Dr Brenda Parker (left) and Dr Jack Jeffries (right) are part of a UKRI funding programme that will have a share of £100m in funding that aims to harness cutting-edge engineering biology research from across the UK to address global challenges from health to the environment. Six hubs will receive up to £12 million each from the UKRI Technology Missions Fund and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Brenda is a member of the Engineering biology hub for environmental processing and recovery of metals; from contaminated land to industrial biotechnology in a circular economy (The ELEMENTAL project). Jack is part of the Mission Hub: Preventing plastic pollution with engineering biology.