Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering

Catalog description

The course presents an overview of the latest advances in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering to modulate intracellular pathways using recombinant DNA and other manipulation techniques for engineering, biotechnological, medical, environmental, energy, and other applications. Specific application areas for discussion, using both synthetic biology and metabolic engineering technologies, include improved cellular performance for production of biopharmaceuticals, detection and/or degradation of toxins, generation of novel drugs and cell therapies, and energy generation from microbial sources. Existing research problems in biomolecular engineering are used to illustrate principles in the design of metabolic pathways, biomolecules, genetic circuits, and complex biological systems. Design and fabrication of new biological components and systems or the re-design and fabrication of existing biological systems are discussed.