工程生物学研讨会报告 Engineering Biology Workshop Report 2026

NNL

EngineeringBiologyWorkshopReport

Findings,recommendationsandnextstepsformeasurementscienceinengineeringbiology

ExecutiveSummary

Engineeringbiologyisoneofthemosttransformativetechnologiesofourtime:revolutionising

howweaddresssociety'smosturgentchallenges-fromsustainablefoodsystemsandcutting-

edgebiomedicinestocleangrowthandenvironmentalresilience.Predictedtoadd$4trillioneachyeartotheglobaleconomyinthenextdecade,engineeringbiologyprovidesnewavenuesfor

economicgrowthandincreasedproductivityintheUK.

Realisingthepotentialofengineeringbiologytotransformhealthcare,foodsystems,and

sustainablemanufacturingdependsonstrongmeasurementfoundationsthatenablereliabledata,safescaling,andregulatoryconfidence.

InFebruary2026,theNationalMeasurementLaboratory(NML)atLGCconvenedaround40stakeholdersfromacademia,industry,regulators,fundingbodiesandgovernmenttoidentifyprioritymetrologyandstandardsneedsacrosstheengineeringbiologylifecycle.

Theworkshopsoughtviewsfromthesectoronthemeasurementfoundationsneededforearly-stageresearch,proofofconceptandscalingup,andtheframeworksrequiredtosupport

complianceandbiosecurity.

Keyinsights

·Robustmeasurementisfoundationaltoreproducibility,biosafety,andregulatoryandpublicconfidence.

·Accesstonationalinfrastructureandexpertise,dataqualityandinteroperability,andskillsgapslimitreliablemeasurementacrossthesector.

·Measurementframeworksneedtoadaptandevolveacrossthedifferentstagesoftheinnovationlifecycletobalancerisksandinnovation.

·Scalingfromlabtoreal-worldsystemsintroducessignificantmeasurementchallenges,particularlyinprocesscontrolandenvironmentalmonitoring.

·Regulatoryexpectationsarerisk-based,butinnovatorsfacechallengesnavigatingthemanyregulatorsanddifferingregulatoryrequirementsbetweensectors,andinevidencing

compliance.

·Greatercoordinationacrossdata,standards,andtrainingisneededtosupportinnovationandbiosecurity.

Recommendations

1.Strengthenmeasurementinfrastructureandaccess,developinganationalmapof

measurementcapabilitiesandfacilitiesandconsideringpracticalroutesforimprovingaccesstoinstrumentationandtechnicalexpertise

2.Developfit-for-purposedocumentarystandards,includingharmonisedcross-sector

terminology,creatingrisk-proportionateframeworksand/orpathwaysacrosstechnologyreadinesslevels

3.Promoteearlierandongoingdialoguebetweeninnovatorsandregulators,providingclearersignpostingtoexistingrelevantstandardsandguidanceandhelpingclarifyregulatory

expectations

4.Builddataanddigitalfoundations,identifyingcrosscuttingneedsarounddigitaltools,datahandling,datastandards,andtraining

5.Embedmetrologyandstandardsskillsinacademicandtechnicaltraining,supportingcross-sectorknowledgeexchangeandcapabilitybuilding

Nextsteps

ThesefindingswillinformdeliveryofEngBioMet,anationalnetworkconnectinginnovatorswith

metrologycapabilitiestoacceleratesafe,scalable,andresponsibleengineeringbiologyintheUK.

NML

TableofContents

Executivesummary 2

Whymeasurementmattersforengineeringbiology 5

Workshopoverview 6

Keyfindings 7

Measurementfoundationsforinnovation 7

Barrierstoreliablemeasurement 7

Scalingandreal-worlddeployment 10

Regulation,compliance,andbiosecurit 11

Workshopoutcomesandrecommendations 12

Recommendations 12

Nextsteps 12

AppendixA:Workshopquestion 14

Whymeasurementmattersforengineeringbiology

Measurementisafoundationalenablerofengineeringbiology.Withoutstrongmeasurementframeworks,engineeringbiologyrisksfragmentation,delayedtranslation,andreducedpublictrust.

