Individual Members

  • Sara Molinari

    Dr. Sara Molinari graduated from the Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology Ph.D. program at Rice University with a thesis on programming differentiation in bacteria. This work enabled the creation of a novel pattern formation by physically separating genetically distinct cells. As a postdoctoral researcher, she created the first de novo macroscopic living material that grows from engineered bacteria. This work presents the only genetically encoded synthetic matrix that hierarchically assembles cells over four orders of magnitude and allows the genetic control of ELM mechanical and catalytic properties. In her laboratory in the Department of Bioengineering at The University of Maryland College Park, she investigates the design rules for engineering de novo ELMs from different bacteria to enable a wide array of applications. Sara is a full member of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society, a 2022 Distinguished Young Scholar (UWDYSS), a 2022 BME Future Faculty, and a rising star at the SynBYSS seminar series.

  • Wheaton Schroeder

    Wheaton Schroeder is a new Assistant Professor at Washington State University in the Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering (started in August 2024). His research lab specializes in computational metabolic modeling (often referred to as genome-scale modeling) with various applications. Emerging applications in his research includes studying neurometabolic coupling (through the Astrocyte-Neuron Lactate Shuttle) including its role in seizures and designing an inducible cyanobacteria bioproduction platform leveraging the heterogeneity in photobioreactors for division of labor. Previous to his current position, Wheaton was most recently a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University advised by Costas D. Maranas (for three years). In this position, his research, still in systems biology, was funded by the Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI). In CBI, his research focused on fundamental understanding of the target organism for consolidated bioprocessing, Clostridium thermocellum, and improved phenotype of process feedstock, Populus tricocarpa. In this role, he worked closely with synthetic biologists for hypothesis testing and model validation. Wheaton earned his Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, advised by Rajib Saha. In his doctoral studies, Wheaton applied mathematical modeling to designing and modeling genetic circuits, creating a lifecycle model for the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, studying fungal melanogenesis, and studying nitrogen-stressed maize root metabolism, among other application. Given this diversity of application, his thesis was entitled “Creation and Application of Various Tools for the Reconstruction, Curation, and Analysis of Genome-Scale Models of Metabolism”, defended in June of 2021. Wheaton earned a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering and Mathematics at Iowa State University in May of 2015.

  • Leopold Green

    Leo Green is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Purdue University. His research program converges DNA nanotechnology, microbiome engineering, and computational models to design bacterial theanostics.

  • James Saenz

    Research Summary
    My lab’s research merges my unique background in geochemistry and microbiology and my interest in synthetic biology and bioengineering to unravel and harness the role of lipids in organizing bioactivity. My lab has recently pioneered two fronts:

    1. Minimal Microbial Models for Membrane Biology: We’ve established minimal bacterial systems, notably pathogenic mycoplasma and the Minimal Cell (JCVI-Syn3), as modifiable membrane platforms amenable to synthetic genomics. This approach allows us to dissect and manipulate cell membranes, offering unique insights into lipid-mediated cellular functions and interactions. We have developed approaches to tune and minimize mycoplasma and Syn3 lipidomes, demonstrating that two lipids are sufficient (but far from optimal) for life. Using these minimal bacterial organisms, we can reintroduce genomic and chemical complexity to elucidate the crucial components of a functional cell membrane, with the ultimate goal of designing bespoke synthetic cell membranes. Expanding from studies of individual lipids, we aim to understand and engineer the lipidome’s complexity and its impact on cellular behavior in the context of environments from mammalian hosts to oceans and soils.

    2. Novel Membrane Sense and Response Mechanisms based on RNA-Lipid Interactions: A groundbreaking direction in our research is exploring how lipids can selectively interact with, and modulate RNAs. Beyond exploring lipid functions, this work paves the way for developing RNA-lipid interactions to create synthetic membrane sensors and riboregulatory mechanisms. The potential to design lipid-sensitive RNAs opens new avenues for synthetic biology applications, including novel forms of lipid regulation and membrane homeostasis.

