ABSTRACT
The cell, the “simple” single unit of life, is an amazing machine. It is capable of adapting to chemical and physical stress, communicate in fast and efficient ways, and quickly develop brand new functions through finely tuned self-assembling capabilities. Today, we routinely use cells as machines. Yet, a mechanistic understanding of the cellular “blueprint”, and its relationship with cellular state and functions, is lacking. I will present a new joint effort between IBM Research, UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley, Stanford University, SF State University, and the SF Exploratorium, to pioneer a new scientific discipline, called Cellular Engineering, which aims at uncovering design principles of cellular machines. The results of this work are expected to open new, exciting opportunities for cross-disciplinary research.
Disclaimer: The material in this talk is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DBI-1548297. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.