The world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 (United Nations). To meet the food demand, yields of crops (e.g., corn, soybean, rice, wheat, etc.) need to increase by 60%. At the same time, fuel and energy demand is expected to increase by 16-57% (U.S. Energy Information Administration). The United States can produce from 1.1 to 1.5 billion tons of biomass annually, which is potential to provide renewable liquid fuels for hard-to-electrify sectors while meeting demands for food and environmental services. Developing efficient bioconversion technologies is critical for effective utilization of the biomass. We aim to engineer biological systems and develop bioconversion technologies to realize the sustainable future.

Current funding sources: NSF Chemurgy 2.0, NSF Global Center, UI start-up funds

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a representative green house gas causing climate change. Currently, about 28% of global CO₂ is produced from transportation sector (e.g., internal combustion engine in cars and trucks), followed by electricity generation (e.g., coal-based power plants), and manufacturing industries (e.g., cement production, steel manufacturing, petroleum refining, and chemical production). While significant progress has been made in decarbonizing transportation and electricity generation through the advancement of electric vehicles and renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower, decarbonization of the manufacturing industries is still challenging.

As biochemical engineers, our goal is to leverage the potential of biological reactions to convert CO₂ and CO₂-derived small molecules into valuable chemicals, thereby contributing to the decarbonization of manufacturing industries. We are particularly focused on developing interdisciplinary approaches to create energy-efficient pathways for transforming CO₂ into useful chemical products.

Current funding sources: UI start-up funds

Cupriavidus necator (Ralstonia eutropha) is an industrial microorganism that accumulates bioplastic molecules (polyhydroxyalkanotes, PHAs) inside cell when grown in high carbon:nitrogen ratio conditions (like we accumulate fat in our body if we eat a lot of carbohydrates but low protein). Through metabolic engineering and synthetic biology of C. necator, physicochemical properties of the PHA can be engineered for multiple applications such as 3D/4D printing. The goal is to identify critical genetic and environmental factors affecting the physicochemical properties of PHA and production efficiency. Ultimately, various PHAs with tailored physicochemical properties will be economically produced at industrial scale using renewable resources and reduce our reliance to petroleum-based plastics.

Current funding sources: NSF Global Center

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a natural biomaterial that is synthesized by 'Kombucha' fermenting bacteria. Thanks to its favorable properties, the BC is a promising material for wound healing. Currently, production of the BC at an industrial scale is challenging due to the low production yields. The goal of this project is to metabolically engineer the BC producing bacteria to improve production yields and scalability of manufacturing processes. In collaboration with other research groups within Iowa State, applications of BC will be expanded to advanced manufacturing and therapeutic applications.

Current funding sources: NSF Chemurgy 2.0

A typical process of improving microbial performances is represented by Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle: design the metabolic pathway, build microbial strains implementing designed pathway, test performance of the constructed strains, and learn from the results to make further improvements. While recent advances in bioinformatics (e.g., genomics) and DNA editing technologies (e.g., CRISPR genome editing) have accelerated the 'Design and Build' phases, the turnover rates of the overall DBTL cycle remain constrained by limited high-throughput screening methodologies. This inhibits rapid 'Test and Learn' processes and, consequently, the identification of the best-performing strains with superior characteristics. Currently, the evaluation of biocatalyst performance predominantly relies on low-throughput, large analytical instruments such as high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography, requiring labor-intensive sample preparation and time-consuming data analysis, often extending the evaluation process to several hours per sample. The goal of this project is to accelerate the DBTL cycle by developing nanotechnology based high-throughput assays.

Current funding sources: UI start-up funds

Clostridium are anaerobic bacteria, which are often found in soil, water, and animal intestines. They catabolize various organic matters and possess the broadest and most flexible known metabolic systems for substrate utilization. 

Many Clostridium species are promising hosts for biomanufacturing due to their anaerobic nature. Unlike aerobic or microaerobic fermentation processes that require extensive aeration and agitation, anaerobic fermentation does not require energy-intensive operations, offering scale-up advantages (e.g., bioethanol fermentation). Despite their promising metabolic characteristics, many Clostridium strains are underappreciated and underutilized for industrial applications due to the limited knowledge. We aim to better understand Clostridium biology and develop advanced biomanufacturing processes using Clostridium.

Current funding sources: UI start-up funds

Microbes have evolved for billions of years under various environments. In nature, microbes exist in communities where diverse strains are neighboring and mingling with each other. Such microbial communities often have superior robustness against environmental perturbations such as pH, temperature, and resource availability changes. Can we utilize the robustness of microbial systems for industrial uses? Our goal is to understand the underlying principles of robust microbial communities and develop robust synthetic co-cultures capable of implementing complex tasks. We focus on interspecies interactions centered around industrially relevant Clostridium species.

Current funding sources: NSF Global Center, UI start-up funds

Thanks to advanced synthetic biology, highly engineered Escherichia coli strains can be rapidly constructed within a month. However, native Clostridium species can perform much better in some tasks compared to highly engineered E. coli strains. What if we could rapidly engineer the naturally specialized Clostridium species for better robustness and bioconversion efficiency? We aim to develop better genetic engineering tools and accelerate the genome engineering of Clostridium species.

Current funding sources: NSF Chemurgy 2.0, NSF Global Center