What do we do and why?
Our goal is to contribute to the global efforts of building a synthetic cell from non-living components. Building a synthetic cell or a synthetic living system will expand our understanding of the general principles of Life and abiogenesis and further propel biotechnological and biomedical advancements.
More specifically, we are interested in the in vitro realization of minimal biomimetic systems capable of self-replication and self-regeneration (i.e., catalytic synthesis of molecular components that comprise it). Such systems can be foundational for studying diverse biological phenomena in simplistic environments and significantly advance cell-free synthetic biology.
How do we do it?
Currently, there are no generalizable approaches by which multiple cellular functionalities can be synergistically integrated into a self-regenerating biochemical unit in a cell-free environment. We are developing a potentially transformative new approach we call “integrative in vitro evolution”. The basic principle of the approach is to utilize self-replicating cell-free gene circuits and cell-free evolution in constructing more and more complex partially regenerating, self-replicating gene networks. The ultimate goal is to realize a minimal, synthetic, and “autonomous” life-like system.