CAREER: Evolving new synthetic chemistry in living organisms

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This award in the Chemistry of Life Processes program of the Chemistry Division is co-funded by the Biomolecular Systems Cluster in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. The award supports work by Professor Michelle Chang at the University of California, Berkeley to develop synthetic biology approaches to engineering microbes for new chemical function. The project focuses on designing and building pathways for the production of second-generation biofuels in Escherichia coli, with the overall goal of using engineered pathways to help understand the design principles that drive metabolic networks in vivo. Problems associated with heterologous pathway construction as well as how foreign synthetic pathways interact with the host metabolic machinery will be examined. The development and implementation of "Chemistry and Sustainability" educational modules seeks to build awareness of issues at the science/society interface in young students at the K-5 level and promote science education and literacy in local elementary schools. The overall goal of the integrated research and education program is focused on forming deeper connections between chemistry, sustainability, and society. The research component of the program is aimed at increasing the understanding of how chemistry works inside the cell while exploring the cell as a green alternative for sustainable synthetic chemistry. In education, this project seeks to attract youth to scientific disciplines and emphasize the importance of science to everyday life.