Teaching

Course description: This course is a broad introduction to engineering biological systems with an emphasis on synthetic biology and the application of biological and chemical principles to the design of new biomolecules, cellular pathways, and tissue-level responses. This course is taught from the primary scientific literature and highlights contemporary research in this area, including topics such as artificial amino and nucleic acids, DNA nanotechnology, genome engineering and editing, synthetic gene regulatory systems and gene circuits, directed molecular evolution, recombinant antibody and high-throughput screening technologies, metabolic engineering, gene therapy, genetic reprogramming, and cell signaling and cell-cell communication. These topics are presented in the context of biomedical applications such as drug design and discovery, biopharmaceutical production, gene and cell therapy, and regenerative medicine.

BME 564L: Genome Engineering Lab

CRISPR/Cas genome engineering technology has revolutionized the study and engineering of living systems. This course is designed for students interested in learning how to design, develop, and apply the most recent and advanced CRISPR/Cas9 systems for applications in diagnostics, cell line engineering, biopharmaceutical production, and gene and cell therapy. The laboratory work will focus on the theory and technical skills behind CRISPR/Cas systems, the design of specific guide RNAs, purification of protein and RNA components of CRISPR systems, validation of gene editing activity in vitro, delivery of CRISPR/Cas complexes to cells, and the generation and validation of edited cell lines. The lectures will focus on the history of gene editing, the mechanisms of gene editing and CRISPR biology, methods used in the genome editing field, clinical and non-clinical uses of CRISPR, ethical considerations, and next-generation technologies and applications. The course will include practical hands-on laboratory experience in using genome editing methods.