Andrea Belluati to lead new Emmy Noether group
Harnessing the strengths of two worlds
2024/10/16 by sip
A fascinating fusion of two worlds: A new Emmy Noether research group at TU Darmstadt focuses on hybrid systems that combine artificial and living cells to achieve functions that neither can perform alone. Biotechnologist Andrea Belluati is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with 1.8 million euros for his project “Polymer Incorporation for the Engineering of Symbiosis” over the next six years. The newly designed hybrid systems might come to task in more effective drug delivery or sustainable biofuel production.

The work of the new Emmy Noether research group focuses on creating hybrid systems that combine artificial cells and living cells: Artificial cells, built from polymers, provide stability and can be designed to carry out specific tasks like delivering drugs or protecting enzymes. They are resistant to environmental stress and can be precisely controlled, but they lack the metabolic complexity and adaptability of living cells.
Living cells, on the other hand, bring biological richness—adaptation, metabolic networks, and the ability to interact with natural systems. By integrating them with artificial cells, Belluati’s group aims to harness and combine the strengths of both. Artificial cells can be tailored to attach to or be absorbed by living cells, thus allowing the scientists to enhance cellular functions or control environments in new ways.
This approach opens possibilities for more effective drug delivery systems, sustainable biofuel production, and even new forms of cellular energy capture. “The goal is to build systems where the synthetic complements the biological, creating new capabilities that neither can achieve alone, ” explains Belluati.
Embedding artificial cells in living systems


The new project builds directly on Belluati‘s previous work in polymer-based artificial cells and single-cell encapsulation. During his doctoral and postdoctoral research, he focused on developing stable polymersomes—synthetic vesicles that mimic certain cellular functions—and explored how these structures can influence and enhance biological processes, such as enzyme cascades and cellular behaviour. The current project takes this further by integrating artificial cells and natural living cells into symbiotic systems. Instead of just mimicking cellular functions, the new Emmy Noether group will now aim to embed these artificial cells into living systems. “The work extends my earlier findings on single-cell encapsulation, refining it into a platform where real cells and synthetic entities interact dynamically, opening new avenues for biotechnological applications, ” says Belluati.
About Andrea Belluati
came to TU Darmstadt as a Marie Curie fellow in 2022. In 2024 he was selected as Andrea Belluati (AYI) at TU Darmstadt, a programme that supports exceptional researchers on their career path and gives early career scientists the opportunity to qualify for the post of university professor by leading an independent junior research group. He acquired his Master’s degree in “Industrial Biotechnology“ 2015 at the University of Torino and worked at University of Basel for his doctorate followed by postdoc positions in Prague and Glasgow. In 2021 he became a member of the research Athene Young Investigator at University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and followed him when Bruns moved his team to TU Darmstadt in 2022. team of Professor Nico Bruns
Belluati is an affiliated PI at TU Darmtadt’s and ist involved as associated PI in the projected cluster Com2Life. Com2Life is one of the projects with which TU and its partner universities currently apply for the Centre for Synthetic Biology. Cluster of Excellence funding line by German federal and state governments
About the programme
With the , the German Research Foundation (DFG) enables particularly qualified young scientists to prepare for a professorship. The independent leadership of a research group at a university or research institution as well as the associated teaching tasks offer the opportunity to learn and demonstrate the skills necessary for such a position. The prerequisites include a PhD with outstanding results and high-level publications. Emmy Noether Programme