Knowledge Link through Art and Science (KLAS) is an Artist in Residence program of the Max Planck Society. KLAS fosters ArtSci exchange and transdisciplinary innovation and education whilst also establishing a link between Synthetic Biology research groups of two research institutions – Rijksuniversiteit Groningen [RuG] and two Max Planck Institutes [MPI]. In addition to awarding two Artist Residencies in 2017, KLAS will present a series of events and conversations around specific thematic topics. KLAS is funded by the Max Planck Society and the Schering Foundation and organized by Polyhedra.
Tom Robinson, from the Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, and his group, aim to build membrane structures using lipid vesicles, which mimic biological cell organelles. The goal is to understand how enzyme-catalyzed metabolic processes occur within confined organelles; and eventually, construct a cell using artificial membranes in order to understand how a cell functions.