synthetic biology phd usa

St anford | Synthetic Biology

Enabling flourishing futures in partnership with life.

What is synthetic biology?

Synthetic Biology (SB) explores new forms of engagement with life and living systems. From molecular to ecological, cultural to political, SB is about understanding life's fundamental mysteries and translating knowledge to imagine a biotic civilization that flourishes in partnership with Earth.  

The Stanford Synthetic Biology community enables interdisciplinary activities, supporting an ecosystem of research and learning. Our holistic approach encompasses diverse areas of work, each exploring fundamental questions and possibilities with the ultimate desire of addressing societal needs.

All together now!

Stewart Brand, Stanford Class of 19 60 (Biology), wrote, 

"I propose six significant levels of pace and size in the working structure of a robust and adaptable civilization. [...] In a healthy society each level is allowed to operate at its own pace, safely sustained by the slower levels below and kept invigorated by the livelier levels above." ( Long Now )

With pace-layer thinking in mind we are exploring and advancing synthetic biology (SB) among and across all aspects of civilization, inclusive of but not limited to biotechnology and bioeconomy.  We also note that intrinsic to pace layers thinking is a bias towards the human, a concept we suspect may evolve along with SB.  Thus, we have adopted a coupled-rings visual metaphor, in place of layers, for now.

Stanford SB News

Read how Professors Rogelio Hernandez-Lopez, Hawa Racine Thiam, Drew Endy, Michael Jewett, and Kyle Daniels are engineering cells for new purposes

August 2024

Read in Stanford Med Magazine

A frugal CRISPR kit, a gene editing tool for K-12 education. T his kit brings hands-on CRISPR experiments to classrooms to explore genome engineering without equipment. 

Read in Nature

On Global Health: Smallpox Biosecurity in a New Era of Technology

Read the article

Curious about CRISPR? Stanley Qi explains CRISPR, gene editing, and beyond

Read in Stanford Report

Stanford bioengineers host Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for a roundtable discussion on synthetic biology.

Read the Press Release

Professor Sang Yup Lee of KAIST joins us for the inaugural Stanford Frontiers in Synthetic Biology Distinguished Lecture to discuss metabolic engineering for sustainability and health

View Event Details

Chris Voigt joins the Synthesis community to discuss tracking engineered microbiomes from space and over decades

Hosted by Stanford BioE Department Colloquium 

Dr. Christina Smolke joined the Sustainability Accelerator for an enlightening discussion on the profound impact of synthetic biology on pharmaceutical biomanufacturing and global sustainability.

April 2024 

Watch the event recording

Jay Daniels, Founding Scientist at Moonlight Bio, shares insights on his journey from academia to industry at SB.Talk.

The Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute , Sarafan Chem-H , and Bio-X seek proposals for the inaugural Synthetic Neuroscience Grant Program to spark new collaborations between neuroscience and synthetic biology researchers across Stanford University. 

February 2024

Learn more and apply

Stanford Emerging Technology Review launch at the Hoover office in Washington, DC. 

January 202 4 

The second Synthetic Neuroscience Forum was held with talks from Michael Lin and Xiaojing Gao.  Hosted by Sarafan ChEM-H, Bio-X, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.

January 2024 

Event Information

Building Biology student  symposium brought in guest speakers: Patrick Hsu (UCB), Katie Galloway (MIT), Magdalena Zernika-Goetz (Caltech), Neil Shubin (UChicago) 

Hosted by Stanford Genetics and Developmental Biology Training Program

January 2024

The Hoover Institution and Stanford School of Engineering have launched the inaugural edition of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review, which aims to help policymakers understand a range of fast-developing new technologies, from AI and cryptography to robotics and synthetic biology.

December 2023

Read the Report

The first Synthetic Neuroscience Forum was held with Drew Endy and Sergiu Pasca, leading a discussion on the opportunities of synthetic biology in neuroscience. Hosted by Sarafan ChEM-H, Bio-X, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute.

December 2023 

Stanford Bioengineering Department launches "Engineering Life for Planet Health" f aculty search and seeking candidates who align with the department's vision of rapidly advancing large-scale solutions to address critical planetary challenges.

November 2023

Qi Lab develops an ultrasound method for precise control in gene regulation and base editing - both in cells and living animals.

October 2023

Congratulations to Xiaojing Gao, Steven Banik, and Stanley Qi for being awarded NIH High Risk, High Reward program grants for their work in synthetic biology.

Mike Jewett kicks off the new school year by facilitating a community discussion at SB.Talk on synthetic biology for sustainability. 

September 2023

Upcoming Events

Stanford 2023 iGEM team designed and developed Phil's Laberia, an educational video game where students can learn bioengineering wet lab skills.

August 2023

Play the Game

Fischbach Lab provides new insights into how T cells respond to commensal microbes.

Qi Lab develops a  CRISPR/Cas9 approach to edit dendritic cells for wound healing

Read in Nature Comms

Bintu Lab works on high-throughput functional characterization of combinations of transcriptional activators and repressors

Read in Cell Systems

Endy Lab publishes a paper on engineering tRNA abundances for synthetic cellular systems

Learn from Jenn Brophy and Drew Endy 's EdEquityLab x Stanford 's Intro to Bioengineering course. Now available online!

