Dynamics and Control of Biological Systems.
We are an interdisciplinary research laboratory that focuses on model-based analysis, design, and control of biological function at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels to optimize therapeutic intervention.
Near-Future Directions:
Control Theory and Living Therapeutics
Programmed microbes for detection and treatment of infection.
Standardized biological parts within a cell can be systematically rewired to introduce desirable functionalities useful for detection and treatment of infection. We believe that physics-based modeling of internal cell circuitry along with novel control-theoretic tools can be employed to better design, predict and control rewired biomolecular circuits in living cells to treat infection.
Control Theory for Therapeutic and Prognostic Support
Virtual patient for evaluation and optimization of therapies targeting the gut-skin axis.
A bidirectional connection has been observed between the gut and skin since gastrointestinal disorders are often accompanied by cutaneous manifestations. We believe that control theory and multi-scale predictive modeling can contribute to mechanistic explanations and design of patient-specific therapies for gut associated skin disorders.
Cooperative Feedback Control of Cell Motility
Programmed microbes for self-organized pattern formation.
The ability to rewire biomolecular circuits in living cells provides an engineering approach to explore spatial-temporal self-organization control strategies key to pattern formation and morphogenesis. We believe that physics-based modeling and control theoretic analysis of biomolecular circuitry coupled to cell motility can help design fundamental biomolecular components necessary for robust self-organized pattern formation.
We are constructing a BSL-2 wet lab with microbiological and molecular cloning equipment to run theory-educated experiments.
Join the Team!
The Mayalu Lab is seeking bright, talented, and motivated graduate students and postdocs to fill several positions.
These are great opportunities to work on control theoretic and experimental aspects of model-based design of synthetic biological and biomedical systems.
Postdocs with additional training in synthetic microbiology, genetic recombination technology, bioengineering or related fields are encouraged to apply to help launch the experimental research program.