No one can deny at this point that the era of genetic engineering is here. Genetically modified organisms have been demonstrated to be helpful for the society, the health and the environment but the general public still feels skeptic about them. "Is the use of these organisms safe?"
My research, part of the Biotechnology and Safety program, aims to develop cutting-edge synthetic biology methodologies to introduce different biocontainment strategies in microbial cell factories. Genetically modify bacteria are incredibly interesting and attractive in industry and for environmental applications. Nowadays and contrarily to agri and food GMOs, modified bacteria are used on a daily basis to produce all kind of bioproducts, from vaccines to bulk chemicals. My objective is to implement robust safeguards in these microorganisms to avoid the dissemination of the transgenes into the wild.
To achieve this purpose, my approach is the design, development and establishment of new synthetic biology approaches such as whole-genome engineering or complex genetic circuits.