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research
seattle hub for synthetic biology

sense team

developing sensors that convert cellular events into barcodes that can then be written into DNA
Laboratory technician in white coat holding blue liquid sample in modern research facility.

goals and approach

The “Sense” team is part of a larger effort that includes teams focused on expanding our abilities to engineer cells and genomes to autonomously “Write,” and “Read” at a molecular level. It is building and improving signal conversion technologies aimed at sensing changes in the cell and transmitting that information to modules that ‘Write’ those changes to the cell’s DNA. Essentially, the team improves the performance of artificial signal transduction capabilities, e.g., using ENGRAM. The team’s goal is to develop sensors that are sensitive and specific, robust, inert, fast, and have broad applicability. By doing so, the team hopes to capture signaling and lineage histories of many thousands of individual cells.

Female scientist in white lab coat smiling in modern laboratory with equipment and storage shelves.
Lead scientist of the Sense Team, Dr. Hina Iftikhar at the opening of the SeaHub lab at the Allen Institute

research details/

testing mRNA based modular sensors

Designing and testing modular mRNA and protein-based sensors

improving the ENGRAM system

Modifying ENGRAM to make it more precise, modular and scalable

sense team

Reuben Burch
Research Associate II
Hina Iftikhar
Scientist III
Soh Ishiguro
Scientist II
Ruby Padgett
Research Associate II
Diana Vedenova
Research Associate III
Alessandro Venega Coradini
Scientist II
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brain science

Mapping every cell, connection, and circuit in the brain—openly shared with the world.

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Decoding how cells become tissues, then programming that knowledge into powerful new research tools.

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Revealing the brain's hidden algorithms that transform neural activity into real-world behavior.

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Creating the deepest open reference for the healthy human immune system ever built.

synthetic biology

Engineering cells to record their own histories, transforming how we understand disease over time.

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Big questions, open answers, and science built to be shared.

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Inspiring the next generation of scientists through open science resources.

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Our science is empowering researchers and advancing health worldwide.
advancing science through open, collaborative research
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