Synthetic Biology and Biotechnology Division

Our division proudly hosts the annual Stanley Dagley Lectureship Series featuring distinguished scientists in the field including Nobel Laureates.

Faculty member holding a 3-d molecular structure

Faculty and Research Interests

Primary members

Faculty photoFaculty research interests
Mikael Elias headshot

Mikael Elias

Molecular promiscuity and recognition, extremophiles, molecular evolution

Michael Freeman headshot

Michael F. Freeman

Secondary metabolism, uncultivated microorganisms, niche microbial expression platforms

Romas Kazlauskas headshot

Romas J. Kazlauskas

Protein engineering and evolution of new catalytic activities, ancestral enzyme reconstruction

Claudia Schmidt-Dannert headshot

Claudia Schmidt-Dannert

Natural products biosynthesis, synthetic biology, protein engineering, metabolic engineering

Janet Schottel headshot

Janet L. Schottel

Nucleic acid biochemistry; molecular biology

Burckhard Seelig headshot

 

Burckhard Seelig (Division Director)

Biocatalysis, directed evolution, protein engineering, artificial enzymes, origin and evolution of proteins

Mike Smanski headshot

Mike Smanski

Natural product discovery, metabolic pathway engineering, genetic design

Larry Wackett headshot

Lawrence P. Wackett

Biofuels, enzyme sensors, biodegradation, metalloenzymes

Carrie Wilmot headshot

Carrie M. Wilmot

Structural enzymology: metal ions & organic co-factors; human disease: cardiovascular, Alzheimers

Teaching

Faculty from our division teach the following courses related to synthetic biology and biotechnology:

 
COURSE NUMBERCOURSE TITLECOURSE DIRECTOR
BioC 4331 (Spring)Biochemistry I: Structure, Catalysis, and Metabolism in Biological SystemsCarrie Wilmot
BioC 4351/BioC 5351 (Fall)Protein EngineeringRomas Kazlauskas & Mikael Elias
BioC 5352 (Spring)Biotechnology for BiochemistsClaudia Schmidt-Dannert & Burckhard Seelig
BioC 5309 (Spring)Biocatalysis & BiodegradationLarry Wackett & Arkady Khodursky
BioC 5361 (Fall)Microbial Genomics & BioinformaticsLarry Wackett & Arkady Khodursky
BioC 8401 (Spring)Ethics & Public PoliciesBurckhard Seelig