Synthetic biology is the art and science of designing DNA sequences for living cells. It is a new technology that can solve real-world problems in industry, agriculture and medicine. It is also an approach to basic research that seeks to understand natural gene circuits by building artificial ones.

Synthetic biologists adapt concepts from many disciplines including physics, computer science and molecular genetics as they seek a new framework for engineering life.

Graduates from this course will be prepared to read, write, and create custom DNA sequences. We teach the theoretical and applied tools from biology, math and computer science that are used in synbio labs around the world. We also introduce key questions of ethics and safety that drive the global conversation on the responsible use of a new technology.