Watch the lectures

SB.Talk sparks discussion around synthetic biology at Stanford. Join the conversation in the Shriram Tea Room every other Tuesday 12pm. 

Jewett Lab developed a cell-free method to rapidly discover and characterize functional antibodies in under 24 hours. 

Qi Lab reports on 'CLIP' (CRISPR for long-fragment integration via pseudovirus) method for stable expression of large transgenes via the knock-in of an integrate-deficient lentivirus.

Prof. Alice Ting has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Ting is a Professor of Genetics, of Biology and, by courtesy, of Chemistry. 

Read in NAS News

The inaugural Synthetic Biology for Sustainability Symposium had over 200 attendees representing across schools of Medicine, Engineering,  Sustainability, and H&S.  

Event Website

Read highlights in Stanford News

Synthetic Biology for Sustainability Symposium will take place on May 1.

Hosted by the Deans of the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, this symposium will focus on how we might tackle some of the biggest challenges in sustainability using some of the newest innovations in synthetic biology.  

Agenda and Speaker Information

Fischbach Lab engineered a common skin bacterium, S. epidermidis to produce a tumor antigen .  When applied to mice, it resulted in a potent immune response against a distant tumor.

Read the Science article

Read in Stanford News

Bintu Lab  leads efforts towards large-scale mapping and mutagenesis of human transcriptional effector domains

Read the Nature article

Stanford Synthetic Biology meets for the first community event of 2023

View our community portrait

Sattely Lab  discovered 22 enzymes for biosynthesis of limonoids in Citrus and Melia.

January 2023

Prof. Mike Jewett joins Stanford Bioengineering as their newest faculty member.

Read the Stanford Article

Join the Jewett lab!

Gao Lab develops new tool -- programmable RNA sensing using ADAR editing in living cells.

October 2022

Read in Nature Biotechnology

Read the story!

Biden Administration issued an Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy. 

September 2022

Learn more from Endy and Palmer

White House Executive Order

Does synthetic biology offer anything new? Watch the non-technical conversation with Drew Endy about advancements in synthetic biology and related economic and governance opportunities with t he Hoover Institution.

August 2022  

Watch the video!

Sergiu Pasca explains how to reverse engineer the human brain by growing organoids.

August 2022

Learn from the TED talk!

Dr. Alice Cheng of Fischbach Lab & colleagues make human microbiome from scatch.

Read NY Times article

Study the science!

The Bintu lab takes a synthetic approach to understand and program chromatin-mediated gene silencing & activation.

Brophy et al. pioneer synthetic genetic circuits in plant roots.

Read the news!

Townshend, Kaplan, & Smolke report over 200 new RNA biosensors to potential drug molecules.

Read the preprint!

Endy & McKelvey reflect on synthetic biology's potential impacts for democracy and national security, hosted by Los Alamos National Lab. and moderated in part by Stanford's Prof. Hank Greely.

Synthetic Biology for Democracy

National Security Implications

Preparing for and preventing future pandemics.  Two new grants provide key resources  

Seed grants available Fall '22

Antiviral drug discovery funded!

"What is synthetic biology and what is its potential?   These stories explain."  Megan Palmer's WEF Council partners with Faber Futures to explore and elaborate on inclusive futures.

Download the stories!

"Building a Bottom-Up Bioeconomy," Stanford's Dr. Megan Palmer and colleagues make the case by reimagining industrialization . 

Read the article!

Making With Mushrooms!  17 years later the second-ever issue of Adventures in Synthetic Biology begins to emerge. 

Mycological mysteries await!

"Mother Nature, Bioweapons, & Lab Accidents: Guarding Against the Next Global Biological Catastrophe," Stanford's Freeman Spogli's CISAC welcomes Dr. Jaime Yassif of NTI. March 2022

View the presentation!

Prof. Pasca explores how to understand the mysteries of the human mind by growing neural circuits from scratch .

Train your neurons!

Prof. Skylar-Scott  & team explain what must be made real to ultimately print working hearts from scratch.

"Who wouldn't want to ride on a Wooly Mammoth?,"  Stanford undergraduates explore dystopian and utopian futures that might arise via resurrecting extinct species.  March 2022

Extinction Reversal Dystopia!

De-Extinction Utopia!

Prof. Ting's  team pioneers LuCID, a genetically-encoded tool for realtime measurement of calcium dynamics in live cells, including neurons and immune cells.

Read the paper!

Prof. Steinmetz and colleagues pioneer synthetic genomics for understanding the fundamental rules of genome architecture.

Study the Science paper!

Read the news story!

The New Yorker explores if what biology needs right now is more synthesis.  Prof. Zia chimes in.

February 2022

Prof. Brophy & Dinneny pioneer living Boolean logic in plants for climate resilience.

Study the preprint

Gao lab pioneers the engineering of protein circuits that let cells talk to each other.

