A dark-background microscopic image of a cell treated with fluorescent staining. Each color is displaying a part of the cell being researched.
School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering

Synthetic biology and systems bioengineering faculty

Synthetic biology and systems bioengineering

Synthetic and systems bioengineering harness modular living systems for engineering, significantly influencing molecular and cell biology. Inspired by Feynman’s philosophy—”what I cannot create, I do not understand”—this field designs genetically encoded information and cellular environments to deepen biological insights and develop advanced medical treatments. Our focus spans engineered gene networks, biological network modeling, policy and governance, and biomaterials for multicellular systems, fostering cutting-edge research and coursework.

Portrait of David Brafman

David Brafman

Associate Professor

School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering

Portrait of Emma Frow

Emma Frow

Associate Professor

School for the Future of Innovation in Society

Emma Frow’s research focuses on the governance of emerging biotechnologies, with a particular focus on synthetic biology. She joined ASU in 2015.

Portrait of Vincent Pizziconi

Vincent Pizziconi

Associate Professor

School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering

Pizziconi heads the Laboratory of BioInspired Complex Adaptive Systems. His expertise is bioresponsive and biomimetic materials.

Portrait of Christopher Plaisier

Christopher Plaisier

Assistant Professor

School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering

Plaisier works to answer open questions about human diseases by turning large-scale patient data into integrative models that can be used to describe novel disease biology or discover drug targets.

Portrait of Xiaojun Tian

Xiaojun Tian

Associate Professor

School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering

Xiaojun Tian is an assistant professor in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering. Recently, he received the prestigious NIH Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) Award and NSF Career Award.

Portrait of Kuei-Chun (Mark) Wang

Kuei-Chun (Mark) Wang

Assistant Professor

School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering

Kuei-Chun (Mark) Wang is an assistant professor in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering. The Wang lab utilizes molecular and cellular bioengineering techniques, in combination with biomaterials, to develop nanosized therapeutic and imaging agents for enhancing the treatment and diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.

Portrait of Xiao Wang

Xiao Wang

Professor

School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering

Wang’s research efforts include understanding synthetic multistable gene networks, the role of noise in cell differentiation, and molecular evolution, and systems biology research on small network motifs with feedbacks.