Dr. Yolanda Schaerli (University of Lausanne)

Abstract

Synthetic biology has emerged as a multidisciplinary field that provides new tools and approaches to address longstanding problems in biology. It integrates knowledge from biology, engineering and mathematics to build – rather than to simply observe and perturb – biological systems that emulate natural counterparts or that explore alternative solutions beyond nature’s repertoire.

In my group we use this bottom-up synthetic biology approach to understand the mechanisms, properties and evolution of gene regulatory networks, with a focus on networks involved in spatiotemporal pattern formation.

In my talk, I will present our latest research on pattern-forming synthetic networks in populations of E. coli cells, including our work on the toggle switch and on multistable and dynamic synthetic circuits using CRISPR interference for precise temporal and spatial control of gene expression. I will conclude with unpublished work on exploring the genotype space of synthetic circuits.

About the speaker

Dr. Yolanda Schaerli is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne where she runs the Bacterial Synthetic Biology research group. Her main research interests are studying gene regulatory networks for pattern formation and their evolution using a bottom-up synthetic biology approach.

Website: https://www.yschaerli.com/