Synthetic Biology

Full course description

This course explores the relatively new and rapidly growing field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology aims to construct genetic systems, change biological systems or even (re)design organisms, to solve real-life issues in, for example, environment, health, nutrition, … This is done by looking at biology from an engineering point-of-view and by using molecular biology, genetic engineering, and microbiology methods. This engineering approach focuses on four important principles: abstraction, modularity, standardization, and modelling. In this way, it is possible to extend and apply genetic techniques to real-world applications.

The goal of this practical course is to design, build, and experiment with biological systems using molecular biology techniques relevant to the field of synthetic biology in combination with engineering concepts. Students will gain experience in growing and analyzing microbial cell cultures (plates/liquid cultures), perform some genetic engineering and cloning techniques and DNA analysis tools.