Overview
Working at the interface of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, while incorporating key elements of applied/industrial microbiology along with biochemical and bioprocess engineering, our lab focuses on engineering novel biotechnologies for the microbial conversion of renewable feedstocks to useful biofuels and biochemicals. Our research, which integrates both fundamental and applied studies, is comprised of several key thrust areas, including: 1) pathway engineering to develop ‘cell factories’ capable of synthesizing novel and non-natural bioproducts, 2) developing generalizable strategies for carbon and energy conservation to enhance product titers and yields, 3) engineering robust microbes with industrially-relevant phenotypes (e.g., product tolerance, complex substrate utilization), 4) tools development and metabolic engineering of photosynthetic cyanobacteria, 5) engineering and fundamental investigation of synthetic microbial consortia, 6) investigating and engineering small molecule transporters associated with nutrient uptake and product efflux, and 7) developing integrated bioreactor and/or downstream bioprocessing strategies to support economical biochemical production. Ultimately, we seek to overcome key technological barriers limiting the potential of bio-derived fuels and chemicals.