  • George Church

    Harvard PhD 1984. Professor at Harvard & MIT 1986, co-author of 716 papers, 164 patent publications & book “Regenesis”; developed methods used for the first genome sequence (1994) & 10M-fold cost reduction (fluor-NGS & nanopores), molecular barcoding/ multiplexing, DNA assembly from chips, genome editing/writing/recoding; co-initiated BRAIN Initiative (2011) & Genome Projects (GP-Read-1984, GP-Write-2016, PGP-2005:first open-access personal/precision medicine data & cells); machine learning for protein engineering, tissue reprogramming, organoids, gene therapy, aging reversal, xeno-transplantation, in situ 3D DNA/RNA/protein imaging.

  • P. C. Dave P. Dingal

    My research focuses on the interplay between extrinsic and intrinsic signals that affect cell behavior by building cutting-edge molecular tools to measure and perturb such signals. Most molecular tools are being developed and function well in vitro. Current technologies are unable to measure signaling in its native context in vivo, mainly due to lack of signal amplification, slow kinetics, and incompatibility of reagents. I aim to develop and translate some of these tools in vivo to help solve issues of biomedical relevance.

    My graduate training combined biophysical and systems-biology approaches for the mechano-chemical control of adult human stem cells.With my engineering background, my postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University focused on developing synthetic biological tools to measure signals that induce cell fate. I developed a versatile receptor-based tool called CRISPR ChaCha, which senses the immediate microenvironment and activate novel genomic expression programs via CRISPR-Cas9. At Harvard University, I created molecular tools that control the secretion and sensing of signals as they arise in the developing zebrafish embryo.

    As an Assistant Professor at UT Dallas, my research laboratory is developing cutting-edge tools to measure and characterize signaling mechanisms in vivo. We are developing innovative uses of biological molecules in vivo, including CRISPR/Cas systems, synthetic proteases, and fluorescent probes to gain deeper insights into endogenous signal release and response in early embryos and in the brain.

  • Erin Garza

    Dr. Garza received her master’s and PhD in microbiology from Northern Illinois University. Her graduate work involved genetically engineering biofuel pathways, like homoethanol and butanol, into Escherichia coli. Dr. Garza completed a postdoc at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) where she is currently a staff scientist in the synthetic biology department. Her research involves genetically engineering bacteria and diatoms to produce compounds of interest, elucidating plastic degradation pathways in marine organisms, domesticating and characterizing genetic parts for DNA cloning libraries, and developing and optimizing cloning techniques for non-model organisms.

    Dr. Garza has worked on numerous research projects, but her main interest involves studying the microbiome of deep-sea plastics in an attempt to locate and engineer new plastic degrading organisms and to determine the effects of plastic pollution on the ocean and its ecology. She is currently working towards attaining an assistant professor position at JCVI.

  • Christian Cuba Samaniego

    I received my BS degree in Mechatronic Eng. from National University of Engineering (UNI-Peru). I obtained my PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California Riverside (UCR) under the supervision of Elisa Franco in 2017. I held a postdoctoral scholar with Ron Weiss at MIT (2017), Elisa Franco at UCLA (2019), Ming-Ru Wu at Harvard/DFCI (2023). In Fall 2024, I will join the Computational Biology Department at Carnegie Mellon University. I work at the intersection among Control Theory, Systems Biology and Synthetic Biology. I am specially interested in the design, analysis and applications of biomolecular feedback control systems and molecular neural networks for decision-making in living cells. To create a community that connects mathematical theories, models, and biomolecular experiments, I co-organize a Seminar on Biological Control Systems. it focuses on applications of mathematical modeling and control systems to biology. We host monthly talks featuring our members and invited guests.

  • Michaelle Mayalu

    Dr. Michaëlle N. Mayalu is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering. She received her Ph.D., M.S., and B.S., degrees in Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was a postdoctoral scholar at the California Institute of Technology in the Computing and Mathematical Sciences Department. She was a 2017 California Alliance Postdoctoral Fellowship Program recipient and a 2019 Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Enrichment Program award recipient. She is also a 2023 Hypothesis Fund Grantee.
    Dr. Michaëlle N. Mayalu’s area of expertise is in mathematical modeling and control theory of synthetic biological and biomedical systems. She is interested in the development of control theoretic tools for understanding, controlling, and predicting biological function at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels to optimize therapeutic intervention.

