Department Personnel
Assistant Professor Howard M. Salis
Graduate Program Affiliations: Chemical Engineering, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Minnesota, 2007
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Rutgers University, 2002
Starting Spring 2010
Office:
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail: salis@psu.edu
Primary Links
- Research
- Publications
Research Summary
- Synthetic Biology
- Genetic compilers
- Metabolic Engineering
Research in the Salis laboratory focuses on the development of rational design methods for engineering synthetic biological systems - metabolic pathways, genetic circuits, and genomes. Our goal is to make engineering biology as reliable as building planes, trains, and automobiles. We develop kinetic and thermodynamic models of genetic regulation and test their predictions in industrially and medically useful microorganisms to gain a quantitative understanding of genetic function.
The models are combined with optimization algorithms to create a design method that predictably interconverts between a genetic system’s DNA sequence and its biological function - we call them genetic compilers. We use our methodology to program synthetic microorganisms to manufacture useful chemicals for bioenergy applications and to better understand the dynamical behavior of natural microorganisms.
Click on this image to view a P D F of my recent research projects.
Mailing Address
- c/o: Howard M. Salis
- Department of Chemical Engineering
- The Pennsylvania State University
- (Room Number) Fenske Laboratory
- University Park, PA 16802-4400