Synthetic Cell Lab
GROW - DIVIDE - EVOLVE
We are fascinated by life as a molecular phenomenon. Our goal is to build an artificial living cell from the ground up, in other words, to synthesise life.
Our mission
We are driven by fundamental questions, such as: What are the design principles of life? Did life emerge as a result of evolution? Can we re-create life in the laboratory using evolutionary processes? In addition, we want to apply emerging synthetic cell technologies for solving important societal challenges.
Our vision
We envision the scaffold of synthetic cells as a phospholipid vesicle, called liposome, containing a minimal DNA program and the PURE transcription-translation machinery to convert a set of essential genes into functional proteins.
We contributed breakthroughs in the reconstitution of DNA-programmed cellular functions, such as DNA replication, phospholipid synthesis for membrane growth, and liposome division. We use laboratory evolution as an engineering tool to optimize and integrate biological modules. See our recent Perspective article to learn more about our vision to build synthetic cells via evolution.
. A key feature of our work is the development of new technologies for continuous evolution of synthetic cells using AI (active learning) and lab automation.
