A class of synthetic living systems dubbed organoids represent 3D partial mini replicas of human organs. They provide new platform to fill the gap between mouse studies and human trials, enable precision medicine, drug discovery and human disease modeling.  However, a key challenge with human organoids centers on the ability to control the process of stem cell morphogenesis and self-organization in cultures. Other challenges are limited maturation, partial vascularization, lack of common media for diverse cell types, and aberrant signatures from other organs. Additionally, tools for quantitative and universal assessment across studies are still needed.

We use synthetic biology and genetic engineering approaches to address challenges in building and controlling multicellular systems. Our approach aims to produce tissues that are functionally robust, are developed by a priori genetic design, and closely mimic their in vivo counterparts (that produced by nature). The genetically embedded circuits drive multilineage co-differentiation, direct maturation, and vascularization paving the path towards programmable organoids.

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