Funded Researchers
Christopher Voigt
- Daniel I.C. Wang Professor of Advanced Biotechnology
- and department head
- Department of Biological Engineering
Christopher Voigt, PhD is the head of the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT. He is an expert in synthetic biology and his lab has applied genetic engineering to problems in agriculture, health, computation, medicine, chemicals/materials, national security, and infrastructure. He holds the Daniel I.C. Wang Professorship and is Co-Director of the Synthetic Biology Center. He received a BSE in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan (1998) and a PhD in biophysics from Caltech (2002). He is a founder of Pivot Bio (microbial agricultural products), Asimov (human cell synthetic biology), and Fieldstone (national security and biotechnology).
J-WAFS-funded projects
- Food security in Africa through microbiome engineering
- Protecting drinking water from widespread organic contaminants using engineered soil bacteria
- Evaluation of fully synthetic nitrogen fixation pathways, designed for plant mitochondria and plastids
- Engineered Nitrogen Fixation: Expression in plant organelles
News
- Pivot Bio uses engineered microbes to produce nitrogen on farms across the U.S
- J-WAFS project aims to replace harmful agrochemicals with microbes for sustainable agriculture
- The New York Times discusses MIT spinout Pivot Bio's crop nutrition technology
- J-WAFS researchers present agricultural projects to MIT alumni
- J-WAFS awards seed grants to seven MIT projects in water and food
- J-WAFS PI transforms agriculture with nitrogen fixation innovations
- Climate Grand Challenges project revolutionizing agriculture with low-emissions, resilient crops
- Climate Grand Challenges flagship projects include multiple J-WAFS PIs
- Multiple J-WAFS PIs chosen as MIT Climate Grand Challenges finalists
- Pivot Bio co-founded by J-WAFS PI Chris Voigt raises $430 million in funding
- J-WAFS PI Christopher Voigt co-leads biological engineering capstone class focused on the theme of food and water security
- Collaboration runs through J-WAFS-funded projects