Novozymes recognizes Adjunct Prof. Smolke & team with 100,000 DKK prize for sustainable medicines.

See the announcement!

How can American strengthen its bioeconomy?  Adjunct Prof. Palmer and colleagues chart the path.

Read the plan!

Can we engineer crops to withstand climate change?  Prof. Brophy makes the case.

January 2022

See the news!

NY Times explores what's happening and might be possible via synthetic biology.  E.g., it's personal!

November 2021

Megan Palmer, co-chair of World Economic Forum Council on Synthetic Biology, and team release report on synthetic biology.

Read the report!

Danielle Mai's group discusses the role of synthetic biology in a class of protein-based materials.

September 202 1

Stanley Qi's team develops CRISPR-Cas13 resource for targeting RNA viruse s.

Prashanth in the Smolke lab pioneers brewing of tropane alkaloids from scratch.

September 2020

Read the coverage!

Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology​

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Harvard was one of the first institutions to offer a program to explore this exciting new field. The program’s core curriculum includes courses on the methods and logic that shape research, how to conceptualize and present research, and an introduction to the faculty’s research.

The program has 48 faculty located in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Mass General, and Boston Children’s Hospital. SSQB is one of 14 PhD programs in the Harvard Integrated Life Sciences program that collectively gives you access to over 900 faculty research groups situated in the heart of Boston’s biotech hub. Our students are working on projects that range from fundamental problems in biology to translational research, whose goal is to directly affect medicine and global sustainability.

Graduates of the program have gone on to faculty positions at prestigious institutions such as MIT and Princeton University, while others are now industry leaders as startup founders or as decision makers at companies including Boston Consulting Group, Yumanity Therapeutics, McKinsey & Company, and Regeneron.

Additional information on the graduate program is available from the Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology PhD Program , and requirements for the degree are detailed in Policies .

Admissions Requirements

Please review the admissions requirements and other information before applying. You can find degree program-specific admissions requirements below and access additional guidance on applying from the Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology PhD Program .

Academic Background

Applicants typically have a background in biology, physics, chemistry, computer science, engineering, or mathematics and work to forge a new approach to biology that combines theoretical and experimental approaches. The typical student has a strong background in one of the disciplines relevant to systems biology and an interest in interdisciplinary research.

Personal Statement

Standardized tests.

GRE General: Optional 

Contacting Faculty

Applicants should indicate their faculty of interest in the application. You are not required to contact any faculty in advance but are welcome to.

Applications are reviewed by the admissions committee during December and early January. Selected applicants are notified if they have been chosen for an on-campus interview. These visits provide students with the opportunity to meet with faculty and current students and to get a better feel for our community and the types of research conducted here. Applicants invited for an interview who reside overseas and cannot visit the Harvard campus may interview remotely.

Theses and Dissertations

Theses & Dissertations for Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology​

See list of Systems, Synthetic, and Quantitative Biology​ faculty

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Questions about the program.

Synthetic Biology and Biological Design

Cover Image Credit: Keating Lab

Image Credit: Lu Lab

Research in Synthetic Biology and Biological Design emphasizes elucidating engineering principles behind biological systems for creating novel therapeutics and biomaterials.

Scientists track evolution of microbes on the skin’s surface

A new analysis reveals how Staphylococcus aureus gains mutations that allow it to colonize eczema patches .

Brandon (Brady ) Weissbourd

Katie galloway, lindsay case, hacking life inside and outside the laboratory.

Managing her own synthetic biology project helped graduate student Jesse Tordoff overcome imposter syndrome and hit her stride.

Anders Sejr Hansen

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THE GRADUATE SCHOOL

• Academic Programs
• Clusters and Certificates
• Synthetic Biology

Synthetic Biology (Certificate)

• Certificate Requirements

Synthetic biology aims to understand and harness the rules of life toward engineering goals that benefit society. From molecules, to cells, to organisms, to biological communities and ecosystems, life all around us presents an enormous diversity of biological function that spans multiple spatiotemporal scales. These functions—from the abilities of cells to synthesize small molecules, remediate environmental contaminants, build, and maintain ecosystems, and differentiate to protect our immune systems—have great potential to become components of sustainable solutions for meeting pressing global challenges. 

The Synthetic Biology TGS certificate curriculum emphasizes the physical and chemical principles of biological function in the context of building biological systems to understand the rules of life. The Synthetic Biology TGS certificate includes two introduction courses that teach the principles of synthetic biology and uses real-world case studies—recent landmark thrusts to build biological solutions to compelling societal challenges—to deconstruct biological phenomena along biological scales: molecular, circuit/network, cell/cell-free system, communities, and ecosystems. The curriculum then takes three additional topical courses categorized along the scales framework that delve deeper into the principles and tools used to engineer biological systems on a particular scale. A course in responsible conduct of research completes the training for the graduate certificate in synthetic biology. 

A graduate certificate in synthetic biology will provide official recognition that students have received a multifaceted education in synthetic biology through Northwestern’s unique approach to synthetic biology training and prepare graduates to enter the biotechnology workforce. 

