BBSRC names six new priority research areas

The Engineering and Biological Systems (EBS) research committee of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) - the UK funding agency for research in the life sciences - has updated its scientific remit and introduced six new priority areas to better reflect the key challenges in research.

Developed as a result of extensive consultation with the research community, the new remit and priorities come into effect immediately.

The committee, which funds research at the interface of biology and the physical sciences and engineering, is recognising systems biology within its remit for the first time. 'Systems biology provides a real opportunity for engineers and mathematicians to work in partnership with biologists to understand the complexity of living systems,' said committee chairman Professor Peter Fryer from the University of Birmingham. 'In addition, the six new priorities we have developed are areas of importance which reflect the key goals of the BBSRC strategic plan.'

The EBS's new priorities are: bio-artificial interfaces & aggregation processes; bionanotechnology; the 'Cell Supply-Chain'; joint wet/dry studies of cellular and subcellular networks; new proteomic technologies for difficult to analyse proteins; and real-time, in vivo functional analysis.

Sponsored by the UK Government, BBSRC annually invests around £270m in a wide range of research across a number of industries, including agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceuticals.