# Northwestern University

portable synthesis suitcases from lyophilised cartridges.

Source: https://en.bioecon.ru/companies/northwestern-university/
Updated: 2026-06-24

- Country: United States

## Verifiable facts

| Fact | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Affiliation | Northwestern University, United States | https://crn.northwestern.edu/news/2021/membranes-unlock-potential-to-vastly-increase-cell-free-vaccine-production.html, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00392, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00680, https://hdl.handle.net/1807/149669, https://syntheticbiology.northwestern.edu/research/biofoundry/dream/, https://www.army.mil/article/240059/army_adds_northwestern_engineers_to_team_finding_material_solutions, https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/articles/2022/03/new-research-institute-will-utilize-cell-free-systems-for-global-needs/, https://www.patents-review.com/a/20230138093-lyophilized-reagents.html, https://www.patents-review.com/a/20250043324-low-cost-thermostable-lyophilized-cell-free-protein.html |
| Research focus | cell-free synthetic biology, cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS), biomanufacturing, and portable on-demand protein production systems | https://crn.northwestern.edu/news/2021/membranes-unlock-potential-to-vastly-increase-cell-free-vaccine-production.html, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00392, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00680, https://hdl.handle.net/1807/149669, https://syntheticbiology.northwestern.edu/research/biofoundry/dream/, https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/articles/2022/03/new-research-institute-will-utilize-cell-free-systems-for-global-needs/ |
| Facility | Center for Synthetic Biology (CSB), Biofoundry, DREAM Cloud Lab, Cell-Free Biomanufacturing Institute, Leonard Lab, Center for Regenerative Nanomedicine (CRN) | https://crn.northwestern.edu/news/2021/membranes-unlock-potential-to-vastly-increase-cell-free-vaccine-production.html, https://research.northwestern.edu/news-impact/, https://syntheticbiology.northwestern.edu/research/biofoundry/dream/, https://www.leonard.northwestern.edu/, https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/articles/2022/03/new-research-institute-will-utilize-cell-free-systems-for-global-needs/ |
| Grant | National Science Foundation (NSF) grants (CBET-1936789, 1844336, 1936789), US Army awards ($3 million, $40 million cooperative funding), David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1217652), Air Force Research Laboratory Center of Excellence (FA8650-15-2-5518), Defense Threat Reduction Agency (HDTRA1-15-10052/P00001) | https://crn.northwestern.edu/news/2021/membranes-unlock-potential-to-vastly-increase-cell-free-vaccine-production.html, https://syntheticbiology.northwestern.edu/research/biofoundry/dream/, https://www.army.mil/article/240059/army_adds_northwestern_engineers_to_team_finding_material_solutions, https://www.patents-review.com/a/20250043324-low-cost-thermostable-lyophilized-cell-free-protein.html |
| Publications | Peer-reviewed research articles in journals such as ACS Synthetic Biology and others; numerous patent applications for lyophilized reagents and CFPS platforms | https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00392, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00680 |
| Principal staff | Michael C. Jewett, Julius Lucks, Danielle Tullman-Ercek, Ashty Karim, Keith Pardee, and other faculty members across Engineering and Arts and Sciences | https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00392, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00680, https://hdl.handle.net/1807/149669, https://syntheticbiology.northwestern.edu/research/biofoundry/dream/, https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/articles/2022/03/new-research-institute-will-utilize-cell-free-systems-for-global-needs/ |
| Headcount | Team of 12 faculty members led by Michael Jewett (as of 2022) [medium confidence] | https://www.mccormick.northwestern.edu/news/articles/2022/03/new-research-institute-will-utilize-cell-free-systems-for-global-needs/ |

Independent sources: army.mil, crn.northwestern.edu, doi.org, hdl.handle.net, leonard.northwestern.edu, mccormick.northwestern.edu, patents-review.com, research.northwestern.edu, syntheticbiology.northwestern.edu

## Technologies

- [Cell-free systems & cell-free bioproduction](https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/cell-free-systems-cell-free-bioproduction/)
- [Transient & biodegradable electronics](https://en.bioecon.ru/technology/transient-biodegradable-electronics/)
