Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Arizona received a $410,775 Project Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) under the Biomedical Research and Research Training program (CFDA 93.859), with an award date of July 1, 2026, and a completion date of March 31, 2031. Under the direction of Principal Investigator Prof. Riedel-Kruse, this research project advances synthetic biology by developing engineered bacterial synthetic cell-cell adhesion tools and genetic circuits to enable the controlled assembly and patterning of multi-cellular bacterial consortia. The research focuses on protein engineering to enhance synthetic adhesion capabilities, development of novel genetic circuits for controlled patterning, engineering of consortia for health-relevant applications such as improved drug biosynthesis and living materials, and integration of experimental work with biophysical modeling across multiple scales.

The project deliverables encompass both fundamental scientific advances and practical applications in basic research and health. Key products include improved synthetic adhesion toolboxes with novel engineered features, synthetic genetic circuits enabling controlled multi-cellular consortium patterning, engineered bacterial consortia demonstrating feasibility for drug biosynthesis and synthetic biomaterial development, and biophysical models characterizing the engineered systems. This work directly addresses a previous gap in bacterial synthetic biology by providing practical tools and methodologies for engineering multi-cellular microbial systems, with applications extending to modular drug production, living diagnostic devices, and synthetic biofilm research models.