Christopher Voigt

Voigt is the Daniel I.C. Wang Professor of Advanced Biotechnology in the Department of Biological Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He works in the developing field of synthetic biology. He is the co-director of the Synthetic Biology Center{{cite web|url=http://synbio.mit.edu|title=MIT Synthetic Biology Center}} at MIT and the co-founder of the MIT-Broad Foundry.{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/foundry/|title=MIT-Broad Foundry}}{{cite web|url=https://www.popsci.com/darpa-teams-up-with-mit-lab-to-push-synthetic-biology-to-next-level|title=DARPA Gives MIT Lab $32 Million To Program Living Cells |publisher=Popular Science | year=2015 | accessdate=September 30, 2015}}

His research interests focus on the programming of cells to perform coordinated and complex tasks for applications in medicine, agriculture, and industry. His works include:

• Design of genetic circuits in bacteria, yeast and mammalian cells.{{cite journal |vauthors= Tamsir A, Tabor JJ, Voigt CA|title=Robust multicellular computing using genetically encoded NOR gates and chemical 'wires'|journal=Nature |volume=469 |issue= 7329|pages=212–5 |year=2011 |pmid=21150903 |doi= 10.1038/nature09565|pmc=3904220|bibcode=2011Natur.469..212T}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Lou C, Stanton BC, Chen YJ, Munsky B, Voigt CA|title= Ribozyme-based insulator parts buffer synthetic circuits from genetic context |journal=Nature Biotechnology|volume=30 |issue=11 |pages=1137–42 |year=2012 |pmid= 23034349 |doi= 10.1038/nbt.2401 |pmc= 3914141 }}{{cite journal |vauthors= Brophy JA, Voigt CA |title= Principles of genetic circuit design |journal=Nature Methods |volume=11 |issue= 5|pages=508–20 |year=2014 |pmid=24781324 |doi= 10.1038/nmeth.2926 |pmc= 4230274 }}{{cite journal |vauthors= Yang L, Nielsen AA, Fernandez-Rodriguez J, McClune CJ, Laub MT, Voigt CA |title= Permanent genetic memory with >1-byte capacity |journal= Nature Methods |volume=11 |issue= 12|pages= 1261–6 |year=2014 |pmid= 25344638 |doi= 10.1038/nmeth.3147 |pmc=4245323 }}{{cite journal |vauthors= Moon TS, Lou C, Tamsir A, Stanton BC, Voigt CA |title= Genetic programs constructed from layered logic gates in single cells |journal=Nature |volume=491 |issue= 7423|pages=249–53 |year=2012 |doi= 10.1038/nature11516 |pmc= 3904217 |pmid=23041931|bibcode= 2012Natur.491..249M }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Anderson JC, Voigt CA, Arkin AP |title=Environmental signal integration by a modular AND gate |journal=Mol. Syst. Biol. |volume=3 |issue= 1|pages=133 |year=2007 |pmid=17700541 |doi=10.1038/msb4100173 |pmc=1964800}}{{cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2016-03-language-cells.html|title=A programming language for living cells|publisher=Phys.org| year= |accessdate=March 31, 2016}} Encoded in DNA, these circuits implement computational operations inside of cells.
• Software to program living cells (Cello), which is based on principles from electronic design automation and is based on Verilog.{{cite web|url=http://www.cellocad.org|title=Cello Software }}{{cite journal |vauthors= Nielsen AA, Der BS, Shin J, Vaidyanathan P, Paralanov V, Strychalski EA, Ross D, Densmore D, Voigt CA|title=Genetic circuit design automation|journal=Science |volume=352 |issue= 6281 |year=2016 |pmid=27034378 |doi= 10.1126/science.aac7341 |page=aac7341|doi-access=free }}
• Genetically encoded sensors that enables cells to respond to chemicals, environmental cues, and colored light.{{cite journal |vauthors=Fernandez-Rodriguez J, Moser F, Song M, Voigt CA|title=Engineering RGB color vision into Escherichia coli |journal=Nature Chemical Biology |volume=13 |issue=7 |pages=706–8 |year=2017 |pmid=28530708 |doi=10.1038/nchembio.2390}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Levskaya A, Weiner OD, Lim WA, Voigt CA |title=Spatiotemporal control of cell signalling using a light-switchable protein interaction |journal=Nature |volume=461 |issue=7266 |pages=997–1001|year=2009 |pmid=19749742 |doi=10.1038/nature08446 |pmc=2989900 |bibcode=2009Natur.461..997L }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Levskaya A, Chevalier AA, Tabor JJ, Simpson ZB, Lavery LA, Levy M, Davidson EA, Scouras A, Ellington AD, Marcotte EM, Voigt CA |title=Synthetic biology: engineering Escherichia coli to see light |journal=Nature |volume=438 |issue=7067 |pages=441–2 |year=2005 |pmid=16306980 |doi=10.1038/nature04405|bibcode=2005Natur.438..441L |s2cid=4428475 }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Stanton BC, Nielsen AA, Tamsir A, Clancy K, Peterson T, Voigt CA|title=Genomic Mining of Prokaryotic Repressors for Orthogonal Logic Gates |journal=Nat Chem Biol |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=99–105 |year=2014 |pmc=4165527 |doi=10.1038/nchembio.1411 |pmid=24316737}}
