At the heart of our efforts in Synthetic Biology is the belief that we can reprogram living systems to perform vital, meaningful tasks. By assembling modular genetic “circuits,” we can design microbial cells to sense, compute, and respond with remarkable precision. This approach transforms straightforward bacterial extracts into powerful, low-cost tools for diagnostics and biosensing. Our team dedicates itself to crafting circuits that convert cellular inputs, such as biomarkers or environmental triggers, into outputs that are easy to read, such as visible color changes, removing the need for complicated lab equipment. Ultimately, we’re striving to build robust, portable biosensors that deliver quick and reliable results even in the most resource-limited settings, helping to bridge critical gaps in global health and environmental monitoring.
Example Projects
TLISA (T7 RNA polymerase–linked immunosensing assay)
Conventional protein detection methods often require expensive equipment and time-consuming protocols, limiting their use in point-of-care settings. One of our projects aims to overcome these barriers with TLISA which is a modular, cell-free biosensor platform that uses split T7 RNA polymerase. By combining reassembly-driven reporter expression and affinity domains, TLISA enables rapid, flexible, and equipment-free protein detection. This approach holds promise for accessible diagnostics in diverse settings.
Colorimetric Bacterial Biosensors for Low-Cost Micronutrient Detection
Micronutrient deficiencies pose a serious global health challenge, especially in developing countries and regions recovering from disasters, though even developed nations are not immune. While these deficiencies are treatable, they often go undiagnosed due to costly laboratory tests and limited healthcare access in resource-constrained areas. Recognizing that bacteria naturally sense and regulate their own micronutrient levels, we developed a low-cost, color-changing diagnostic test that harnesses bacterial sensors and engineered genetic circuits. This test would require no sophisticated equipment or extensive medical training, enabling rapid, on-site diagnosis of micronutrient deficiencies in the communities most at risk.