CAREER: Evolving new synthetic chemistry in living organisms

化学学部生命过程化学项目的这个奖项是由分子和细胞生物科学部的生物分子系统集群共同资助的。该奖项支持加州大学伯克利分校（University of California, Berkeley）米歇尔·张（Michelle Chang）教授开发合成生物学方法，使微生物具有新的化学功能。该项目的重点是设计和构建在大肠杆菌中生产第二代生物燃料的途径，其总体目标是使用工程途径来帮助理解驱动体内代谢网络的设计原则。与异源途径构建相关的问题以及外来合成途径如何与宿主代谢机制相互作用将被研究。“化学与可持续发展”教育模块的开发和实施旨在培养K-5年级年轻学生对科学/社会界面问题的认识，并促进当地小学的科学教育和扫盲。综合研究和教育项目的总体目标是在化学、可持续性和社会之间形成更深层次的联系。该计划的研究部分旨在增加对细胞内化学作用的理解，同时探索细胞作为可持续合成化学的绿色替代品。在教育方面，该项目旨在吸引青少年对科学学科的兴趣，并强调科学对日常生活的重要性。

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.