SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Research Interests
Since the advent of genetic engineering in the 1970s, engineered cells have been applied to produce recombinant proteins and valuable chemicals. The past decade has witnessed the potential of Synthetic Biology, an emerging field where engineering principles are applied to biology in order to create programmable cells for real-world applications. With recent depletion of non-renewable resource, interests have been intensified on the production of fine chemicals from renewable sources.
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Regulation of enzyme and protein synthesis via modular genetic circuit design.
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Engineering unusual microbes with unique capabilities for environmental cleanup and energy production.
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Programming cell languages for cell-cell communication for synthetic consortia.
PROTEIN ENGINEERING
Research Interests
Protein Engineering relies on the design and construction of new proteins or enzymes with novel or desired functions through the modification of amino acid sequences using recombinant DNA technology. Such manipulations are frequently used to discover structure-function relationships, as well as to alter the activity, stability, localization, and structure of proteins. Together with high-throughput screening methods, researchers can quickly conduct millions of chemical, genetic or pharmacological tests and identify active compounds, antibodies or genes which modulate a particular biomolecular pathway.
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Modular protein design for precious metal recovery.
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High-throughput screening for drug and biomolecules.
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Design of therapeutic enzymes and proteins for diseases.
BIOINSPIRED ENGINEERING
Research Interests
Bioinspired Engineering is a new scientific discipline that applies biological principles to develop new engineering solutions for medicine, energy, environment and many other fields that have previously not been touched by the biology revolution. The emergence of this new discipline is the culmination of the unification of the life sciences with engineering, and it is leading to an ever deeper understanding of how life works. By using biology as inspiration, we are designing new protein-based materials that address complex challenges in bioenergy, biomedical engineering and environmental engineering.
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Bioinspired sensors for environmental monitoring and clinical diagnostics .
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Nanobiocatalysts for environmental cleanup and energy production .