Engineering in Life Sciences (ELS) focuses on engineering principles and innovations in life sciences and biotechnology. Life sciences and biotechnology covered in ELS encompass the use of biomolecules (e.g. proteins/enzymes) and cells (microbial, plant and mammalian origins) for biosynthesis, biotransformation, cell-based treatment and bio-based solutions in industrial and pharmaceutical biotechnologies as well as in biomedicine. ELS especially aims to promote interdisciplinary collaborations among biologists, biotechnologists and engineers for quantitative understanding and holistic engineering (design-built-test) of biological parts and processes in the different application areas. Applying this engineering mindset, ELS addresses scientific questions and technologies, for example, regarding:
Engineering electron transfer for biosynthesis and biotransformation (e.g. via photo- and electrobiotechnology)
Developing quantitative tools for engineering of biomolecules (e.g. DNA/genome, RNA and proteins) and bioproduction chassis
Accessing novel biomolecules and biomaterials (e.g. proteins, natural and aroma compounds, fine chemicals and building blocks)
Engineering metabolic pathways and their regulation (e.g. in the context of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology)
Unravelling cellular regulation and cell-to-cell interactions (e.g. microbiome, co-cultures, stem cells and tissues)
Engineering novel bioreactors and bioprocesses (e.g. for the production of biopharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, commodities and biofuels, including use of waste streams and alternative feedstock)

As such, the journal ELS covers the whole range of modern biochemical engineering and biotechnology comprising biomolecule, bioprocess, metabolic and biosystems engineering. Manuscripts are expected to address the engineering principles and innovations at different molecular and process levels with indicative numbers or performance parameters. Innovative methods and tools for these purposes are also within the scope of ELS.

Out of scope
Engineering in Life Sciences will not consider submissions lacking of the quantitative engineering principle. In particular, the following contributions are considered to be out of scope: purely qualitative descriptions, marginal advancements and narrow application potential, such as medium and fermentation optimization without technical novelty, biosorption and biodegradation studies without presentation of an innovative method or insights into the mechanism, and cloning and characterization studies without functional data or demonstrated novel approaches and applications.