PROMOTING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BETWEEN INDIA AND THE U.S.
Molecular Biology
University of Chicago
Evolution has produced an overwhelming number and variety of biological devices that function at the nanoscale or molecular level. My lab’s central theme is one of synthetic biology, which involves taking a biological device, component or concept out of its natural cellular context and harnessing its function in a completely new setting so as to probe or reprogram the cell. Our research involves understanding the structure and dynamics of unusual forms of nucleic acids and translating this knowledge to create nucleic acid-based nanodevices for applications in biology. DNA nanodevices could either be rigid scaffolds in 1D, 2D or 3D that function as molecular breadboards. They could also function as switches or transducers, undergoing controlled nanomechanical motion, by exhibiting a conformational change in response to a stimulus. We create such DNA-based nanodevices for applications as high-performance ‘custom’ biosensors that intercept biochemical signals, thereby interrogating and reporting on cellular processes.