In his iBiology talk, Dr. Timothy Lu describes how biological circuits, using engineering principles, can be used as digital (on-off) or analog (continuous spectrum) sensors and can be programmed into a cell to “remember” an input and pass that memory on to the cell’s progeny after it divides. Dr. Lu gives several examples of biological circuits created by his lab that can allow a cell to sense the extracellular environment and provide a readable output that can be maintained during subsequent cell divisions. In the future, these types of circuits may be developed as noninvasive diagnostics or therapies in humans. Dr. Lu concludes his talk by discussing the open challenges facing this field of synthetic biology.

Speaker Biography:
Timothy Lu is an Associate Professor of Biological Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Science at MIT. He is also affiliated with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Dr. Lu received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT. He then earned his MD from Harvard Medical School and his PhD from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Medical Engineering and Medical Physics Program. His work in the Synthetic Biology Group focuses on using engineered biological circuits and cellular sensors to combat infectious diseases and amyloid-associated conditions, and to advance diagnostics, therapeutics, and biotechnology. Lu has received numerous awards, including the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, the Grand Prize in the National Inventor Hall of Fame’s Collegiate Inventors Competition, and the Leon Redneck Memorial Prize. He has also been named one of the TR35 Top 35 Innovators Under 35 (MIT Technology Review), as a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and a Siebel Scholar.

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