Welcome to the Bashor Lab
What We Do: The goal of our work is to use synthetic regulatory circuits to reprogram the behavior of human cells.
Our Research
The Bashor Lab
Using the tools of synthetic biology, we construct artificial regulatory circuits and test their function in living cells. This not only gives us insight into the design logic of natural regulation, but also allows us to predictably alter cellular phenotype to create cell-based translational applications.
Synthetic Gene Circuitry
Our work explores the fundamentals of gene expression control in mammalian cells. By leveraging multi-scale chromatin regulation, our engineering approach allows us to encode stable, precise control over complex artificial gene expression programs that can be used to report on and also reprogram cellular behavior.
Synthetic Signalling Pathways
We are interested in engineering post-translational circuits that sense, compute, and respond to extracellular inputs. These circuits serve as model systems for understanding the molecular and biophysical determinants of signal transduction, and can be used to programmably control how a cell interacts with its environment.
High-throughput circuit engineering
One of our goals is to increase the pace and scale of synthetic circuit engineering. We are creating experimental pipelines that use iterative rounds of circuit library construction and testing to systematically and comprehensively discover circuit design principles.
Engineering Cell-based therapies
By introducing synthetic regulatory programs that encode for functions like sense and response, secretion, movement, or differentiation, we can reshape how cells interact with their environment. Using our circuit engineering toolkit, we aim to impart relevant cell types with new behavioral features, transforming them into agents capable of fighting disease.
Publications
Farahani, Yang, Fomby, Bashor, Nelson, Toettcher (2022) pYtags kinase signaling BioRXiv
Letter in clin transl medicine
Farahani, Yang, Fomby, Bashor, Nelson, Toettcher (2022) pYtags kinase signaling BioRXiv
Farahani, Yang, Fomby, Bashor, Nelson, Toettcher (2022) pYtags kinase signaling BioRXiv
Farahani, Yang, Fomby, Bashor, Nelson, Toettcher (2022) pYtags kinase signaling BioRXiv
Bragdon, Patel, Chuang, Levien, Bashor, Khalil (2023) Cell
Yang X, Her J, Bashor CJ (2020) Mammalian signaling circuits from bacterial parts. Nature Chemical Biology.
Yang X, Her J, Bashor CJ (2020) Mammalian signaling circuits from bacterial parts. Nature Chemical Biology.
Heins ZJ, Mancuso CP, Kiriakov S, Wong BG, Bashor CJ, Khalili AS (2019). Designing automated, high-throughput, continuous cell growth experiments using eVOLVER. Journal of Visualized Experiments. 147: e59652
O'Connell RW, Bashor CJ (2019) The least mating pathway: synthetically refactoring a familiar signaling system for new applications. Cell. 177:521-3
Bashor CJ, Patel N, Choubey S, Beyzavi A, Kondev J, Collins JJ, Khalil AS (2019). Complex signal processing in synthetic gene circuits using cooperative regulatory assemblies. Science. 364(6440): 593-7.
Perspective by Andrew H. Ng & Hana El-Samad in Science 363(6440): 531-2
Perspective by Andrew H. Ng & Hana El-Samad in Science 363(6440): 531-2
Wong BG, Mauso CP, Kiriakov S, Bashor CJ, Khalil AS. (2018) Precise, automated control of conditions for high-throughput growth of yeast and bacteria with eVOLVER. Nature Biotechnology. 36(7): 614-23
Technology Feature by Mike May in Nature 569: 587-8
Bashor CJ, Collins JJ. (2018) Understanding biological regulation through synthetic biology. Annual Review of Biophysics. 47: 399-423
Publications
Olivia Flynn
PhD Student - Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology
B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Notre Dame
Tawan (Pop) Kiratiwongwan
PhD Student - Bioengineering
B.BmE Bioengineering, University of Minnesota
Zheng Diao
PhD Student - Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology
B.S. Biochemistry, University of Minnesota
Alena Streletskaia
PhD Student - BioSciences
B.S./M.S. Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lomonosov Moscow State University
Kshitij Rai
PhD Student - Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology
B.Eng/M.Eng Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi
AJ Walters
PhD Student - Bioengineering
B.S. Biological/Biosystems Engineering, Utah State University
Matthew Lee
PhD Student - Bioengineering
B.S. Materials Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Lauryn Piggatt
Undergraduate - Bioengineering
In Progress
Bioengineering, Rice University
Alice Zhou
Undergraduate - Bioengineering
In Progress
Bioengineering, Rice University
Stephanie Agu
Undergraduate - Bioengineering
In Progress
Bioengineering, Rice University
Yiduo Wang
Graduate Student - Bioengineering
B.S. Biochemistry and Computer Science
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Passa Pungchai
Graduate Student - Bioengineering
B.S. Bioengineering,
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Caleb Bashor
Principle Investigator
Post Doc, MIT
Ph.D Biophysics, UCSF
B.A. Biochemistry, Reed College