See Synthetic Biology Certificate Requirements for specific courses and procedures needed to complete this program. 

How to apply

Enrolled PhD and Master's students in The Graduate School may pursue this certificate with the permission of their program. In order to petition to have a Graduate Certificate awarded and appear on the transcript, students must submit the   Application for a Graduate Certificate   once all Graduate Certificate requirements have been completed, but no later than the time that the student files for graduation (in the final quarter of study). 

Who to contact

Please contact the program director, listed below, with questions about this program.  

• Program Director: Julius Lucks
• Email:  [email protected]  

You may also contact the  Center for Synthetic Biology’s NSF NRT  program  for further questions at  [email protected] .

The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in  The Graduate School Policy Guide . 

In addition to meeting the PhD/MS requirements of their chosen departments, s tudents will be required to complete the coursework described below : 

• CHEM ENG 376 – Principles of Synthetic Biology
• CHEM ENG 395 – Deconstructing Synthetic Biology 
• IBiS 423 (Ethics in Biological Research)
• GEN ENG 519 (Responsible Conduct of Research)
• CHEM 519 (Responsible Conduct of Research Training)
• DGP 494-1 (Colloquium on Integrity in Biomedical Research)
• Three elective courses chosen by students as described below. 

Elective Courses

Elective courses are organized into scale areas and methods/skills courses that reinforce the scales framework for synthetic biology training. Each course provides rigorous training in the fundamentals of physics, chemistry, and biology needed to understand biological function at a particular scale and technical approaches that can be used to apply the concepts of synthetic biology to engineer and manipulate the functions at that scale.  

Interfaces between scales will be emphasized by the requirement of students to choose three electives that cover at least two different categories below: 

• Molecular scale courses cover the physical, chemical and mathematical principles required for understanding the molecular basis of life and its use in biotechnology. Appropriate topics for these courses include biophysics of molecular folding, free energy landscapes, kinetic molecular folding, charge screening, molecular interactions, RNA folding, protein folding, enzymology, and others. Courses that use these principles to teach concepts related to RNA and protein design and experimental strategies for RNA and protein engineering are encouraged.  
• Network/circuit scale courses enable students to understand biological, mathematical, and biophysical principles underpinning the mechanisms that biological systems utilize to propagate information, coordinate physiological states, and implement control over those states.  These courses cover topics such as genetic circuits, metabolism, dynamical systems, network theory and mechanisms for intracellular and intercellular signaling and communication. 
• Cell/cell-free systems scale courses cover biophysical and chemical principles involved in engineering biological parts within living and cell-free systems. These courses can include topics such as cellular and cell-free enzymatic biosynthesis, the implementation of genetic circuits in cell and cell-free systems, transport phenomenon at the cellular scale, interactions between cells/tissues and biomaterials, techniques for the manipulation of systems at this scale, and the use of cell-free systems as platforms for discovery and diagnostics.  
• Biological communities scale courses will cover the biological, biochemical and mathematical principles required for understanding the emergent behavior of cellular communities. These courses can include topics such as microbial ecology and metagenomics, prediction of emergent microbial community dynamics, interspecies metabolic interaction, tissue-scale phenomena such as tissue engineering, microbial ecology, and modeling of biological communities including agent-based models and nonlinear differential equation models. 
• Societal scale courses will teach students the skills needed to quantitatively estimate the needs, market sizes and viability of synthetic biology technologies including frameworks of field trials, user testing, and stakeholder analysis. These courses can also be used to address topics such as bioethics related to synthetic biology.  
• Methods/skills courses teach students technical approaches that are important for applying concepts learned in other courses to their research or future careers. These courses can cover both experimental and computational approaches. 

For a full list of electives that satisfy these criteria please visit:  https://syntheticbiology.northwestern.edu/education/the-graduate-school-certificate-in-synthetic-biology.html

PhD Studies in Life and Biomedical Sciences

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Biotechnology, Systems & Synthetic Biology  

Program Description Technological advances, such as complete genome sequencing and high-throughput biochemical analysis of intracellular processes, have revolutionized biological research and are the foundation for innovation in clinical medicine and industry. However, utilizing these data to improve our understanding of the living world and to develop useful applications in biotechnology and medicine remain separate and challenging propositions. This cluster program will prepare the next generation of scientists and engineers to take on these challenges by drawing upon biotechnology, systems biology, and synthetic biology . Northwestern University has a strong history of interdisciplinary and interdepartmental research in the life sciences and engineering, from which these fields have emerged as powerful opportunities for students.

Biotechnology Biotechnology is a burgeoning area of research worldwide, both industrially and academically, that combines the expertise of multiple disciplines such as engineering, life sciences, and medicine. The emergence of new tools and ideas in biotechnology continues to accelerate, and this cluster program provides an interdisciplinary program with significant exposure to the concepts and experimental approaches in a variety of biotechnology-related research areas. Substantial technical and intellectual skills will be developed in areas such as stem cells, gene therapy, regenerative medicine, microbiology, molecular genetics, biochemical engineering, cell and tissue culture technologies, metabolic engineering, biomaterials, hybridoma technology, and separation technologies.