• Computational tools to design precision genetic parts, based on biophysics, bioinformatics, and machine learning.{{cite journal |vauthors=Chen YJ, Liu P, Nielsen AA, Brophy JA, Clancy K, Peterson T, Voigt CA|title=Characterization of 582 natural and synthetic terminators and quantification of their design constraints |journal=Nature |volume=10 |issue=7 |pages=659–64|year=2013 |pmid=23727987 |doi=10.1038/nmeth.2515 |s2cid=205421681 }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Salis H, Mirsky E, Voigt CA |title=Automated Design of Synthetic Ribosome Binding Sites to Precisely Control Protein Expression |journal=Nature Biotechnology |volume=27 |issue=10 |pages=946–50|year=2009 |doi=10.1038/nbt.1568|pmc=2782888 |pmid=19801975}}
• Therapeutic bacteria to navigate the human body and identify and correct disease states.{{cite journal |vauthors=Anderson JC, Clarke EJ, Arkin AP, Voigt CA|title=Environmentally Controlled Invasion of Cancer Cells by Engineered Bacteria |journal=Journal of Molecular Biology |volume=355 |issue=4 |pages=619–27|year=2006 |doi= 10.1016/j.jmb.2005.10.076|pmid= 16330045 |citeseerx=10.1.1.161.6839 }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Mimee M, Tucker A, Voigt CA, Lu TK|title= Programming a Human Commensal Bacterium, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, to Sense and Respond to Stimuli in the Murine Gut Microbiota|journal=Cell Systems |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=62–71|year=2015 |doi= 10.1016/j.cels.2015.06.001|pmc= 4762051 |pmid=26918244}}
• Redesign of the nitrogen fixation gene cluster to facilitate its transfer between organisms and control with synthetic sensors and circuits.{{cite journal |vauthors=Temme K, Zhao D, Voigt CA|title= Refactoring the nitrogen fixation gene cluster from Klebsiella oxytoca|journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. |volume=109 |issue=18 |pages=7085–7090|year=2012 |doi= 10.1073/pnas.1120788109|pmc= 3345007 |pmid=22509035|bibcode= 2012PNAS..109.7085T|doi-access= free}}{{cite journal |vauthors= Smanski MJ, Bhatia S, Zhao D, Park Y, Woodruff LB, Giannoukos G, Ciulla D, Busby M, Calderon J, Nicol R, Gordon DB, Densmore D, Voigt CA|title= Functional optimization of gene clusters by combinatorial design and assembly|journal= Nature Biotechnology |volume=32 |issue=12 |pages=1241–9|year=2014 |doi= 10.1038/nbt.3063|pmid= 25419741 |s2cid= 6527069}}
• Pharmaceutical discovery from large databases of DNA sequences, including the human gut microbiome, though high-throughput pathway recoding and DNA synthesis.{{cite journal |vauthors=Smanski MJ, Zhou H, Claesen J, Shen B, Fischbach MA, Voigt CA |title= Synthetic biology to access and expand nature's chemical diversity|journal=Nat Rev Microbiol|volume=14|issue=3|year=2016|pmid=26876034 |doi=10.1038/nrmicro.2015.24|pmc=5048682 |pages=135–149}}{{cite journal |vauthors=Temme K, Zhao D, Voigt CA|title= Refactoring the nitrogen fixation gene cluster from Klebsiella oxytoca|journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. |volume=109|issue=18|pages=7085–7090|year=2012|doi=10.1073/pnas.1120788109|pmc=3345007|pmid=22509035|bibcode= 2012PNAS..109.7085T|doi-access= free}}
• Harnessing cells to produce materials, including spider silk, nylon-6, and DNA nanomaterials.{{cite journal |vauthors=Widmaier DM, Tullman-Ercek D, Mirsky EA, Hill R, Govindarajan S, Minshull J, Voigt CA|title= Engineering the Salmonella type III secretion system to export spider silk monomers|journal=Mol Syst Biol|volume=5 |issue=309 |pages= 309|year=2009 |doi=10.1038/msb.2009.62|pmc= 2758716|pmid=19756048 }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Zhou H, Vonk B, Roubos JA, Bovenberg RA, Voigt CA|title= Algorithmic co-optimization of genetic constructs and growth conditions: application to 6-ACA, a potential nylon-6 precursor|journal=Nucleic Acids Res|volume=43 |issue=21 |pages=10560–70|year=2015 |doi= 10.1093/nar/gkv1071|pmid=26519464|pmc=4666358 }}{{cite journal |vauthors=Elbaz J, Yin P, Voigt CA|title=Genetic encoding of DNA nanostructures and their self-assembly in living bacteria|journal=Nature Communications|volume=7|pages=11179|year=2016 |doi=10.1038/ncomms11179|pmid=27091073|pmc=4838831|bibcode=2016NatCo...711179E}}

