Tal Danino is a synthetic biologist and Associate Professor of

Biomedical Engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Education

Danino graduated from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

with Bachelor of Science degrees in physics, mathematics and chemistry. He received a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Bioengineering from the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

, and completed Postdoctoral training 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 ...

Research

Danino is the director of the Synthetic Biological Systems Laboratory at Columbia University, which focuses on using synthetic biology to engineer living medicines. The lab designs gene circuits that control the behavior of microbes so that they can sense-and-respond to environments in the body, improving specificity. A primary application is the programming of bacteria as a cancer therapy, whereby microbes selectively colonize tumors and are engineered to locally produce and release therapeutics. For this work, he has received multiple awards including the NSF CAREER Award, DOD Era of Hope Scholar Award, CRI Lloyd J Old STARS Award, Pershing Prize. Tal is also a TED Fellow and his work has been summarized in TED and TED-Ed videos.

Art

Danino transforms living microorganisms like bacteria and cancer cells from the laboratory into bioart works using various forms of media. His works encompass many themes but often explores the relationship between humans, microbes and technology. Tal did residencies at Eyebeam, Seed, and recently was part of 7x7 (Rhizome/New Museum). His work has been featured in many media outlets such as

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

, and

Wired magazine ''Wired'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. It is published in both print and Online magazine, online editions by Condé Nast. The magazine has been in public ...

. He has collaborated with many artists, notably Vik Muniz and Anicka Yi. A book entitled Beautiful Bacteria (2024, Rizzoli-Electa) highlights some of the microbial petri dish art he and his lab has produced.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danino, Tal Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American biologists Synthetic biologists American biomedical engineers