Dr Drew Endy

Title: Work towards an 8-bit engineered genetic combinatorial counter

Modest information storage systems implemented inside living cells would enable new approaches for researching and controlling biological processes such as development, cancer, and aging.  Our current capacity to engineer and operate genetically encoded information storage systems is quite limited.  Specific limitations include the lack of sufficient molecular components to build with, rules of composition supporting device and system integration, an understanding for how to implement reliable behavior given thermal noise at the molecular scale, and an understanding for how to engineer reliable systems that evolve.  I'll introduce applications of genetic information storage systems, review past and current accomplishments from the field, introduce our experimental work on composable set/reset latches built with serine recombinases, and our theoretical work on a framework supporting the engineering of higher-order information storage systems.  Given that an 8-bit counter likely requires the successful integration of at least 10-fold more components than any existing engineered genetic system, I'll also discuss the current state of, and needs regarding, foundational tools supporting genetic engineering.