The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are being revolutionized by groundbreaking advances in molecular design. Building on cutting-edge experimental and computational tools, we have the unique opportunity to expand the molecular palette at multiple scales, from nucleic acids to custom-designed proteins and from small molecules to biomolecular complexes.
Faculty in the Department of Chemical in Biomolecular Engineering are leading this transformation by creating new technologies and approaches for the design and engineering of biomolecules to uncover new insights into human biology that can be leveraged to solve the most pressing problems in biotechnology, bioengineering, and medicine.
The strategies being pioneered by our faculty range from rational and computational methods to evolutionary design approaches, and the products span customized enzymes, molecular switches, therapeutic proteins, and DNA assemblies. Several studies use these designer biomolecular components to drive processes at greater length and time scales, such as metabolism, cellular decision-making, tissue regeneration, and materials formation.
We offer a wide range of courses, covering areas including Computational Protein Structure Prediction and Design, Application of Molecular Evolution to Biotechnology, and “Metabolic Systems Biotechnology.”
Primary Faculty:
Michael Betenbaugh
David Gracias
Jeff Gray
Marc Ostermeier
Rebecca Schulman
Jamie Spangler