User:Ssutton
Education
Ph.D. candidate in Biological Engineering (2007)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
B.S. in Electrical Engineering (2001)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
How does my work fit into the field of Synthetic Biology?
Synthetic Biology is centered on the goal of engineering cells to perform functions of use to humans. Just as an electrical engineer engineers with silicon and copper to build electrical circuits, a synthetic biologist engineers with protein and DNA to build intracellular circuits. My particular focus is the design of synthetic protein-protein interaction networks within cells. To that end, I am developing modular protein components that can be added to proteins and cause them to interact in a phospho-mediated manner. In the future, we will use this technology to engineer cellular devices for anything from environmental monitoring and remediation to the detection of carcinogens within the human body. More info can be found at the Endy lab website: http://openwetware.mit.edu.
Career Interests
Having completed several international volunteer projects, I am greatly interested in pursuing a career that helps accelerate the spread of biotechnology in the developing world.
Some organizations with which I am involved:
Students for Global Sustainability
Biological Energy Interest Group
