Process automation: Synthetic biology applies engineering principles to construct artificial biosystems with predictable functions. Lacking design rules, it remains slow, expensive and inconsistent. Our group aims to develop robotic foundries to accelerate the design-build-test-learn cycles for engineering biology. We envision living organisms to be rationally designed and robotically manufactured, the way humans create other artifacts.

Biomolecular engineering: Biology is fascinatingly complex. We push the limit of synthetic and analytical throughput to study natural and engineered microbial diversity, with the goal of understanding and reprogramming biochemistry for industrial and biomedical applications.