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Harimoto Lab
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Research Overview
Synthetic Biology
Living cells have a unique ability to produce and deliver bioactive molecules in a sustained and dynamic manner. We design synthetic genetic circuits to program cells that sense their environment and respond intelligently by producing targeted payloads. We focus on bacteria, harnessing their small size, adaptability, and resilience, to function as sentinel cells for applications in medicine and beyond.
Living Materials
Biomaterials provide a physical and biochemical interface for controlling living cells, yet their interactions with genetic circuits remain underexplored. We aim to construct systems that integrate feedback between molecular/genetic and material/mechanical processes. In other words, can we design a system where genetically programmed information influences physical phenomena, and physical changes, in turn, regulate genetic activity?
Drug Delivery
Delivering drugs to specific tissues at precise doses remains a universal challenge in medicine. Our vision is to develop microbes as living drug delivery vehicles. Using synthetic biology, we genetically program bacteria to home to target tissues and treat diseases on-site. We design biomaterials to regulate physical properties and construct living therapeutic devices. This living medicine can be applied to variety of diseases.
Representative review articles:
1. Delivering Living Medicine with Biomaterials. Nature Reviews Materials (2025)
2. Bacterial Therapies at the Interface of Synthetic Biology and Nanomedicine. Nature Reviews Bioengineering (2024)
3. Engineering Bacteria for Cancer Therapy. Emerging Topics in Life Sciences (2019)
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