SynBio Forum: New Sensors for Living Systems

This term's SynBio Forum will focus on biosensors and their applications; from neuroscience to pharmaceuticals. We have two very exciting speakers who will discuss the use of organic electronic materials and genetically encoded sensors in bioscience research. As usual, the talks will be followed by a dinner buffet and drinks reception. Be sure to reserve your spot!

Electronics on the Brain

George Malliaras, Prince Philip Professor of Technology, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge

My research is in bioelectronics, specifically the application of organic electronic materials to interfacing with the brain, aiming to understand how the brain works and to develop new tools for the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases. Among my group’s recent achievements are (i) the development of ultra-conformable microelectrode arrays for recording corticograms, recently used in the clinic to record single neuron activity from the surface of the brain of epileptic patients, (ii) the first use of a transistor in recording brain activity, resulting in record-high signal-to-noise ratio, and (iii) the development of an electrophoretic device that stops epileptiform activity in a brain slice model through localized drug delivery. I am also interested in applying what we learn from the brain to develop neuromorphic devices and systems.

Bioelectronics Lab website: https://bioelectronics.eng.cam.ac.uk/

Putting the 'Bio' Back in Biosensing

Karen Polizzi, Reader in Biotechnology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London

What are in vivo biosensors? Most classical biosensors (like those used in blood sugar monitoring) rely on electrochemistry to convert the concentration of a molecule of interest into a digital display. However, there are a whole class of biosensors that are entirely genetically-encoded either by fusing a transcriptional element that detects the molecule of interest to a reporter protein like GFP or through proteins that have the ability to sense the molecule and convert the concentration into an output. These genetically-encoded sensors are convenient tools for monitoring what is going on inside living cells since they don't require the addition of exogenous reagents or abiotic elements. We use sensors like these to monitor cellular behaviour under different conditions. They can be used in conjunction with external stimuli (e.g. changing medium cells are fed) to control cellular behaviour.

Polizzi Lab research: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/k.polizzi/research.html