Metrologyandstandardsarerequiredthroughouttheinnovationjourney—fromearlydiscoverythroughtoscale-up,manufacturing,anddeployment—ensuringbiologicalsystemscanbedesigned,tested,andproducedwithconfidence.

Reliable,traceablemeasurementsenablereproducibilityandcomparisonacross

laboratories,supportrobustbiosafetyandbiosecurityassessment,andprovidetheevidencebaserequiredforregulatoryapproval.Crucially,theyalsobuildconfidenceamonginvestors,policymakers,andthepublicbydemonstratingthatengineered

biologicalsystemsaresafe,effective,anddependable.

Beyondvalidation,measurementunderpinsprocesscontrolandoptimisationin

industrialsettings,drivingconsistency,quality,andefficiencyinbio-basedproduction.Italsoenablesinteroperabilityacrossplatformsandsupportsthehigh-qualitydata

neededforAI-driveninnovation.

Theimportanceofmetrologyandstandardshasbecomemoreclearlyrecognised

acrosstheUKengineeringbiologyinnovationlandscape,forexampleintheNationalVisionforEngineeringBiolog

y1

andbytheHouseofLordsScienceandTechnology

committe

e2.

ThishasledtothecreationandlaunchofEngBioMet,anationalnetworkthatbringstogethertheUKengineeringbiologyandmeasurementcommunities.

EngBioMetwillfocusondevelopingthemethods,materials,technologies,and

standardsneededtodeliverreliable,reproducible,andcomparablebiologicaldata.Workingwiththecommunitytobuildmeasurementcapabilityandbridgingthegapbetweeninnovatorsandregulators,EngBioMetwillhelpensuresafety,supplychainassuranceandcompliance.

Addressingkeymeasurementchallenges,EngBioMetwillembedmetrologyacrosstheecosystem,supportingsafer,fastertranslationofresearchintoreal-worldapplications,reducingriskandenablingscale-upandcommercialisation.

1Nationalvisionforengineeringbiology

2

Don'tfailtoscale:seizingtheopportunityofengineeringbiology

Page5

Workshopoverview

TheworkshopwasheldatGuildfordonthe23February2026,witharound40external

stakeholdersfromacrossacademia,governmentdepartmentsandbodies,industryandthewidermeasurementcommunity.Theycoveredthesectorsofhealth,foodand

agritech,environmentandsustainability,withmanycross-cuttingorganisations

represented.Tocomplementthisactivity,asecondworkshopwillbeheldaspartoftheGovernmentChemistconferencetocapturetheneedsofthefoodsector(seeFigure1).

Discussionsfocussedonthecurrentmetrologylimitations,needsandpotential

solutions(bothbroadandtechnicallyspecific)toimprovereliabilityfromearly-stageresearchthroughtoscalingup,andthemeasurementsframeworksandregulatory

evidencerequiredtosupportongoingcompliance,withaparticularemphasison

biosecurity.Inaddition,stakeholderswereaskedtoidentifypreferredwaysofworkingfortheEngBioMetnetworktobestsupportthecommunity.

StakeholderCategoryDistribution

Academic

Governmentand

regulatory

Industry

Measurement

organisations

Cross-cutting

41%

34%

15%

5%5%

ScienceAreaDistribution

Health

Environment

and

Sustainability

Food/Agritech

17%

10%

24%

Cross-cutting

49%

Figure1:Stakeholderattendeedistributionbyorganisationtypeandsector.

Detailsoftheworkshopquestionscanbefoundin

AppendixA:Workshopquestions.

Page6

Page7

Keyfindings

Measurementfoundationsforinnovation

Theworkshopreinforcedthatmeasurementisnotanadd-on,butacoreenablerofengineeringbiology—underpinningtheentireinnovationlifecyclefromdiscoverythroughtodeployment.

