New Standard bioengineering center to include cell engineering to boost algae yields

In California, two Stanford faculty are part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers who will share a $24 million Science and Technology Center grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant will found a bioengineering research and education center.

SINDY TANG, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, said work at this center will reveal how the internal organization of cells determines their behavior. These studies would inform the design of genetically modified cells and multicellular systems. Individual cells could be designed to maximize a certain function. By manipulating their cell structure, for example, researchers at the center hope to improve the yield of biofuel-generating algae. Tang’s project, called the “Living Bioreactor,” aims to create self-organizing biological systems that create commercial products.