David Glass
Bioengineering
Bio-X Bowes Fellow 2013/2014
Profs. Ingmar Riedel-Kruse (Bioengineering) and KC Huang (Bioengineering)

Synthetic biology generally focuses on engineering information processing within individual cells with minimal intercellular interaction and, but for very few exceptions, no spatial organization. David plans to expand the capabilities of synthetic biology into the multicellular domain by introducing a system for controllable adhesion, which will specify both strength and specificity of adhesion among individual cells. Additionally, an in silico model of cell interactions will support the synthetic platform and broaden an understanding of its connection to natural development. Ultimately, this work will open the door to genetically-encoded spatio-temporal behavior in tissue engineering and deepen knowledge of developmental biology through a build-to-understand methodology.