Imperial College London

Professor Mark Isalan - Deputy Head of Department

Faculty of Natural SciencesDepartment of Life Sciences

Professor of Synthetic Biology
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 6482m.isalan

 
 
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Location

 

509Sir Alexander Fleming BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Course/Module

Lecturer, MRes Systems and Synthetic Biology. (Postgraduate)

Supervisor, MRes in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences. (Postgraduate)

Lecturer, MSc in Applied Biosciences and Biotechnology. (Postgraduate)

Lecturer, Metabolic and Network Engineering - LS3-MNE. (Undergraduate)

Lecturer, SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY - LS3-SB. (Undergraduate)

Genes and Genomics - LIFE95009

Aims

The aim of this course is to build upon the fundamental molecular biology you learned in MB. The 
course will draw upon advances in genomic technology to achieve this. This will mean reenforcing some key concepts without overly repeating what was taught last year. We will also 
introduce some new areas to develop your interests and prime you for the final year where some 
of you may want to pursue molecular biology-related topics in more depth. The assessment of 
this course will reflect these learning outcomes (see below).
This document should be more than a timetable to you. It is your ‘Genes and Genomics Bible’. 
Not only does it tell you when and where each teaching session is, but also allows you to 
organize your progress in the various coursework elements, tells you what you should already 
know from first year teaching and what you should be learning now. Please complete it as you 
progress through the course. 

Role

Lecturer

Synthetic Biology - LIFE96035

Aims

 Background & Aims: The advent of the molecular biology age in the 1970s was brought about by the ability to construct recombinant DNA molecules. This has completely revolutionised biology and enabled the development of ‘synthetic biology’, where new gene arrangements can be constructed and evaluated. This has been tremendously successful, leading to a wide range of biotechnological applications. However, the engineering of useful synthetic biological systems is still undertaken on an individual ad hoc basis, which is expensive and inefficient. Synthetic biology as a discipline is now attempting to apply the principles of engineering and develop foundation technologies that make the design and construction of engineered biological systems easier, facilitating future development in biotechnology. This course will explore the challenges, problems and approaches to engineering biological systems. 

 

Role

Lecturer

Metabolic and Network Engineering - LIFE96023

Aims

Firstly, the aim of the course is to introduce students to the theory and methodology that is used to engineer biology for an applied objective. Secondly, the aim is for students to appreciate (in part through direct experience) the challenges involved in the design, engineering and evaluation of biocatalytic systems. Thirdly, students will learn about the challenges and opportunities related to using engineered biology for commercial industrial application through direct discussions with representatives of industry and entrepreneurship. The course focuses on two distinct sub-fields of biological engineering, the micro-level pathway/catalyst (metabolic engineering) and the macro-level whole-cell system (network engineering).

Objectives include:

  • Understand key factors that control metabolism and gene networks
  • Know what tool/method to choose in order to achieve engineering objective and analyze/predict its outcome
  • Design alternative strategies to overcome engineering challenges
  • Understand factors that limit commercial use of engineered microorganisms
  • Research and present a strategy to convert an idea into a biotechnological business

Role

Lecturer