María E. Inda, Ph.D.

Sections

María E. Inda, Ph.D.
Pew Latin America Fellows
Title
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department
Synthetic Biology
Institution
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Address
77 Massachusetts Ave
Room NE47-221
City, State, ZIP
Cambridge, MA 02139
Country
United States
Phone
(617) 715-4808
Email
[email protected]
Website
http://www.rle.mit.edu/sbg/
Research field
Synthetic Biology
Award year
2017
Country of origin
Argentina
Mentor name
Timothy Lu, M.D., Ph.D.

Research

A variety of bacteria inhabit healthy human intestines, and members of Dr. Lu’s laboratory have been working to commandeer some of these microbes for use as “sentinels” that could patrol the gut and secrete therapeutic molecules in areas that appear inflamed. I will equip bacteria with biosensors that recognize the molecular markers of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—and then trigger the release of anti-inflammatory compounds. I will assess the engineered microbes’ ability to distinguish between diseased and healthy tissue and to treat inflammation in an animal model of IBD. This work could lead to novel noninvasive strategies for the early diagnosis and alleviation of inflammation in intestinal disorders.

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