Andrew (Drew) David Endy (born 1970) is a synthetic biologist and tenured associate professor of bioengineering at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, California.

Education

Endy received his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1997 for his work on

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

using

T7 phage Bacteriophage T7 (or the T7 phage) is a bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria. It infects most strains of ''Escherichia coli'' and relies on these hosts to propagate. Bacteriophage T7 has a Lytic cycle, lytic life cycle, meaning that it ...

Career

Endy was a junior fellow for three years and later an Assistant Professor of

Biological Engineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(2002–2008). In 2008, Endy moved to

, where he currently serves as an Associate Professor of

Bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number ...

Research

With Thomas Knight,

Gerald Jay Sussman Gerald Jay Sussman (born February 8, 1947) is the Panasonic Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has been involved in artificial intelligence (AI) research at MIT since 1964. His research ha ...

, Randy Rettberg, and others at MIT, Endy worked on

synthetic biology Synthetic biology (SynBio) is a multidisciplinary field of science that focuses on living systems and organisms. It applies engineering principles to develop new biological parts, devices, and systems or to redesign existing systems found in nat ...

and the

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

of standardized

biological components Cellular components are the complex biomolecules and structures of which cells, and thus living organisms, are composed. Cells are the structural and functional units of life. The smallest organisms are single cells, while the largest organism ...

, devices, and parts, collectively known as

BioBrick BioBrick parts are DNA sequences which conform to a Restriction enzyme, restriction-enzyme assembly standard. These building blocks are used to design and assemble larger synthetic biological circuits from individual parts and combinations of part ...

s.From the cells up
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 10 March 2005 Endy is one of several founders of the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, and invented an abstraction hierarchy for integrated genetic systems. Endy has been one of the early promoters of

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

biology, and helped start the Biobricks Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that will work to support open-source biology. He was also a co-founder of the now defunct Codon Devices, a

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

startup company A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses tha ...

that aimed to commercialize synthetic biology. In 2008, ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazine named Endy one of the most influential people of the twenty-first century. In 2009,

Michael Specter Michael Specter (born 1955) is an American journalist who has been a staff writer, focusing on science, technology, and global public health at ''The New Yorker'' since September 1998. He has also written for ''The Washington Post'' and ''The New ...

called Endy "synthetic biology’s most compelling evangelist" in his book ''Denialism: How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harms the Planet, and Threatens Our Lives'', as Endy is persistent in discussing both the prospects and dangers of synthetic biology. Endy headed a team of researchers that in March 2013 created the biological equivalent of a

transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...

, which they dubbed a "

transcriptor A transcriptor is a transistor-like device composed of DNA and RNA rather than a semiconducting material such as silicon. Prior to its invention in 2013, the transcriptor was considered an important component to build biological computers. Back ...

". The invention was the final of the three components necessary to build a fully functional biocomputer:

data storage Data storage is the recording (storing) of information (data) in a storage medium. Handwriting, phonographic recording, magnetic tape, and optical discs are all examples of storage media. Biological molecules such as RNA and DNA are con ...

, information transmission, and a basic

system of logic A formal system is an abstract structure and formalization of an axiomatic system used for deducing, using rules of inference, theorems from axioms. In 1921, David Hilbert proposed to use formal systems as the foundation of knowledge in mathema ...

. Endy is a founder and steering group member of the Build-a-Cell Initiative, an international collaboration investigating creation of synthetic live cells.

Federal service and policy work

In February 2025, Endy testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

References

External links

Lab webpage

Personal page on OpenWetWare for Drew Endy

Abstraction hierarchy for integrated genetic systems

Steal This Genome

Biology Yearns to be Free

Gen9

on the commercialization of DNA synthesis
Registry of Standard Biological Parts

with Drew Endy in Edge - the third culture
Northwestern Silverstein Lecture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Endy, Drew 1970 births Living people Synthetic biologists MIT School of Engineering faculty American bioengineers Stanford University School of Engineering faculty