• Developing modular systems for immune surveillance and non-invasive reporting, enabling engineered cells to communicate what they have sensed or responded to in real time.