Title

Synthetic biology for next-generation medicine

Description

Synthetic biology is reshaping medicine by making it possible to design, build, and manufacture biological systems with increasing precision. This Special Issue brings together advances spanning the full innovation pathway, from enabling technologies—genome engineering, synthetic gene circuits, artificial intelligence, automation, and cell-free platforms—to new concepts in drug discovery and therapeutic programming. 

A particular focus will be placed on green and intelligent biomanufacturing strategies for high-value pharmaceuticals and living medicines, with attention to scalability, sustainability, process control, and product quality. In parallel, the issue will examine emerging diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, including programmable biosensors, engineered cells and microbes, precision delivery systems, and closed-loop interventions that sense, compute, and respond within disease-relevant contexts.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that report transformative technologies, mechanistic insights, translational frameworks, or clinically relevant evidence. Contributions should advance the role of synthetic biology in personalized and precision medicine while clarifying the design principles, manufacturing constraints, and validation pathways needed for future clinical impact.

Topics

• Powering synthetic biology with new technologies

• Reinventing drug discovery through synthetic biology

• Advancing green biomanufacturing for high-value medicines

• Transforming diagnostics and therapeutics for precision medicine

Content types

Article, review, perspective, letter, etc.

APCs

Article Publishing Charges (APCs) will be waived by 2027. 

Deadline

May 31, 2027

Guest editors:

Chenli Liu

Distinguished Professor

Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Research area: Quantitative and clinical synthetic biology, engineered bacterial therapeutics for cancer

Email: cl.liu@siat.ac.cn

Junjun Chu

Professor

Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Research area: T cell biology and T cell-based synthetic immunotherapy

Email: jj.chu@siat.ac.cn

Ju Cui

Professor

National Health Commission (NHC) Key Laboratory of Geriatrics, Beijing Hospital, National Center for Gerontology, China

Research area: Mechanisms of aging and cancer, biomarkers and quantitative assessment of aging, and population-based health research

Email: cuiju4366@bjhmoh.cn

Haiyun Gan

Professor

Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Research area: Epigenetics and synthetic Biology

Email:hy.gan@siat.ac.cn

Tian Ma

Associate Professor

Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Research area: Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering

Email: tian.ma@siat.ac.cn

Submission guidelines

Please submit your paper through our online submission system. All papers will be peer-reviewed. The submission deadline is May 31, 2027. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together. Research articles, review articles, letters, commentaries as well as perspectives are invited.

hLife adopts format-free submission. Format-free submission means that, provided you include everything necessary for review and use a consistent citation format, you can submit your paper without needing to worry about formatting your manuscript to meet hLife’s requirements.

Please state in the cover letter that your submission is for the section “Synthetic biology for next-generation medicine”. Article Publishing Charges (APCs) for received papers of hLife will be waived by 2027. 

Submission website

https://www.editorialmanager.com/hlife

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