Posted: 6 February 2025
University of Melbourne affiliated startup Cell Bauhaus has received a $3 million grant from the Gates Foundation (formerly the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) to continue their work utilising digital twins to investigate how genetic changes alter cellular behaviour.
The grant was awarded through the Foundation’s Accelerator program to continue to pioneer the designs of cells in silico. The technology in production will offer unparalleled insights into cell behaviour across millions of real-world scenarios, such as food security.
Cell Bauhaus co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr Megan Coomer said the grant was a significant milestone for her company. “This grant will enable us to expand our resources and global reach. Our multidisciplinary team of scientists engineer every component of a cell with precision, to create a virtual twin of biological cells on a computer, known as digital twins.
“There is an urgent need to revolutionise the development of new biotechnological solutions to tackle food security and climate change; doing this digitally as opposed to in a lab, means significantly reducing costs and resource time. We will build on this opportunity and hope to attract scientists and software engineers to join our dynamic team.”
The funding will enhance the development of Cell Bauhaus’s strain engineering platform and expand research into additional fungal organisms that underlie modern biotechnology. These publicly available models aim to improve performance and reduce costs in synthetic biology, driving sustainable innovation in nutrition and therapeutics.
University of Melbourne’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Professor Mark Cassidy, said the grant would build on early investments borne out of the University’s strategy to drive research translation to support growth of ventures from the University community.
“The University of Melbourne Genesis Pre-Seed Fund in partnership with Breakthrough Victoria and the Tin Alley Ventures fund, a joint venture with Tanarra Capital, were early investors in Cell Bauhaus and continue to support the team on their mission,” Professor Cassidy said.
“We are thrilled the internationally renowned and respected Gates Foundation has awarded the Cell Bauhaus team with this grant, which will help the company grow and attract top talent for its next phase.”