  • Virginia Cornish

    Virginia W. Cornish is the Helena Rubinstein Chair in the Department of Chemistry and a founding member of the Department of Systems Biology at Columbia University. Her research brings together modern methods in synthetic chemistry and DNA technology to expand the synthetic capabilities of living cells, and she is a pioneer in the field of yeast synthetic biology. Her current research focuses on translating state-of-the-art synthetic biology platforms to the clinic. She has over 100 research publications and issued patents and has been supported by grants from the NIH, NSF, DARPA, USDA, and numerous private foundations. Virginia has been recognized by an NSF Career Award (2000), a Sloan Foundation Fellowship (2003), the Columbia College John Jay Award (2005), the Protein Society Irving Sigal Young Investigator Award (2009), the American Chemical Society Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry (2009), and an HHMI Gilliam Adviser (2021). She graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University with a B.A. in Biochemistry in 1991, where she did undergraduate research with Professor Ronald Breslow. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry with Professor Peter Schultz at the University of California at Berkeley and then was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Biology Department at M.I.T. under the guidance of Professor Robert Sauer. Virginia joined the faculty of the Chemistry Department at Columbia in 1999 and was promoted Associate Professor with tenure in 2004, Professor in 2007, and Helena Rubinstein Chair in 2011.

  • Otto Cordero

    Otto X. Cordero received a B.S. in computer and electrical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Ecuador, an M.Sc. in artificial intelligence from Utrecht University, and a Ph.D. in theoretical biology, also from Utrecht University. In 2014 Cordero received the ERC Starting grant in Europe and in 2015 he moved to MIT, where he has since been a member of the faculty. Cordero is a past Sloan Fellow in Ocean Sciences and recipient of the Simons Early Career Award in Marine Microbial Ecology. In 2017, Cordero co-founded PriME, a new Simons Collaboration that brings together physicists, biologists and engineers to decipher the rules that govern the assembly and functioning of marine microbial ecosystems.

  • Maobing Tu

    Dr Maobing Tu is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He received his PhD degree in Forestry Bioenergy at the University of British Columbia (2007). Dr. Tu is a recipient of Industrial R&D Fellowship from Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and an NSF CAREER award in 2013. His research is centered on the development of cost-effective processes for producing biofuels and chemicals from renewable resources and waste. Specifically, he focuses on the interface between biomass processing chemistry and biochemical engineering in the production of fuels, chemicals and biomaterials. He has published more than 60 papers and received funding from NSF, DOE and EPA.

  • Jonathan Conway

    Dr. Jonathan Conway earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University under the guidance of Dr. Robert Kelly, focusing on lignocellulose degradation by extremely thermophilic bacteria. After completing his Ph.D., he trained as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill in Dr. Jeff Dangl’s lab, where he worked on engineering the plant root microbiome.

    In 2021, Dr. Conway established his independent lab in the Chemical & Biological Engineering department at Princeton University. He is also an associated faculty member of the Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute, the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, and the High Meadows Environmental Institute. The Conway lab focuses on genetically engineering non-model bacteria at plant-microbe interfaces. By mechanistically defining and engineering plant-microbe interactions, the lab aims to develop technologies for the bio-agriculture, bio-energy, and bio-chemical industries.