Participantshighlightedthattrustandconfidenceinengineeringbiologyreliesontheabilityto:

•generatereproducibleandcomparabledataacrosslaboratories

•establish“groundtruths”throughtheprovisionofreferencematerialsandstandards

•translatebiologicalcomplexityintoquantifiable,decision-readyevidence.

Withoutthesecapabilities,scientificresultscannotbereliablyvalidated,scaled,oracceptedbyregulatorsandinvestors.Importantly,strongmeasurementfoundationsalsosupportbiosafetyandbiosecurity,byenablingdetection,monitoring,andriskassessmentofengineeredbiologicalsystems.

Inpractice,thismeans:

•Traceabilityiscritical:measurementsmustbelinkedtorecognisedstandardssothatresultsaretrustworthyacrossandbetweenorganisationsandsectors.

•Consistencyinterminologyandmethodsisneededtoensurethatdatageneratedindifferentsettingscanbemeaningfullycompared.

•Standardoperatingprocedures(SOPs)andagreedprotocolshelpreducevariabilityinherentinbiologicalsystems.

Overall,theworkshophighlightedthatstrengtheningthesefoundationsisessentialtoreduceuncertainty,buildconfidenceacrosstheecosystemandacceleratetranslationfromresearchtoreal-worldapplication.

Barrierstoreliablemeasurement

Despiterecognitionofitsimportance,participantsidentifiedseveralsystemicbarriersthatpreventtheconsistentapplicationofhigh-qualitymeasurementpractices.Thesefallintofourbroadcategories.

Page8

Accesstoinfrastructureandexpertise

Amajorconstraintthatwasrepeatedlyvoicedisthelimitedaccesstospecialist

expertise,instrumentationandfacilities,withtheaddedchallengeofagenerallackofawarenessofwhatnationalcapabilitiesare,ormaybe,available.

Manyorganisations—particularlySMEsandacademiclabs—eitherdonothaveaccesstorequiredtechnologiesandexpertiseorlackthemechanismstoshareorcoordinateaccessacrossinstitutions.Thiscontributestowhatparticipantsdescribedasa

‘fragmentednationalcapability’,whereinfrastructureexistsbutisunderutilisedor

unevenlydistributed.Evenwhereequipmentisavailable,organisationsoftendonot

havethetrainedpersonneltooperateinstrumentsortheexpertisetointerpretcomplexdatasets.

Costandimplementationburden

Thecostandcomplexityofimplementingrobustmeasurementsystems(e.g.SOPs,accreditation,ISOstandards,qualitysystems)canbeprohibitive,particularlyfor

smallerorganisations.

Participantsemphasisedtheneedforproportionateapproaches,wheremeasurementrequirementsarealignedwiththetechnologyreadinesslevel,thepotentialriskoftheapplicationanditsintendeduse.

Data,standards,andinteroperability

Datawasidentifiedasbothamajoropportunityandasignificantchallenge.

Datavolumevsusability

Whilethesectorgenerateslargevolumesofdata,itsvalueisoftenlimitedby

inconsistentformats,lackofmetadatastandardsandlimitedinteroperabilitybetweensystemsandorganisations.

Forexample,variabilitybetweensequencingplatforms(e.g.short-readvslong-read

technologies)introducesuncertaintyingenomiccharacterisation,reducingconfidenceinresults.

Thislackofconsistencylimitsreproducibility,makesitdifficulttointegratedatasets,compareresultsacrossstudiesandultimatelyreducesthevalueofdatasetsfor

secondaryuse(includingAI),complicatingregulatoryassessment.

Needforstandardisationandinfrastructure

Participantshighlightedtheneedfor:

•standardiseddataformatsandontologies

•interoperableplatforms,dataanddigitaltools

Page9

•trusteddataenvironmentsforsharingsensitiveinformation

Thegenomicssectorwasnotedasanexampleofemerginggoodpracticeinbothdatastandardisationandsecuredatasharing.

