Research

My research at MIT is mainly rooted in the field of synthetic biology that aims to engineer genetic parts to make new uses of nature’s broad capabilities. My biggest goal is to find ways in which biological parts can be predictably engineered to combat infectious diseases and control the microbial populations that influence our health.

In Vitro Diagnostic Circuits

I work to create new diagnostics using synthetic biology tools that enable detection of bacteria, like those present in the gut microbiome, and common viruses like human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause cervical cancer.

Cellular Design Principles

I’m interested in new circuit design guided by mathematical models to improve biomolecular control in bacterial cells and understand key design principles. While many genetic parts and circuits have been made, there are still many elements that we still don’t understand when building more complex circuits. I believe by coupling well characterized circuits with modeling we can gain insights into how to improve circuits and how natural genetic circuits behave.