Biosystems and Biomaterials Division

Welcome to the Biosystems and Biomaterials Division

BBD is focused on advancing biometrology, standards, and technologies to foster innovation and accelerate the translation and commercialization of emerging biotechnologies in support of the bioeconomy.  Working across U.S. government agencies, industry, and other partners, our multi-disciplinary teams develop foundational measurement science and tools, data-driven standards, reference materials, reference data, and protocols by integrating state-of-the-art automation, analytical methods, and ML/AI as platforms for innovation and standardization. Our work supports various sectors of the bioeconomy, including clinical diagnostics, advanced therapies, agriculture, energy, industrial biotechnology, and production of new biomaterials. Click here for an overview video of the Division.

PRIMARY FOCUS AREAS     

Engineering Biology
Rapid advances in the ability to genetically modify biological organisms have advanced a new engineering discipline, commonly referred to as synthetic biology. This approach seeks to harness the power of living systems for a variety of manufacturing applications, such as advanced therapeutics, sustainable fuels, chemical feedstocks, and advanced materials.  

Advanced Therapies
Advanced therapies are demonstrating promising clinical efficacy and could change the paradigm for treating a wide range of diseases and injuries. Clinical translation of this broad class of new therapeutics requires better defined and characterized products and more robust, reliable, and cost-effective manufacturing processes.

Precision Medicine
The conventional approach to medicine is rapidly changing to a data-driven strategy in which therapies are individually targeted to a patient based on genome, physiology, environment, or lifestyle. This approach is revolutionizing health care— especially in the treatment of cancer—but its success depends on using data from bioanalytical measurements with potential wide-ranging biases and uncertainties.    

Microbiome
Microbial communities (microbiomes) abound everywhere, forming resilient ecological networks adapted to their environments. Research has connected the behavior of these cooperative communities to both beneficial and problematic outcomes in diverse biological systems including: human health, agricultural productivity, water and food safety, waste remediation, and infrastructure corrosion.