SupportingAIanddigitaltools

ThereisgrowinginterestinapplyingAItoqualitycontrol,processoptimisationandbio-surveillance.However,thisdependsontheavailabilityofhigh-quality,curateddatasetsandrobustmeasurementunderpinningtrainingdatatoprovideconfidenceinAI.

Withoutthis,AIrisksamplifyingexistinginconsistenciesratherthanimprovingdecision-making.

Skillsandcapabilitygaps

Acriticalcross-cuttingfindingwastheneedtostrengthenmeasurementskillsandcapabilityacrosstheengineeringbiologyworkforce.

Participantsnotedthatmanyscientistsarenottrainedinmeasurementscienceandmetrologyprinciples,lackingunderstandingofkeyconceptssuchasuncertainty,

validation,andtraceability.Thislimitstheirabilitytodesignrobustexperiments,implementeffectivequalitysystemsandgenerateregulatory-readydata.

Thischallengeisamplifiedbytheinherentlyinterdisciplinarynatureofengineering

biology,wheremultipledifferentmeasurements(e.g.linkingbiological,chemical,andengineeringdata)mayberequiredtoprovideacompletepicture.

Individualcapabilities

Keyareasfordevelopmentthatwereidentifiedinclude:

•measurementscienceandmetrologyprinciples

•qualitysystemsandSOPimplementation

•datamanagementandanalysis

•biosafetyandriskassessment

Thereisalsoaneedtoembedtheseskillsacrossthecareerprofile,fromMastersandPhDprogrammestotheprovisionofaccessibletrainingforearly-careertechnicianandindustryprofessionals.Commontrainingapproacheswouldalsosupportcross-

disciplinaryunderstanding.

System-levelcapability

Beyondindividualskills,participantshighlightedtheneedforcoordinatednationaltrainingprogrammesandaccesstoexpertisethroughnetworksandcentresof

excellence.Thereisalsoaneedforstrongerlinksbetweenacademia,industry,andregulators.

Page10

Buildingthiscapabilityisessentialtoensurethatmeasurementinfrastructureis

effectivelyused,standardsareconsistentlyappliedandinnovationcanscalesafelyandefficiently.

Scalingandreal-worlddeployment

Movingfromcontrolledlaboratoryenvironmentstoreal-worldapplicationsintroducessignificantadditionalmeasurementchallenges.

Measurementacrosstheinnovationlifecycle

Akeyinsightwasthatmeasurementframeworksneedtoevolveacrossthedifferentstagesoftheinnovationlifecycle.

Whereearlyresearchrequires“goodenough”measurementstoenablerapiditeration,laterstagesrequirehigherrigourandstandardisationforregulatoryapproval.The

timeframesrequiredforimplementationandadoptionoftheseframeworkswasalsohighlighted,withinterimapproachesworthbeingconsidered.

Balancingtheserequirementsiscriticaltoavoidslowinginnovationunnecessarilyorintroducingriskatlaterstages.

Laboratorytoindustrialscale

Biologicalsystemsoftenbehavedifferentlywhenscaled.Processconditionsmay

change(e.g.temperature,mixing,nutrientsupply),yieldsandperformancemayvaryandpreviouslycontrolledvariablescanbecomehardertomonitor.

Participantsnotedthat:

•measurementsthatworkatlab-scaleareoftennotdirectlytransferabletoindustrialsystems

•thereisalackofstandardisedapproachesformonitoringandcontrolatscale.

Thiscreatesuncertaintyinprocessoptimisation,productconsistencyandregulatorycompliance.Theremaybeopportunitiestotransferlearningsfromothersectorstosupporteffectiveandrapidscalingintheengineeringbiologysector.

