Biosciences
A CONVERSATION WITH MARY MAXON
Biosciences research has had an illustrious history at Berkeley Lab. Today, Biosciences Area scientists and engineers continue to contribute groundbreaking discoveries and innovative solutions to complex scientific and societal challenges in energy, environment, health, and biomanufacturing. Mary Maxon, Associate Lab Director for the Biosciences Area, discusses the Area's mission and priorities.
How does the Biosciences Area support the Lab’s mission?
Berkeley Lab’s mission is to bring science solutions to the world, and our Area does this using biology to solve energy and environmental challenges. We perform basic, use-inspired, and applied research to address major challenges in energy, environment, health, and biomanufacturing. Using an integrated team science approach, the Biosciences Area’s diverse workforce is working to build a stronger and brighter future for our country through our research discoveries.
We have some great success stories! For example, over a ten year period researchers at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) made discoveries and technological innovations that reduced the cost of a lignocellulosic biofuel from about $300,000/gallon to about $35/gallon. Decreases in the cost of biofuels are needed to compete with conventional fuels and achieve sustainability goals. The JBEI team is now working to understand how to intervene at various points in the biofuel development pathway to continue to drive the cost down and make advanced biofuels a viable alternative.
All across the Area, when the pandemic hit, we pivoted to perform research on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19, the disease that it causes. Our researchers contributed structural biology expertise to help solve the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins and our software was used to solve the structures that underpinned the development of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. The Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU) worked with companies to help them scale up their COVID-19 therapeutics. This is just to name a few projects; I am incredibly proud of all of our people, who have gone above and beyond to respond to this pandemic and keep our research programs running with the increased complications of COVID controls.
What are the Biosciences Area’s top three or four priorities today? Why are they important?
Gaining a predictive understanding of complex biological systems enables design and re-engineering of microbes and plants for energy independence, clean energy, and improved carbon management, including the development of biomanufacturing approaches to convert renewable carbon feedstocks to bioproducts for a circular U.S. bioeconomy. Three of our priorities are:
Integrating computing and new imaging technologies such as cryo-EM to drive biological discovery and innovation. Why? Because improved computing approaches are critical to enable a broad portion of our research portfolio, from enhancing the resolution of bioimages for understanding biological systems at an atomic level to using artificial intelligence to more quickly design, build, and test purpose-built biological systems.
Genome sciences. Determining the metabolic potential of plants and microbes - viruses, bacteria, Archaea, fungi - provides a basis for a deeper understanding of their roles in environments around the world, as well as the knowledge needed to re-engineer biological systems for energy and other applications to drive the U.S. bioeconomy.
Fabricated ecosystems. Translating biological discoveries from laboratories to environmental field conditions remains a significant challenge in part because of the variability of environmental conditions. Our fabricated ecosystems are model laboratory environments designed to reproducibly study interactions of biotic (microbes and plants) and abiotic (soils, moisture, temperature) environmental features. These systems will also allow us to study the fate and persistence of engineered microorganisms in soils, which has implications for agriculture and biodefense.
Who do you partner with at the Lab to be successful?
We try to partner with everyone at the Lab! A fundamental partnership of research and operations is critical to the success of the Biosciences Area. Engineering is our newest partner, helping us to expand our fabricated ecosystems effort and bring our new EcoPOD prototype online. We have an important partnership with the IDEA team, and are working with them to better understand systemic racism and approaches to eliminate its harmful impacts. We’re enriching our User Facilities partnerships, such as the new joint biomaterials effort with the Joint Genome Institute and the Molecular Foundry, leveraging more of the DOE’s investments to drive discovery and innovation. We have too many partners to name, really, because the Lab was founded to do team science and that is how we operate. But all are appreciated and integral to us fulfilling on our mission.