Northwestern Hosts Cell-Free Systems Conference, Spotlighting Innovation and Collaboration

This summer, the Center for Synthetic Biology (CSB) at Northwestern University welcomed scientists, engineers, and innovators from around the world to the third international Cell-Free Systems Conference, a two-day event showcasing the latest advances in cell-free synthetic biology.

The conference featured presentations and discussions that highlighted the versatility and exciting promise of the field for on-demand manufacturing, portable diagnostics, and education. Attendees engaged deeply with emerging trends, explored collaborative opportunities, and celebrated the interdisciplinary spirit that defines this rapidly maturing field.

“I’m really excited about this area. I’m also excited because there’s so many great young people doing good things in this space,” said Cornell’s Susan Daniel, the Fred H. Rhodes Professor of Chemical Engineering.  “They’re here sharing their work, their posters and talks, and that’s really energizing to see what creative people are doing with cell-free systems.”

An impressive line-up of speakers and panelists included keynote addresses by Jeff Fairman, vice president of research and co-founder of Vaxcyte, and Han Li, Associate Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UC Irvine.

The Promise and Challenges of Cell Free Systems

Most synthetic biology efforts have focused on engineering living cells. Unfortunately, the objectives of cells are generally in opposition to those of the engineer.

“Cells are great at sensing their environment and turning that into useful products—proteins, enzymes, chemicals—but they also have this nasty habit of needing to stay alive,” said Northwestern’s Neha Kamat, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and co-organizer of the event. “So, if you want a cell to do something for you, you’re always fighting its own agenda. With cell-free systems though, ‘We just take the guts of the cell—the parts that are really useful—and leave the rest behind.’ That opens the door to doing things cells can’t or won’t do, like scaling up in vats or using molecules that would normally kill a living cell.”

The conference centered on harnessing cell-free systems to rapidly design and build biological systems—ushering in a new era where synthetic biology converges with the power of artificial intelligence.

“Artificial intelligence frameworks are transforming the way we interact with the world through tools like ChatGPT, but such design tools require data, and lots of it.” says Michael Jewett, a cell-free systems pioneer who founded the conference series in 2019 in partnership with AIChE’s Society of Biological Engineering. “As we work to advance biological design, we face a data deficit crisis. Cell-free systems offer a way to close this gap. One of their biggest strengths is generating data quickly—in hours to days, rather than the weeks or months it often takes with living organisms.”

Beyond efforts to accelerate biological design, cell-free systems are reshaping how we think about making protein therapeutics and other molecules.

“Approximately one-third of the world’s population lacks access to essential medicines. A real issue is the need for cold storage and the high capital costs of traditional biomanufacturing facilities,” Jewett said. “Researchers are using cell-free systems to bypass these barriers and have developed ways to produce medicines that can prevent bacterial infections—more than 10,000 doses per liter—without relying on living cells or massive infrastructure.”

Jewett added, “these advances are especially relevant to emerging needs in domestic manufacturing, biosecurity, and rapid response capabilities—areas of growing national interest.”

Others, like Neha Kamat’s lab, are exploring artificial cells: engineered compartments built from biological parts that carry out targeted functions, offering new possibilities for designing controllable therapeutics and biosensors. By incorporating the computational and biosynthesis machinery of cells into material compartments, the researchers can give drug delivery vehicles or biosensors the ability to make decisions (e.g. synthesize and release cargo in response to specific signals). This type of material could harness the significant potential of engineered cellular therapeutics, like CAR T-cells, but overcome manufacturing hurdles associated with engineering living cells.

Another major focus is using cell-free systems to produce sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based products, such as fuels, chemicals, and fragrances. Because these systems don’t rely on living cells, they offer flexibility and faster speeds—up to 100 times the rate of traditional cell-based processes. This speed, combined with the ability to freeze-dry and transport the systems, opens the door to new, decentralized production models. It also enables field-ready biosensors that can detect pathogens, contaminants, or agricultural threats in real time—anywhere, anytime.

Cell-free systems are also transforming how students engage with synthetic biology in education across the globe. These platforms enable hands-on, scalable learning experiences—such as creating biosensors or using biological components to “draw” images of glowing art like a Lite-Bright. The goal is to develop accessible educational kits that help students not just observe biology but actively build with it. As reading and writing in biology becomes as fundamental as coding, these efforts are preparing a new generation to shape the future of biotechnology.

“The field is witnessing a coming of age with transformational advances across numerous sectors, and it was terrific to meet up as a community,” Jewett said. What made the conference so special, according to Jewett, was that it took place at Northwestern.

“Northwestern has a tremendous strength in the field of cell-free systems across all dimensions of both understanding and application spaces,” Jewett said. “The ability to celebrate the growth of the field by having it here at Northwestern, where there is such a deep investment in the synthetic biology community by the university leadership was really a terrific opportunity.”

Special thanks to the amazing staff at the Center for Synthetic Biology at Northwestern University including Yael Mayer, Christine Akdeniz, Hannah Kato, Brianna Bullock and Lisa La Vallee and Vanessa Bly for her wonderful photography.

by Lisa La Vallee