Project Grant 2344359

This $650,000 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) supports the development of engineered microbial sensors for assessing water quality. The primary objective is to create new low-cost sensing systems that can detect chemicals in water throughout the water cycle, including wastewater treatment, drinking water, industrial use, and stormwater discharges. The project employs a convergence research approach, integrating synthetic biology, bioelectronics, and machine learning to produce point-of-use sensors. Key activities include engineering yeast-based biosensors, leveraging advanced language models to design new recognition proteins, and interfacing the sensors with low-cost complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) readout devices. The university sub-awardee, The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, will lead this work in collaboration with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and industry partners. The project aims to deliver a framework for rapidly developing microbial-based biosensors to address a range of water quality monitoring applications.