EMBRIO

Purdue University is the main site of the new interdisciplinary Emergent Mechanisms in Biology of Robustness, Integration and Organization (EMBRIO) Institute. The Institute was launched in Fall 2021 with $12.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) over five years as part of the agency’s Biology Integration Institutes program.

EMBRIO’s goal is to crack the code on how cells organize to change structure function for defending and repairing tissues. Leveraging the expertise of researchers in several Purdue disciplines and at partner institutions, the Institute is using artificial intelligence (AI) to see how cells grow, repair, and replicate themselves with the help of biochemical and mechanical inputs and reactions.

With AI, EMBRIO researchers can use full 3D simulations to develop nonhuman embryos and establish predictive capabilities. This allows them to see, on a massive scale, how the shape of networks and tissues can change. They can then bring together different biological systems – such as a cell’s chemistry, chemical and electrical signaling, and mechanics and mechanical changes — to better predict outcomes in more complex systems.

EMBRIO leaders envision the day when any tissue or organ can be repaired or the replacements can be personalized to the patient. The results of the Institute’s work could bring a new way to address human health and longevity.

The groundbreaking approach involves using each biological system for the best possible data acquisition, enabling researchers to discover how cells respond together to fight off would-be attacks. They aim to answer questions including: How are wounds closed? How can that be accelerated? How do cells orchestrate processes of tissue remodeling for embryo development or to repair and restore cell, tissue or organ function?

EMBRIO’s educational and outreach activities will lead to a greater understanding of how to support transdisciplinary and cross-institutional communication and collaboration to advance science and education. The Institute stands to build and strengthen research collaborations, teaching, and professional engagement among research faculty and trainees and instructors across a wide range of institutional types.

Students at the seven partner institutions will gain experience and exposure to new techniques and tools that will help to advance their knowledge of integrative biology and develop the workforce of the future. Three partner universities — including Morehouse College, a liberal arts historically Black college and university (HBCU) — are essential to expanding the contributions of traditionally underrepresented populations.

The AI and biology industry doubles in size every five years, meaning the biology, engineering and science students coming into EMBRIO now will be the cutting-edge leaders over the next 10 years. EMBRIO will provide effective new training paradigms that are inclusive and prepare the next generations of scientists to navigate diverse fields in the biological sciences and STEM broadly. By combining experimental biology, theory, computation and modeling, alongside training and education of a diverse group of students, the Institute holds the potential to advance biology, biotechnology and the biological sciences workforce.