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BE Seminar – “Engineered bacteria for cancer therapy” (Tal Danino, Columbia University)
February 13 at 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Synthetic biology is driving a new era of medicine through the genetic programming of living cells. One particular focus has been the engineering of bacteria as therapeutic delivery systems for cancer, where microbes colonize and release payloads within tumors. Here, genetic circuits are designed to enhance spatial and temporal control of microbial behaviors for improved safety and efficacy. In this talk, I will highlight our recent efforts to develop bacterial biosensors, encapsulation strategies, and effective delivery systems for payloads ranging from cytotoxic to immunomodulatory agents. I will also discuss the progression from bacteria as single agents toward their engineered interactions with other programmable medicines using synthetic biology.

Tal Danino, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Tal Danino is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. His lab focuses on engineering bacteria for biomedical applications, with a particular emphasis on developing bacteria as a cancer therapy. Originally from Los Angeles, Tal received a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from UCSD in Jeff Hasty’s lab, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research with Sangeeta Bhatia. He is the recipient of awards including the NSF CAREER Award, Era of Hope Scholar Award, CRI Lloyd J Old STARS Award, Pershing Prize, and TED Fellow. He directs the Synthetic Biological Systems Laboratory and is a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and Data Science Institute.
Zoom Link (if unable to join): https://upenn.zoom.us/j/91945893428?pwd=GkC6L2WBcqVonmZZQHaO5zFAUT1Bi6.1