In addition, he is the:

• Founding Member of the National Science Foundation-funded Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC),{{cite web|url=https://www.synberc.org|title=Synberc}} renamed the Engineering Biology Research Center (EBRC).{{cite web|url=https://www.ebrc.org|title=Ebrc}}
• Editor-in-Chief of ACS Synthetic Biology.{{cite web |url= http://pubs.acs.org/journal/asbcd6 |title= ACS Synthetic Biology |publisher= ACS Publications}}
• Co-founder of the companies Asimov{{cite web |url= https://www.asimov.io/ |title=Asimov |website= asimov.io }} (cellular programming) and Pivot Biotechnologies{{cite web|url=http://pivotbio.com/|title=PivotBio}} (agriculture).
• Co-founder of the Synthetic Biology: Engineering Evolution and Design (SEED) Conference Series.{{cite web|url=http://synbioconference.org/2018|title=Synthetic Biology: Engineering Evolution and Design (SEED)|date=2017-08-28}}
• Chair of the SAB for the Dutch chemical company DSM.

His former students have founded Asimov{{cite web|url=https://www.asimov.io/|title=Asimov - Intelligent Design}} (mammalian synthetic biology), De Novo DNA{{cite web|url=https://www.denovodna.com|title=De Novo DNA}} (computational design), Bolt Threads{{cite web|url=https://boltthreads.com|title=Bolt Threads}} (spider silk-based textiles), Pivot Bio{{cite web|url=https://www.pivotbio.com/|title=Pivot Bio}} (agriculture), and Industrial Microbes{{cite web|url=http://www.imicrobes.com/|title=Industrial Microbes}} (methane consuming organisms).

• [http://mit.edu/voigtlab/ Official Group Website]
• [http://pubs.acs.org/page/asbcd6/profile.html ACS Editor Profile]
• [https://vimeo.com/225379336 SB7.0 Talk: Foundational Tools & Engineering]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNttxYdGHs4 Synthetic Biology: Programming Living Bacteria]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtADBcxWpVg Decoding Synthetic Biology]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeawWryPFbs Engineering Biology]

{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voigt, Christopher}}

Category:Synthetic biologists

Category:University of Michigan alumni

Category:Living people

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)