Systems Biology With the advent of improved techniques for acquiring large-scale bioinformatic data, systems biology has emerged as a new scientific field dedicated to analyzing these large datasets to gain understanding. Given the special properties of biological systems, this field requires unique quantitative and analytical approaches. For example, biological systems are often characterized by complicated interactions between multiple components, such that the behavior of these complex systems is often not predictable based solely on an understanding of the components that compose the system - this is a property described as emergence. Because these properties are exhibited in many different forms across the biological spectrum, systems biology research stands at the fore of many fronts in biomedical science. Training in systems biology will develop the conceptual understanding, technical skills and tools, and scientific background required to address these challenges and capitalize upon this new realm of biological research.

Synthetic Biology Synthetic biology seeks to develop the technologies and knowledge necessary to design and construct novel living systems. These efforts serve to both better our understanding of the natural living world and enable us to harness the immense repertoire of biology to meet pressing societal needs, including the sustainable production of biofuels and materials using microorganisms, using engineered cells as programmable therapeutics, and to facilitate environmental stewardship and conservation. Combining methods, principles, and knowledge from disciplines including biology, engineering, mathematics, and computational science, synthetic biology promises to transform both the life sciences and engineering.

The Biotechnology Cluster is affiliated with and coordinated by the Biotechnology Training Program .

Core Courses in Biotechnology, Systems and Synthetic Biology use quantitative analysis and engineering approaches to investigate and manipulate biological systems. To introduce students to the technical expertise and scientific background required to address important challenges in these fields, this cluster includes two required courses and recommends additional courses that can be taken to fulfill course requirements. Additionally, this cluster will include an ongoing series of short courses having the general aims of (a) enabling students from different scientific & technical backgrounds to learn and use a common scientific language, and (b) exposing students to emerging technologies and providing opportunities for training. This overall program will provide students with both opportunities for specialization and with the broader perspective required to tackle pressing and multidisciplinary scientific problems. Basic recommended courses: IBiS 410: Quantitative biology CHEM_ENG 478: Advances in Biotechnology CHEM_ENG 375: Biochemical Engineering CHEM_ENG 376: Principles in Synthetic Biology CHEM_ENG 379: Computational Biology: Principles and Applications CHEM_ENG 373: Global Health and Biotechnology IBiS 455: Current Topics in Synthetic Biology Other recommended topics: Elective courses will be announced and introduced over time, covering topics including computational biology, biochemical and metabolic engineering, and regenerative medicine. Short Courses (provisional topics): Introduction to molecular biology (theory and laboratory practice) Technology-specific topics: Imaging fundamentals Characterization of materials Mass spectrometry and proteomics Cluster Activities: As part of this cluster, students will participate in activities including seminars and symposia, which provide valuable opportunities for interactions among participating students coming from different departments or programs and contribute to building and growing a community of researchers working on related challenges. Activities include: Biotechnology Seminar Series - Research seminars on the various aspects of biotechnology is a key graduate training experience, especially in a field as interdisciplinary as biotechnology. A monthly seminar series is an opportunity for both trainees and faculty to learn about emerging opportunities within and outside of Northwestern. Annual Biotechnology, Systems, and Synthetic Biology Poster Fair:  This event will be held in the Spring Quarter at a venue located at the Chicago campus, at which students and postdocs will have the opportunity to present posters and discuss their research with colleagues. The Fair will promote the formation of new connections among faculty and trainees of the Biotechnology, Systems and Synthetic Biology cluster, while providing an opportunity for informal interactions within this interdisciplinary group. Cluster Co-directors

• Michael Jewett, PhD, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
• Joshua Leonard, PhD, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering

Training Faculty          

• Luis Amaral, Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering   
• Guillermo Ameer, Professor, Biomedical Engineering      
• Erik Andersen, Associate Professor, Molecular Biosciences 
• Vadim Backman, Professor, Biomedical Engineering
• Xiaomin Bao, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Joseph Bass, Professor, Medicine
• Jason Brickner, Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Linda Broadbelt, Associate Dean for Research, Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering           
• John Crispino, Professor, Medicine
• Vinayak Dravid, Professor, Director of NUANCE Center, Materials Science and Engineering
• William Funk, Assistant Professor, Preventive Medicine
• Nathan C. Gianneschi, Professor, Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
• Matt Glucksberg, Professor, Biomedical Engineering
• Mitra Hartmann, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
• Mark Hersam Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
• Curt Horvath, Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Phil Iannaccone, Professor, Pediatrics and Pathology
• Michael Jewett, Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering   
• Derk Joester, Associate Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
• Neha Kamat, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
• William Kath, Professor, Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics
• Neil L. Kelleher, Professor, Molecular Biosciences, Chemistry, and Feinberg School of Medicine
• Patrick Kiser, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• William Klein, Professor, Neurobiology
• Steven Kosak, Assistant Professor, Cell and Molecular Biology
• Harold Kung, Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering
• Carole LaBonne, Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Robert Lamb, Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Joshua Leonard, Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering
• Robert Linsenmeier, Professor, Biomedical Engineering
• Shu Liu, Professor, Biomedical Engineering
• Julius Lucks, Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering
• John Marko, Professor, Molecular Biosciences, Physics & Astronomy
• Kelly Mayo, Professor, Molecular Biosciences   
• Thomas Meade, Professor, Chemistry, Molecular Biosciences, Neurobiology, Radiology
• Chad Mirkin, Professor, Chemistry, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Medicine
• Richard Morimoto, Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Adilson Motter, Professor, Physics and Astronomy
• Milan Mrksich, Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
• Wendy Murray, Professor, Biomedical Engineering
• Sonbinh Nguyen, Professor, Chemistry
• Teri Odom, Professor, Chemistry
• Monica Olvera de la Cruz, Professor, Materials Science Engineering, Chemistry and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering
• Christian Petersen, Assistant Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Heather Pinkett, Associate Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Arthur Prindle, Assistant Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics
• Amy Rosenzweig, Professor, Molecular Biosciences, Chemistry
• Evan Scott, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
• Ramille Shah, Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering and Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine
• Kenneth Shull, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
• Richard Silverman, Professor, Chemistry
• Sara Solla, Professor, Physiology
• Fraser Stoddart, Professor, Chemistry
• Samuel Stupp, Board of Trustees Professor, Professor of Materials Science, Chemistry, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering
• Igal Szleifer, Christina Enroth-Cugell Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and (by courtesy) Chemical and Biological Engineering
• Shad Thaxton, Associate Professor, Urology
• John Troy, Professor, Biomedical Engineering
• William Tse, Adjunct Associate Professor, Pediatrics
• Danielle Tullman-Ercek, Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering
• Keith Tyo, Associate Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering
• Brian Uzzi Professor, Leadership and Organizational Change
• Eric Weiss, Associate Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Sadie Wignall, Associate Professor, Molecular Biosciences
• Uri Wilensky, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Gayle Woloschak, Professor, Radiation Oncology
• Hao F. Zhang, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Driskill Graduate Program (DGP) 303 East Chicago Avenue Morton 1-670 Chicago, IL 60611-3008 Phone: 312- 503-1889 Fax: 312-908-5253 Website URL: DGP Email: [email protected]

Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences (IBiS) 2205 Tech Drive Hogan 2-100 Evanston, IL 60208 Phone: 847-491-4301 Fax: 847-467-1380 Website URL: IBiS Email: [email protected]

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UC Berkeley Department of Bioengineering

The future of biology. The future of engineering.

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Synthetic Biology

Prepares you to design and build novel biological functions and systems by applying engineering design principles and computational tools to biology to produce materials more cheaply and sustainably, and to design and construct better-performing genetic systems quickly, reliably, and safely.

Courses: BIO ENG 225 Biomolecular Structure Determination BIO ENG 235 Frontiers in Microbial Systems Biology BIO ENG 245 Intro to Machine Learning in Computational Biology BIO ENG 247 Principles in Synthetic Biology BIO ENG 248 Bioenergy & Sustainable Chemical Synthesis

Please note that the courses we offer vary year to year based on several factors. Please consult the Berkeley Academic Guide and the Bioengineering Tentative Multi-year Plan .  Students may choose a concentration or select their own courses with approval.

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Systems, Synthetic, and Computational Bioengineering Concentration

In this concentration, research groups in systems, synthetic, and computational bioengineering apply engineering principles to model and understand complex biological systems, including differentiation and development, pathogenesis and cancer, and learning and behavior. This involves designing and implementing methods for procuring quantitative and sometimes very large data sets, as well as developing theoretical models and computational tools for interpreting these data.

Deciphering the workings of a biological system allows us to identify potential biomarkers and drug targets, to develop protocols for personalized medicine, and more. In addition, we use the design principles of biological systems we discover to engineer and refine new synthetic biological systems for clinical, agricultural, environmental, and energy applications.

Computational and system-level approaches are now used by biotechnology companies across many fields, e.g. to predict the activity and side effects of drugs and drug combination; to develop methods for early detection of disease, pandemics and environmental hazards; to develop novel therapeutic approaches; and more. Synthetic Biology is making a significant impact on many industries, including anti-cancer therapies, sustainable material manufacturing, drug and vaccine delivery, meat-based alternatives, and more.

A computational medicine focus of this program for graduate students is offered at Northeastern’s Portland, Maine campus.

Curriculum Highlights

Our undergraduate and graduate curriculum includes:

• Multiple mathematical and computational approaches – including dynamical systems, control theory, stochastic analysis, and information theory – to study biological systems at all scales. Applications include predicting the structure and function of biomolecules; designing drugs and diagnostic tools; understanding the dynamics of development, learning, and disease; and predicting and controlling the composition of populations.
• Employing physical and chemical principles to modeling and understanding biological processes at multiple scales, including biopolymer conformations, cell membrane mechanics, chemical reaction kinetics, cellular differentiation, molecular motors, and neuronal signaling.
• Principles and practice of designing and executing experimental projects for acquiring quantitative and large-scale data and for implementing synthetic biological functions. Topics include experimental project design; development and applications of optical, biochemical, biophysical, and microfluidic-based tools; and data analysis approaches in bioinformatics and systems and synthetic bioengineering.
• Statistical modeling and Machine learning approaches to infer biological knowledge and biomedical strategies from real-life partial, noisy, and multifaceted biological data. Applications include early detection, drug testing, genetic analysis and forensics, inference of mechanism from large-scale data, active learning for rapid improvement of monitoring devices, model selection for synthetic design.

