Engineering Macroscopic Pattern Formation in Bacteria

In this project, we are engineering macroscopic pattern formation of bacteria on agar surfaces. We plan to recruit two highly-motivated qualified undergraduate students via this supplemental request to participate in this research project. The specific focus of this project is beyond the scope of regular undergraduate courses and will provide a unique opportunity for these students to immerse themselves in cutting edge research. The laboratory experiment-oriented nature of the project and opportunity for exposure to other current efforts in the wider field also has special appeal to undergraduate students interested in long-term careers in research and engineering. Both students will work in the Synthetic Biological Systems Laboratory at Columbia University over a period of 10 weeks. One student will focus on genetically engineering bacteria to modulate pattern-forming behavior on agar plates; the other will focus on development and evaluation of image analysis setup for quantitative measurement of bacterial pattern formation. One female freshman student with a strong background in molecular biology laboratory experience has been identified. Another junior engineering student from an underrepresented background with a solid quantitative and computational background has also been recruited.