Invited Talk: Model Driven Programming of Biological Systems

Synthetic biology involves designing and building complex biological systems for various applications including health, energy and environment. By taking an engineering approach, synthetic genetic circuits are designed and built to program biological systems to achieve different desired functionalities. Although much progress has been made over the years, it remains challenging to engineer complex biological systems in a rational forward engineering manner. To this end, modeling plays an important role in Synthetic Biology. In other fields of engineering such as electrical, mechanical and aeronautical engineering, predictive modeling is central to achieving functional complex systems. Modelling is an integral part of design in engineering. In synthetic biology, modeling can provide guidance in designing biological systems, allowing us to rapidly narrow the large design space in silicoand aiding us to gain insights about the behavior of the system for optimization. Using a model driven approach, my group has been programming biological systems for biomedical and industrial applications. At the same time, we have been developing computer aided design (CAD) and automation tools for NUS Biofoundry, including software to automate the development of models for design. In this talk, I will present our recent effort on developing modelling and design tools, engineering E. colias a cellular biosensor which is designed to sense and kill water borne pathogen V. choleraein our human gastrointestinal tract and our development of optogenetic systems for dynamic gene regulation for potential application in the bioproduction of specialty chemical.