Career Opportunities

Job opportunities in this field include industry, academia, and healthcare & range from future foods to creating designer therapeutics.

Our graduates and co-op students have been recruited to companies such as Moderna, Mitre, Takeda, Bio-Rad Lab, Pfizer, Draper, Ginkgo Bioworks, as well as biotech startups.

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Welcome to Biological Engineering

Academic programs, undergraduate.

We are defining and leading the emerging biological engineering discipline, fusing engineering with modern molecular biology. Professor Douglas Lauffenburger | BE Department Head 1998-2019

Featured News

Synthetic Biology

Rice University has over 20 Synthetic Biology research groups, which share the goal of overcoming central challenges in engineering biology. These labs are pioneering new tools, technologies, and theories to transform our ability to predictably design biological systems. This includes the development of programmable biological parts for constructing genetic circuits, resolving design rules for creating multicellular genetic programs that have complex temporal and spatial behaviors, and developing safe strategies to test and use synthetic systems in real, complex settings. These groups apply these advances to a range of synthetic biology applications—delivering biological solutions to improve health, enable sustainable practices, and yield bioelectronics technologies.

Theme I. Cell-Based Therapeutics

Our faculty are focused on elucidating the function of cells as natural sensors and repurposing them as components in smart living therapeutics. Leveraging unique research strengths at Rice and its adjacency to the Texas Medical Center, efforts are focused on immune diseases, neurological diseases, and cancers. Faculty also leverage these sensors for the noninvasive imaging and manipulation of tissues deep within the body to study physiology and disease. Finally, our faculty are developing new modalities for engineering the microbial communities that live upon the human body to maintain health, treat diseases, and prevent infections.

Theme II. Living Electronics

Our faculty are developing synthetic molecules and cells that can be used as components within digital devices. They are creating genetic programs that enable cells to convert chemical information in the environment into electrical information in real-time and developing strategies to read this information out using digital devices. By interfacing synthetic cells with built materials, they are also working to create seamless two-way electrical communication between cells and devices to enable novel sensing and actuating applications that support our health and sustainable practices in the environment.

Theme III. Sustainable Living Materials

Our faculty are working to program cells to produce materials that rival the structure and function of natural materials. These efforts seek to extend beyond traditional metabolic engineering and to establish the knowledge required to control the biological synthesis and patterning of proteins and cells from the micron to meter scales. Through synthetic biology, these efforts are working to yield sustainable replacements for existing materials, impossible materials with physical properties unrivaled in conventional materials, and living materials that can self-replicate and self-repair.

Theme IV. Programming Environmental Consortia

Our faculty are studying how to transfer genetic circuits into environmental consortia without the need for organismal domestication, program precise, micron-scale sensing and actuation within cells of natural, structured microbial consortia, program control over cell-cell and cell-material interaction networks in heterogeneous environments, and achieve effective biocontainment within complex geological and built environments of relevance to future synthetic biology applications. These efforts all work to discover the underlying design principles by integrating experimental and computational approaches.

Training Faculty

• Caroline Ajo-Franklin
• Pedro Alvarez
• Caleb Bashor
• Matthew Bennett
• James Chappell
• Mingjie Dai
• Marcos de Moraes
• Jimmy Gollihar
• Isaac Hilton
• Theresa Loveless
• Carrie Masiello
• Hans Renata
• Laura Segatori
• Yousif Shamoo
• Joff Silberg
• Lauren Stadler
• Jerzy Szablowski
• Omid Veiseh

Helpful Links

Synthetic Biology 101

What is Synthetic Biology?

Synthetic biology is a discipline that uses biological components as building blocks in the design of new systems to solve crucial global challenges

By combining concepts across disciplines, researchers can build with biology in much the same way an engineer creates a high-tech device; but instead of the program running on a computer, it does so within a biological system. Advances in DNA sequencing, DNA synthesis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence have fueled synthetic biology’s growth, allowing for the development and scaling of new bioengineered solutions. These solutions can interface with every facet of our lives.

As estimated by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the bioeconomy is about five percent of US gross domestic product (one trillion dollars) and growing, compared to the approximate one percent that represents the U.S. semiconductor industry. Investments in the bioeconomy have given rise to billion-dollar companies that rely on synthetic biology for their products. Often, these companies are using biology to redesign traditional processes to produce familiar items in ways that are more environmentally sustainable.