  • Marie Migaud

    I am a French-trained Chemist/Chemical Engineer with a PhD in organic synthesis from Michigan State University, postdoctoral training at the University of Bath and Oxford. My first independent academic position was at Queen’s University Belfast (Chemistry) in 2000. I was appointed first in faculty of science and engineering, then requested a joint appointment with the Center for Cell Biology and Cancer Research, and ultimately moved to the School of Pharmacy to fully exploit the collaborative network that my moving within the institution had allowed me to create. In 2016, I left my permanent UK academic position to join the Mitchell Cancer Institute at the University of South Alabama, after a sabbatical year in the department of Biochemistry at the Carver College of Medicine in Iowa. I seek to accelerate translational research programs through basic research in chemical biology and synthetic chemistry.
    More specifically, I pursue chemical research on canonical and non-canonical nucleotides and dinucleotides in the context of cell bioenergetics and signaling. I direct biology-focused research projects supported by bespoke organic synthesis and knowledge-based metabolomics and RNA/DNAomics research. My laboratory’s activities focus on synthesizing nucleosidic isotopologues, nucleotide-derived cofactors, and catabolites and develop analytical platforms that help unravel their role in diseases linked to genomic and metabolic mitochondrial dysfunction. Key to our research efforts are novel synthetic methodologies of isotopically labeled and modified nucleos/tides using mechanochemistry to allow atom-efficient syntheses.

  • Carolyn Chapman

    Carolyn Riley Chapman, PhD MS, joined the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard (MRCT Center) in October 2023 (mrctcenter.org). She is a Member of the Faculty of the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Lead Investigator in the Division of Global Health Equity (DGHE), Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her work involves collaboration with diverse stakeholders to identify and address challenges in the research and development of genetic technologies and precision medicine, including cell and gene therapies. Since April 2023, Dr. Chapman serves as Co-Chair of the ELSI-Dedicated Genome Engineering Workgroup at the Center for Synthetic Regulatory Genomics (SyRGe), led by Dr. Jef Boeke, the Sol and Judith Bergstein Director of the Institute of Systems Genetics and Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Prior to joining the MRCT Center, Carolyn worked at NYU Grossman School of Medicine in various roles. Immediately before joining the MRCT Center, she was Faculty in the Center for Human Genetics and Genomics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine with a primary appointment as Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health (Division of Medical Ethics). In the past, Carolyn has worked as an Associate/Lecturer and as Interim Associate Director for the Columbia Bioethics program; as a business strategy management consultant in the biopharmaceuticals industry at L.E.K. Consulting; at a start-up biopharmaceutical company, Aton Pharma; and as a freelance science/medical writer. Carolyn graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College with a BA in Biology. She has a PhD in Genetics from Harvard University and an MS in Bioethics from Columbia University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and a Graduate Certificate in Survey Research at UConn’s School of Public Policy.

  • Javin Oza

    Engineering of cell-free systems, proteins & enzymes, and adopting bioengineering to the university classroom

  • Rabia Yazicigil

    Rabia Yazicigil is an Assistant Professor of ECE Department at Boston University. She was a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT and received her Ph.D. degree from Columbia University in 2016. Her research focuses on the development of Cyber-Secure Biological Systems, leveraging living sensors constructed from engineered biological entities seamlessly integrated with custom-designed semiconductor chips. This unique synergy harnesses the advantages of biology while incorporating the reliability and communication infrastructure of electronics, offering a unique solution to societal challenges in healthcare, environmental monitoring, and sustainable biomanufacturing. She has received numerous awards, including the NSF CAREER Award (2024), Early Career Excellence in Research Award for the Boston University College of Engineering (2024), the Catalyst Foundation Award (2021), Boston University ENG Dean Catalyst Award (2021), and “Electrical Engineering Collaborative Research Award” for her Ph.D. research (2016). She was selected as a member of the 2024 National Academy of Engineering (NAE) US Frontiers of Engineering (USFOE) cohort.

  • Reza Zadegan

  • R. Clay Wright

    Clay Wright is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. His lab focuses on understanding and engineering chemical signaling pathways from plants and fungi. Clay received his BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from North Carolina State University and PhD in the same from Johns Hopkins University, where he worked with Professor Marc Ostermeier to engineer cancer therapeutic enzymes that are selectively active in the presence of a cancer marker. For his postdoctoral research, he worked with Professors Jennifer Nemhauser and Eric Klavins at University of Washington to study evolution and function of receptors for auxin, a critical plant growth hormone. Clay was recently awarded an NIH MIRA to further our understanding and engineering of chemically activated ubiquitin ligases, such as those that coordinate auxin signaling and other plant hormone signaling pathways.

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