Engineering of Living Systems

Even the simplest organism is more complex than the most sophisticated man-made device. How did biological evolution build such intricate machines, and could we build such organisms ourselves? In this course, we will examine how to engineer the properties of existing organisms. In doing so, we will consider the both the successes and failures of modern synthetic biology in its efforts to apply general engineering principles to biology. Through lectures and interactive discussion of recent research articles, we will develop an integrated view of biological behavior, evolution, and the state-of-the-art of bio-engineering.

We will explore how we can use modern genetic engineering tools to engineer the properties of organisms. We will study basic tools and advanced synthetic-biology approaches that can be used to engineer biological solutions for real-world problems. A background in biology will be appropriate preparation for participating students.

Throughout the course you will get the opportunity to study, present, and discuss recent articles from the scientific literature on cutting-edge discoveries and techniques. Specific topics include: real-time experimental evolution, the modern genetic toolbox, feedback control and logic gates, design properties and construction principles of synthetic biology circuits and networks, and the debugging and optimization of engineered networks.

Students will be assessed based upon the following:

* Literature case study: oral presentation of a journal article and leading a classroom discussion that follows (40%)

* Written reflection on the impact of a journal article assigned at the end of the course (30%)

* Written responses to journal articles and participation in classroom discussion (30%)

Retake possibilities:

Oral presentation: students will be given one chance to present a new paper no later than 3 weeks after the final student presentation and depending upon the examiner's schedule.

Students who do not receive a passing grade on the Written Reflection assigned at the end of the course are given one opportunity to submit a reflection on a second article no later than 3 weeks after the assessment is returned.

Students needing to turn work in late due to personal circumstances must contact the Academic Counsellor prior to turning it in to make arrangements. Other late work might not be graded. Students unable to deliver an oral presentation must contact the Academic Counsellor prior to taking the course.