Environmentaldeploymentandmonitoring

Forapplicationsinvolvingenvironmentalrelease(e.g.bioremediation,agriculture),

additionalchallengesarise.Theseincludedetectingandtrackingengineeredorganismsincomplexenvironments,understandingpersistence,spread,andecologicalimpact,anddevelopingreliableenvironmentalsamplingmethods.

Participantsidentifiedaneedfor:

•standardisedmonitoringprotocols

Page11

•improvedtraceabilitymechanisms(e.g.molecularbarcoding,sequencing).

Thesechallengesarecloselylinkedtopublictrustandperception,particularlywhereenvironmentalriskisconcerned.

Regulation,compliance,andbiosecurity

Theworkshophighlightedbothstrengthsandchallengesintherelationshipbetweenmeasurementandregulation.

Risk-basedregulatoryframeworks

Regulatorstypicallyapplyrisk-basedapproaches,withrequirementsvaryingdependingontheproducttype,itsintendeduseandthesector(e.g.health,food,environment).

Aconsistentprincipleisthatregulationfocusesonproductcharacteristics(identity,purity,performance)ratherthanthespecificprocessesusedtoproducethem.

Measurementevidenceisusedtodemonstratesafety,efficacyorfunction,qualityandconsistencyandcanprovidevaluewherepotential'weightofevidence'approaches

maybeconsidered.

Challengesforinnovators

Participantshighlightedseveralregulatoryandcompliancebarriers:

•difficultyidentifyingwhichstandardsapply

•lackofclarityonacceptablemeasurementapproaches

•variationinexpectationsacrossregulators.

Whileregulatorsacceptamixofaccreditedmethods,in-housevalidatedmethodsandinternationallyalignedstandards,developersoftenlackguidanceonwhicharemostappropriateorhowtheyshouldbecombined.

Needforearlierengagement

Astrongandconsistentthemewastheneedforearlierandmoreiterativedialoguebetweeninnovatorsandregulators.

Earlyengagementwouldhelpclarifyexpectations,reduceuncertaintyastowhatisneeded,andenableproportionateevidencegeneration.Withoutthis,thereisariskofmisaligneddatageneration,avoidabledelaysinapprovalandincreasedcostsand

inefficienciesbeingaddedintothesystem.

Biosecurityconsiderations

Participantsemphasisedthatmeasurementframeworksmustalsosupportbiosecurity,including:

Page12

•identifyingsequencesofconcern

•screeningbiologicalmaterialsandtheirsuppliers

•ensuringtraceabilityofengineeredorganisms.

Theseconsiderationsarebecomingincreasinglyimportantastechnologiesbecome

morewidelyaccessibleandscalemorerapidly.ThegrowingintersectionwithdigitalandAIsystemswasalsoraisedasaconcern.

Workshopoutcomesandrecommendations

Theworkshopdeliveredasharedunderstandingacrosssectorsandstakeholdergroupsofthecriticalmeasurementchallengesacrossengineeringbiology.Therewasclear

consensusontheimportanceofrisk-based,proportionatemeasurementframeworksandtheneedforearlyandcloseengagementthroughouttheinnovationlifecycle.

Thediscussionshelpedidentifypriorityareasforaction,includinginfrastructureaccessibility,standards,data,andskills.

Recommendations

1.Strengthenmeasurementinfrastructureandaccess,developinganationalmapofmeasurementcapabilitiesandfacilitiesandconsideringpracticalroutesforimprovingaccesstoinstrumentationandtechnicalexpertise

2.Developfit-for-purposestandards,includingharmonisedcross-sectorterminology,creatingrisk-proportionateframeworksand/orpathwaysacrosstechnologyreadinesslevels

3.Promoteearlierandongoingdialoguebetweeninnovatorsandregulators,providingclearersignpostingtoexistingrelevantstandardsandguidanceandhelpingclarify

regulatoryexpectations

4.Builddataanddigitalfoundations,identifyingcrosscuttingneedsarounddigitaltools,datahandling,datastandards,andtraining

5.Embedmetrologyand