Synthetic Biology Technology is All Around Us

Examples of synthetic biology appear everywhere

In agriculture, synthetic biologists have developed microbes that can make their own fertilizer, a development that could combat global hunger by increasing crop yield and aiding farmers in some of the world’s poorest regions. In the commodities industry, synthetic biologists have engineered a bacterium that can pull carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide out of the air, turning them into common chemicals like acetone and isopropanol—redirecting carbon emissions that are normally funneled into the atmosphere. In medicine, synthetic biology innovations such as mRNA vaccines are being used as tools to treat infectious diseases, helping public health experts and society stay a step ahead of the next pandemic and providing new approaches to teach our own immune systems to better detect and eliminate cancers.

The grocery store offers an even more well-known product of synthetic biology’s potential and reach. The Impossible Burger, a popular meat alternative, uses a lab-engineered non-meat-based heme molecule to help its product look and taste more like a traditional beef hamburger. The difference, according to an environmental analysis by independent auditor Quantis, is that production of one Impossible Burger patty uses 96 percent less land and 87 percent less water as compared to one beef patty, while also releasing 89 percent less carbon into the atmosphere. Such advances show just how significant synthetic biology’s benefits can be.

Investing in the Future

Synthetic biology is a national priority

The U.S. government took an early interest in synthetic biology research, with the National Science Foundation (NSF) providing a $37 million, 10-year grant in 2006 to fund a national Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center. DARPA followed suit with multiple programs focused on synthetic biology. From 2008 to 2014, estimates suggest the government invested $820 million in synthetic biology research, spread across the NSF, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The U.S. government underscored its intention to accelerate the growth of synthetic biology research when the White House issued an executive order in September 2022, launching a national biotechnology and biomanufacturing initiative that places synthetic biology as a centerpiece of our strategies for sustainability, competitiveness, and economic growth across all levels of government. The order’s impact has the potential to be far reaching including: significant investments to develop medicines and commodities, reduce waste, and advance sustainable farming, while also mitigating climate change impacts.

A Brief History

History in the Making

The roots of synthetic biology are planted with a landmark investigation by researchers François Jacob and Jacques Monod, whose study of E. coli led them to posit the existence of regulatory circuits that underpin the response of a cell to its environment.

January 2000

Two side-by-side reports are published by researchers at Boston University and Princeton University showing that biological protein parts can be engineered into genetic circuits to carry out designed functions.

January 2003

MIT launches an independent study course in which students develop biological devices to make cells blink; the following year the course evolves into a summer competition known as iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machines). Northwestern would go on to launch its first iGEM program in 2010.

The first international conference for the field, Synthetic Biology 1.0, is held at MIT; future conferences in Switzerland and Hong Kong would help to establish the field’s global growth.

BioBricks Foundation is established as a nonprofit organization to catalog and standardize synthetic biology parts, providing a database of resources for scientists and researchers.

Funded by a 10-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC) is founded to advance research, innovation, training, and education in synthetic biology. In this time, SynBERC trains and provides early career support to future Northwestern synthetic biology faculty.

The World Health Organization approves the use of a semi-synthetic, non-plant-derived version of the antimalarial drug artemisinin as a low-cost alternative to treat malaria in developing nations—the first large-scale synthetic biology commercial endeavor.

The US Department of Energy prepares a report to Congress on synthetic biology, offering a comprehensive plan for federally supported research and development in support of energy and environmental goals.

Northwestern University launches its interdisciplinary Center for Synthetic Biology (CSB).

A group of leading scientists, including Northwestern CSB faculty, proposes a large-scale synthetic biology initiative, leading to the creation of the Human Genome Project-Write, which is focused on the synthesis of human genomes.

Northwestern University receives an NSF grant to fund a 10-week summer research experience in synthetic biology for undergraduate students, the first synthetic biology-focused, NSF-funded program of its kind.

September 2018

After SynBERC’s 10-year funding grant ends, Northwestern CSB faculty help found the Engineering Biology Research Consortium with an NSF award to support and sustain the impact of research, products, discoveries, and ideas from the synthetic biology community.

Northwestern University receives a $3 million NSF grant to support Synthesizing Biology Across Scales (SynBAS), a program focused on convergent synthetic biology training for graduate students, another first-of-its-kind synthetic biology-focused program.

September 2022

The United States launches a national biotechnology and biomanufacturing initiative.

Ph.D. Program

The training for a Ph.D. in Biology is focused on helping students achieve their goals of being a successful research scientist and teacher, at the highest level. Students work closely with an established advisor and meet regularly with a committee of faculty members to facilitate their progress. The Biology Ph.D. program is part of the larger Biosciences community at Stanford, which includes doctorate programs in the basic science departments at Stanford Medical School. 

There are two tracks within the Biology Ph.D. program:

• Cell, Molecular and Organismal Biology
• Ecology and Evolution

(Previously a part of the Department of Biology Hopkins Marine Station is now a part of the Oceans Department within  Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability )

All  tracks are focused on excellence in research and teaching in their respective areas; where there are differences between the tracks, they are indicated in the links below. 

Requirements & Forms

Dissertation defense, cellular and molecular biology training program, stanford biology preview program (bpp): navigating the stanford biology phd application process, career development resources.